Current mood:	excited
Current music:	Shlock Rock - Making Aliyah Today

I MADE ALIYAH!!! I'M AN ISRAELI CITIZEN!!!
בס"ד

NEWSBREAK FROM THE UPDATES - I MADE ALIYAH!!!

I did it! I finally did it! After 5 years on a student / tourist visa I made Aliyah on יום רביעי, י"ג אלול, תשס"ו - Wednesday, September 6, 2006 - the 13th day of the 6th month (Elul), which is 6-13, like the number of mitzvot, the week of פרשת כי תבוא - Parshat Ki Tavo, which starts with the words, "It will be when you come to the Land that Hashem, Your G-d gives you as a heritage, and you will inherit it (her), and settle it (her).", and the week after פרשת כי תצא - Parshat Ki Teitze, which starts with the words, "When you go out...". What an amazing time to make Aliyah!

I made Aliyah with Nefesh B'Nefesh (www.nbn.org.il). If you plan to make Aliyah, you should most definitely do it through them. They deal with a lot of the bureaucracy that is the Israeli Ministry of the Interior. Of course you still have to apply to make aliyah through the Jewish Agency and get a visa through the Israeli Consulate (via the Aliyah Center), and Nefesh B'Nefesh has an extensive application, but it's all easier than going numerous times to Misrad HaPnim (Ministry of the Interior), trying to reach them by phone, waiting on lines, etc... Usually officials from the ministry actually come on the flight. Due to the war and security situation, they're not doing that anymore, but they were at the airport waiting for us - still a big improvement on having to go to their office.

Besides all the bureaucracy, with Nefesh B'Nefesh, you're treated like a king. Everyone cares about you and worries about you. With Nefesh B'Nefesh, you fly to Israel on a charter aliyah flight with El Al, not like a normal flight, and that in itself is a once in a lifetime experience. I'd prefer a 10 hour Nefesh B'Nefesh flight than a 2 hour normal flight. And you may think I'm crazy, but keep reading and maybe you'll understand.

I'm keeping this post to flight related things, strictly between arriving at JFK airport in NY and leaving Ben Gurion airport in Israel. For details before and after, stay tuned for later updates.

So let's actually start from the very beginning - the shirt I wore. Many people in JFK, on the flight, and in Israel complimented me and expressed their approval and agreement of my shirt, which read on the front, written like a letter with a Golda Meir stamp:
Dear America,
Thank you and Shalom.
We have to go home now.
Your Friends,
The Jews
and on the back: "There's no place like home"
I ordered the shirt from Kumah's (www.kumah.org) store, but apparently not many (if any) people had ever done that before. My New York Aliyah Shaliach (Akiva Werber) liked it so much that he took a picture together with me.in the terminal before the ceremony. My shirt was pictured with me on Arutz-Sheva and mentioned in my interview with Yishai Fleisher of Arutz-Sheva - see links below.

When I got to the airport (around 2 PM), I registered with Nefesh B'Nefesh, they gave me my ticket and a package, and I proceeded to check-in. At around 3 PM, there was a special ceremony to say goodbye us, featuring the founders of Nefesh B'Nefesh, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass and Tony Gelbart, among other speakers. There were 2 cakes, which read, "Mazal Tov From ELAL to All Olim". I spent most of the ceremony taking pictures of the olim, especially the young kids and babies running around. All I really remember was Tony Gelbart saying that even with this, NBN's 22nd Aliyah flight, he and Rabbi Fass are not tired and they won't be until the 100th flight [or ever]. After the ceremony, everyone went downstairs for a short while with their families and friends until boarding. It was tough to say goodbye to my parents and Uncle Morris, but we've been doing this for a while so it was easier than for some others I'd imagine. We still cried a little though. And with that, 230 Olim, some NBN and Jewish Agency staff, and some press boarded a charter El Al 777 Carmel with the Nefesh B'Nefesh logo, flight 3032 bound for Ben Gurion airport in Lod, Israel.

As I mentioned above, the flight was like no other I have ever been on, and I say that even though we were delayed about an hour by rain. We were treated like royalty - every announcement on the PA system began, עולים יקרים - Olim Yekarim - Dear Olim, even just telling us to sit down for turbulence. The flight attendants were so nice to us and appreciative of all our needs and even spoke to us. Nefesh B'Nefesh broke up the seating into sections - families in the back, singles in the middle, older people in the front. This allowed the singles to hang out and talk, the young children not to disturb others, and the older people the more comfortable business seats. Press and staff were in first class. People walked all around the plane though. The minyans (Ma'ariv just after 3 stars, and Shacharit just after sunrise), which you don't see on planes as much these days, and only see on El Al at all, were between business and first class. Someone even posted the halachic times for the flight based on what time zone we would be in at what time. Amazing! I spoke to a holocaust survivor who was telling me stories and crying out of happiness and excitement to be going home to his children and grandchildren. Some of the children gave out cookies during the flight. I joked with 1 from Florida about the Marlins. I was sitting in the front row of the singles section next to some girls from NJ who were not only coming back for Shana Bet, but making aliyah. I fixed an IPOD for 1 of them. A bunch of parents were walking around with their babies. It was like 1 big family just walking around the plane, hanging out. I was so exhausted that I had to sleep a little, but I made sure to only sleep 3 hours so I wouldn't miss too much of the experience. I watched movies while I ate, but the rest of time, there was too much happening and too much excitement to just watch a movie. I knew some people on the flight. A good friend, Chaya and her husband Yisroel, whose wedding I was at just a week before the flight. I also recognized a guy who was in Machon Lev in the afternoons last year for a few classes and a guy who is in Bar Ilan, who I think I was in Yavneh Olami with. During the flight Jewish Agency staff came to talk to us about a new program to set us up with native Israeli friends. Nefesh B'Nefesh staff came around with Tablet PCs from Misrad HaPnim so we could electrically sign forms and verify information to expedite the process at the airport. I signed a form to change my name from Yehonatan, as it appeared transliterated from my English name, Jonathan, to my real Jewish Hebrew name, יחיאל - Yechiel. A few times during the flight I turned on my MP3 player to listen to Shlock Rock's Making Aliyah Today and Sam Glaser's In Israel. It really put me in the mood, as if I needed something to do that on this Aliyah flight.

After about 10 hours in the air, at around 11 AM Israel Daylight Savings Time, our plane touched down on the Holy ground of ארץ ישראל - the land of Israel. As we taxiied to where we would disembark, we road by the hundreds of people waiting to greet us. When the plane came to a stop, I quickly grabbed my bag, said Shehecheyanu and a prayer that I received from an Aliyah organization called Tehilah (www.tehilla.com) that I received a few years ago, put on my flag tzitzit, and headed off the plane. As I walked down the steps, I saw my friend, Ezra HaLevi, Arutz-Sheva (Israel National News) writer, and he took a picture of me. At the bottom of the staircase, a press photographer took a picture of me. I proceeded to walk between 2 rows of female soldiers. When I passed the soldiers, I saw friend and Arutz-Sheva (Israel National Radio) radio broadcaster Walter Bingham. He wished me Mazel Tov. Then I reached my friend Yishai Fleisher, another Arutz-Sheva broadcaster. He loved my shirt and flag tzitzit. He said on air that it was the first time he'd seen either of them. He interviewed me. He asked me how I felt about the large number of singles on the flight, to which I responded that it was wonderful that so many young people will be starting their lives and families in Israel. He asked me how it was different to be a citizen. I mentioned that now I can vote, work, maybe go to the army, and have more of an impact on the country. I also commented to him how it should blow people's minds to see the prophecies of the Tanach (Bible) coming true. I mentioned that also to WCBS Newsradio 88 NY Israel Correspondent, David Gilbert, who interviewed me right afterward. After the interviews, I turned around and starting taking pictures of the rest of the Olim coming down the stairs. Someone brought a shofar and was blowing it. One of the times our Tanach says the Shofar will be blown is at the ingathering of the exiles.

After all the Olim were off the plane, I joined the last batch in a tram to the terminal where we were greeted by hundreds of people. 3 of my good friends from Machon Lev, Ephraim, Joel, and Yossi were on hand to greet me. I also saw some other friends, including some of the people on the Nefesh B'Nefesh staff with whom I'm friendly. Soon thereafter, the ceremony started. Amiran Dvir, an Israeli Jewish singer of whose music I'm fond of, played. Rabbi Fass spoke about our landing during the week of Parshat Ki Tavo, as I mentioned above, and added some ideas about that. A representative of Misrad HaPnim also spoke and presented 2 people with their Te'udot Oleh (Aliyah certificate). As the ceremony was going on, I was walking around taking pictures. You should've seen the entourage there to greet some of the grandparents, like the holocaust survivor I spoke to on the plane, tens of grandchildren! Such a beautiful site! He was crying and I did too. The ceremony ended with Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem.

All the press and guests left, and all the olim went through passport control, where the signs read "Shalom Olim!" instead of the tradition "Israeli Passports" or "Foreign Passports". Then we all went upstairs and waited on a long line at Misrad HaKlitah, Ministry of Absorption. They gave me a 50 Shekel gift, my Te'udat Oleh (new oleh certificate) and a package with forms for a bank account and 6 months free medical insurance. After that, we went back down and got an appointment with Misrad HaKlitah's office in Jerusalem. Then we had to wait on the Misrad HaPnim line. I picked up my luggage while waiting on that line. Once I got to the front, it was quick, and by about 2:30-3 PM I was all processed and waiting for my free taxi to Jerusalem. Nesher, the airport - Jerusalem taxi shuttle service was not running normally and it was a long wait and a bit of unorganized craziness, but after a while, we were on our way. I had to guide the driver to our 1st 2 stops in Jerusalem (MMY and me), but Baruch Hashem, thank G-d, I've been in Jerusalem a long time and know my way around. (We would've had to wait longer for a taxi if I didn't.)

So that just about covers it. An amazing experience that I've waited 5 years for. I just hope that NBN invites me to be a photographer on a future flight because I would love to do that again. After flying with NBN, all other flights, no matter how good they may be, will never be as good.

Thank you Hashem for allowing me to fulfill the Mitzvah (commandment) of Yishuv Eretz Yisrael (settling the Land of Israel), and all the other mitzvot that can only be done thereafter. I'm proud to be part of the ingathering of the exiles, the prophecies of so long ago coming true, and privileged to live to see the redemption sprouting, and will never take that for granted. After 2000 years, we're coming home. To those Jews still living abroad, come home now! This is your destiny! This is the future and there's no better time than now!

Here are the links I promised:
Sign my onlysimchas Aliyah page: http://www.onlysimchas.com/galleries/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewsimcha&simchaid=54477&simchatypeid=11
My pictures on Jacob Richman's site: http://www.jr.co.il/pictures/israel/history/usa-aliyah.htm (now it's on top, after the next flight - in the winter - it will move down, but will remain)
See pictures of me on the Arutz-Sheva / Israel National News website: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=111527
Listen to me being interviewed during Arutz-Sheva / Israel National Radio's live coverage (This link will only work until Thursday. If it's still up after that I will update.): http://msmedia.a7.org:82/arutz7/shows/English-show/Yishai-th-2.mp3
My new photo-blog on which I intend to post many pictures from the flight and many more things in the future, but has only the inaugural welcome post so far: http://eyeinzion.blogspot.com/