Raise me up

Time for a semi-serious post. One of the reasons why I started this here blog-thingy was to work on putting down my thoughts, working out scenarios, and moving toward progressing with my life as a whole. If others are entertained, moved, or offer good advice, so much the better.

Regular readers (both of you) might not have noticed a slight change in the links menu on the right, where I now have a section of aliyah links. No, I don't mean the late R&B star, I'm referring to the notion of the land Israel being the place for a Jew to live. Those who've known me for a while know that moving to Israel is something that I very much want to do, and yet it's something that I've made zero mention of on this site. While I don't think I need to expose every facet of my personality to the world at large (hence the relative anonymity of this blog), I do think that writing more about this interest will be useful in motivating me to get off my you-know-what and get active, as well as perhaps providing more fodder for reader feedback than the "guess what show/ performer I just caught" posts which have been dominating this site, and probably only have minimal interest. So, without further ado, here goes:

I'm a native New Yorker. I love this city, its sights and sounds, the insane pace, riding the subway, going to shows, walking through the parks, and seeing people of every conceivable income level, ethnicity, and religion on a single block. I laugh at the thought of driving to work or school, and consider anything north of the Bronx to be "upstate." In this city, I acquired years of entertainment, a superb education, and dozens of dear friends. To this city, I owe my personality, my interests, and many of my successes.

I love this city, but it will never be home.
To me, Israel is home.

Israel is where my yarkmulke is never a cue for a street musician to strike up "Hava Nagila" or a medly from "Fiddler" (note to any street musicians reading this: ten bucks goes right into your case if you play "Schmuel's Song" from The Last Five Years instead of "Tradition."). It's where I never have to admit just how many Christmas carols I know all the words to (including all the Rocky-Horror-style callback lines to "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer") thanks to standing in a checkout line at any supermarket between November 15th and December 31st. It's where I see street signs in the same letters as my prayer book, and where everyday expressions come straight out of scripture. It's where religious and irreligious Jews argue over everything, because it's where Jews want to live as Jews, and don't ever want anyone else defining what that means.

It's also a country torn by politics, war, and an economy that looks like it's held together by chewing gum. It's where my grandparents and parents tried to find work, and couldn't. It's where a childhood friend and his pregnant wife were shot and wounded while leaving a wedding. It's where drivers are maniacs, jobs are scarce, people are rude, and life is hard.

To me, Israel is home. Just saying that, however, isn't going to get me there. Nor, for that matter, is writing out all the pros and cons. I know that I want to go, and I've been blessed with a life partner who agrees with me (The Lovely Wife(tm) has spent far more time in the country than I have, and she's liable to be ten times as verbose in her explanation for why she wants to go). So, what's stopping me?

Well, as I said two paragraphs ago, life in Israel is hard. I've got the wisdom of two generations before me (and several friends as well) who couldn't make ends meet. To that end, we've been saving cash for the inevitably interminable job hunt, padding up the resumes for same, and, in my case, finishing off a second degree so that maybe we can afford to live on chumus and luf. There's also the language to learn (my Hebrew may be serviceable, but it's way too rusty), and, oh heck, let's cut the long paragraphs and get to the checklist, shall we?

• Financials - moving costs, living expenses while jobless. Maintaining our meager U.S. investments while abroad
  
• education - get the @$!#@!! degree already
  
• Language - gotta get us to an ulpan, or something similar
  
• Mental preparedness - prepare for the stress and strain of making the move
  
• physical preparedness - See previous
  
• spiritual preparedness - sheesh, I hate sounding New Age-y, but I don't have a better word for it
  

The plan: to address one or more of each of these issues on a regular basis, and get ourselves closer to the goal of going home.