There are some people who announce their aliyah and no one is surprised to hear about it. That was not the case with Tali (Wohlgelernter) and Elie Rosenberg.
When Elie showed up in khaki pants to their first date, Tali, a Los Angeles native who attended Michlala and Stern, pegged him as Dati Le’umi and blurted out, “I just want you to know, I’m not making aliyah.” They were on the same page.
Instead, they moved to Elie’s hometown, Dallas, where they spent 11 happy years as active members of the community, serving on the boards of Akiba Academy and Shaare Tefilla. They built a beautiful home with a pool, and loved living near both Elie’s parents and Tali’s sister, as well as having Tali’s parents visit from L.A. every month. They talked about aliyah “one day,” but it felt like a distant dream or a long-term plan.
Then Covid hit with its ensuing lockdowns. “Our world became much smaller, everyone’s lives slowed down, and we paused and reconsidered things,” says Tali. “We realized we wanted a different kind of life and the challenges about aliyah that we felt were so daunting no longer seemed insurmountable. Above all, we wanted to raise our kids in a place where they would want to and be likely to raise their own kids. And, fortunately, our children really wanted to make aliyah.”
The challenges of making aliyah on a short timeline and in the midst of lockdown were many, but Tali says, “Once we made the decision, Hashem carried us on His back to our new life. Somehow our spirits remained high through every challenge, even when we found out the Airbnb we had booked for our two-week isolation time was an internet scam – 24 hours before our flight and we would soon be landing in Israel as essentially homeless lepers.”
The Rosenbergs’ new neighbors in Beit Shemesh mobilized quickly and readied their new home with just hours of notice, from cleaning it to stocking it with mattresses and groceries and then delivering delicious dinners nightly. “Every day our kids were visited – masked and socially distanced – by new neighbors who would soon become friends.”
That welcome represents the spirit of aliyah so perfectly. Life in Israel is so different from what we were used to but there’s so much heart, so much meaning in this country, and everyone, from the taxi drivers to the store owners, is ready to embrace you with love, thank you for giving up your comfortable life in America, and help you in any way they can.
“We came as ‘medium Zionists,’” says Tali, “But we’ve been inspired by the commitment of others and have become passionately Zionistic by seeing how people sacrifice for this land. By ourselves sacrificing to live here. Living in Israel has been tremendously empowering for me in raising our family with a vision for our present and future generations to come, b’ezrat Hashem. My children’s education is remarkably inspiring and moving. From learning the mitzvot ha’teluyot ba’aretz and then immediately putting them into practice, to tearfully re-experiencing our aliyah every Parshat Lech Lecha and a million small and huge things in between, I truly feel that ‘ein Torah k’Torat Eretz Yisrael.’
“Living a less materially focused lifestyle is another big part of what we love. I gave up a housekeeper but gained four of the best in-house helpers in my children, who seemingly overnight became Israelis in that regard, confidently walking to the store on their own to pick up last-minute items, taking the bus to school and helping with household chores without complaining, because it’s simply part of the culture here.
“Aliyah is for everyone. I say that 100% without judgment because I know how enormous the challenges can seem, how comfortable life can be, how important extended family is, how crazy it can feel to even think of upsetting a carefully created balance. I know that I could easily still be living the life I was before, happily, and thinking that aliyah is just a dream, but I urge everyone to make the leap, or at least consider it.
“Come. It’s your land. You’ll find your place. You will forge your own path on the backs of those who have done it before you. You will find it incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. Hashem will help you and you will find in yourself and in your family and in your children new strengths you never knew possible.”
