Finally. Inspiration. Thanks, Baila.

Yom chamishi, 13 Cheshvan 5771.

This recent dry-spell was brought to you courtesy of technical problems, which took a few weeks to work out.  Then...  I just sort of got used to not writing.  After a while, I was sort of like a bottle of  ink someone left open on a shelf for too long:  a little dry staining on the sides of the glass, flaking at the edges a bit, but certainly not any good for writing.

So then I read my friend Baila's post.  She has been in Israel for three years now, and is making a trip back to America.  She is full of hopeful anticipation -- and the wisdom time gives us.

Baila and I made aliyah at about the same time; and the three-year anniversary is very significant to Nefesh B'Nefesh olim.  At three years, any loan they give you at the time of aliyah automatically becomes a grant.  It is a physical reminder of the law of averages:  Immigrants who stay three years have a highly-increased likelihood of "making it" here than those who leave earlier.

Baila's article inspired me, because while we are good friends, we have different views on the "homeness" of our two countries.  She has a big enough heart to call both countries home, I think.  I never felt at home in my life until I moved to Israel.  (Well -- that's not quite true.  I felt halfway home when I joined the Jewish nation...)

That is not to say that I don't miss people.  I miss the friends I shopped with and davened with and hung out with for 16 years in Baltimore.  But the US Army taught me the art of making friends and leaving them and still being close, even with oceans between us.  And my friendships and family relationships have even deepened, in some cases, thanks to modern social media, that allow great and frequent conversations with some people I never had the opportunity to know this well in person.

I don't miss stuff.  True -- Israel lacks Dunkin' Donuts, Target, authentic Slurpees, and a host of other products that my American friends and my kids remind me of periodically.

But I just can't get wistful about those things -- especially when Israel has the Temani restaurant on Emek Refaim, shakshuka and chumus, red rooftops on creamy pinkish-white houses of Jerusalem stone -- and the Kotel is available for a drop-by-when-you-want-to visit.


The point is, every country has her own unique gifts.  But for me, Home is where my people have their historic roots buried the deepest.  Theoretically, if our government ever starts worrying more about what G-d thinks than about what other countries who should be minding their own business think, our accomplishments as the Jewish People can be greater here than anywhere.  "Mom and Dad" are just down the road, buried at Hevron.  And the heart of everything I ever hope to be beats right here.

Glossary:
Aliyah: Jewish immigration to Israel
Nefesh B'Nefesh: agency responsible for increasing aliyah from Anglo countries since the 2001 Sbarro Restaurant bombing which inspired its creation
Olim: Jewish immigrants to Israel
Davened: prayed
Temani: Yemenite
Shakshuka: Middle Eastern egg and tomato dish
Chumus: chickpea paste -- a staple in Israel
Kotel: Western Wall, not the holiest site to the Jewish people, but as close as the world will let us get to it these days
"Mom and Dad": Sarah and Avraham, the patriarchs of the Jewish people -- the very first converts
Hevron: Hebron, one of the four holiest cities in Israel, and site of the Cave of the Patriarchs

When I don't have time to write, I'll call Baila...

Yom rishon, 19 Av 5769.

I am busy doing some proof-reading for a friend just now; so there isn't much time to write.

Fortunately, there is a new edition of Haveil Havalim up at my friend Baila's place.  One of the delightful aspects of the "blogosphere" is that, after one writes for a while, and reads the writing of others, commenting on same, a kind of cyber-community forms.  And eventually, we begin to find out a few things about each other, just as in a less virtual community.  (Speaking of Haveil Havalim, for instance, I recently discovered that HH's founder, Soccer Dad, is also from Baltimore.  Now I just have to do a little more research to see if his wife and I ever "hung out.")

Over time, Baila has discovered that many bloggers are living right in her own newly-adopted home town.  (Baila also made aliyah about two years ago.)  Issue #229,  the Modi'in Edition, features the writing of Baila's neighbors in Modi'in, along with other interesting offerings from all over the Jewish cyberworld.


If you enjoy good writing, please look over this collection of interesting and eclectic opinions, information, news coverage, Torah and fun.


Looking forward to seeing blogger buddies in person again, and making new friends, at the Second Annual Jewish Bloggers Convention.

Why We Do It

Yom chamishi, 14 Kislev 5769.

I had the nicest cup of coffee this morning with a fellow blogista.  (Despite the slightly South American flavor of that term, I think it really would be the Hebrew word for "female weblog author."  Though Benji would probably spell it "blogeestah."  Ehhhhhh....  but I'm no lengweech aikspoort.)

Anyway -- back to coffee.  She and I have been trying to get together since the JBlogger's Convention, many months ago.  So today, we finally did it.  Happily, we did have lots of other things to talk about besides virtual reality; but we did touch on our mutual fascination with friends who say things like "I just don't get the whole 'blog' thing.  I mean, what's the big deal with 'blogs'?"  Oh -- and my favorite:  "Yeah but, how can you spend so much time with blogging and bloggers?  I mean, they're not even real."

It was nice to share experiences and impressions with someone who "gets it."  Frankly, we are probably as mystified as to why our friends don't adore the blogosphere as they are about our seeming obsession with it.  So here's a little thumbnail analysis of "why we do it."

• We like to write.  And it's easier now than ever!
• Blogging keeps us from having to repeat everything we write to each of our friends individually.  (Sorry.  While we love you, one can only give over the story of "what's happening" so many different ways before even the writer gets bored with repeating herself.)
• What a great semi-permanent way to keep that journal!
  
• It's fun to communicate with other people who like to write.
• Secretly, we wouldn't mind being published.
• Hey!  We can publish ourselves, thereby avoiding the pain of countless rejection letters.
• "Hanging out," even virtually, with like-minded souls (politically or religiously, or sharing similar life experiences, difficulties, or interests) is very empowering and validating.

We had a very nice time sharing our aliyah experiences, discussing our pride in our amazing kids (puh-puh-puh), and marveling at one another's life stories.  We also talked about the growing grassroots power of the internet:  the freedom to set one's own agenda in commentary, rather than being muzzled by the agenda of a company or a sponsor; the ability for two-way sharing of ideas; the immediacy of "man in the street" journalism (such as that which kept us all glued to the twittered reports during Mumbai). 

I can absolutely verify that she is 100% real.

I'm looking forward to reading her latest opinion or adventure in her next blog post.

And I'm looking forward to the next cup of joe.  Thanks, Baila.  I'll call.  ;-)  

Ehhhhhhh...  this one's just for you, girl.  What will those techno-wizards think of next?