My Nefesh B'Nefesh Essay

(We have returned from our pilot trip, and I really have so much to report, and to write about.  However, all of my time for the past 2 weeks has been spent getting over pneumonia, and filling out the Nefesh B'Nefesh application that is due this week.


However, part of the Nefesh B' Nefesh application is a supporting statement (i.e. essay) on why you want to make aliyah.  I thought I would include a draft of my essay here as a post. I am in the process of revising this essay and will repost when it's final)

The land and State of Israel have been pivotal in forming my Jewish identity.

Let me explain.

Web 2.0, The Aliyah Revolution, and Nefesh B'Nefesh

"I told her we were planning on making Aliyah. do you know what she answered? She said, "Oh, people still do that?"..... Fast forward one whole year. Four hundred people just made aliyah with an organization [NBN] that didn't exist one year ago. People who never would have thought of making aliyah are sudden thinking about it. And many people are really doing it." Laura Ben-David, An Aliyah Journal

I truly believe that there is an Aliyah Revolution going on in today's times. I think it started with Nefesh B'Nefesh and was bolstered by Blogs (like the Aliyah Blog) that show that is possible to live and be happy in Israel and other organizations that provide information about making aliyah (like Kehillot Tehilla).

When I first lived in Eretz Yisroel in 2000, only 9 years ago, none of these resources existed. And when I left in 2003, I still felt that there were few resources for the person wishing to live his life in Israel. It was hard to find out about careers, resources, communities, etc. Now, that has all changed.