Page 8 - ChicagOlim Chronicles

Chapter 8 Greetings from The Other Side

We made it! Landing in Israel was amazing but also amazingly quiet. There was no music, no crowds, no
fanfare. In so many ways our arrival reminded me of my wedding day. I was exhausted and excited and filled
with the awe that I was doing something really big and life changing.

A lovely young bat-sheirut from the Jewish Agency met us from the flight and helped usher us past lines to get
PCR tested, our luggage, our initial paperwork and klita payment and finally the taxi to our new home… sort of.
Arriving during a time of a mandatory seven-day quarantine, we opted not to go directly to our empty
apartment, and rather made the choice to stay in a furnished Airbnb with Wi-Fi where Benji could work, and the
girls and I could just be a little more comfortable overall. It gave us some breathing space to order things like a
washer and dryer, Internet for the new place and even some disposable items for use until our lift came. We also
got a taste of how awesome the community that we were moving into was as they arranged for borrowed
mattresses, linens, a folding table, and chairs for us for once we were out of quarantine and in the new home.

Once released from “bidud” (quarantine), we had a detailed check list, courtesy of Nefesh B’Nefesh, of things
we had to get done. These are things you “must” get done in a particular order (most of it). The first order of
business is getting a Teudat Zehut (TZ) - your official Israeli ID. Without it, you cannot move onto the next step
of opening a bank account, which you need to go to the next step of setting up your “sal klita” (the government
payments you get when making aliyah). Somewhere in there, you should visit your kupat cholim (health
agency) to get medical cards and set up doctor’s appointments.

One of the first things you notice about being in Israel is that it’s a Jewish state, run, mostly, by Jews. Buses
stop running early erev Shabbat, supermarkets close early erev anything, and if your kids are out the entire
month of September because of the chagim, you can bet every government office you’ll need will also be
closed. Not only did we come in a year with Corona, but we also arrived shortly before “the chagim”. B”H we
made it to Misrad HaPnim (don’t say HaPanim people will laugh at you), got our TZs and eventually got
everything else done.

Helpful Hint #8 Hurry up… and wait. Israel runs on the phrase “l’at l’at” which translates as “slowly slowly”.
You must truly not just hear these words but internalize them, otherwise you will be eternally frustrated. Do not
try to attempt to get more than one thing on “the check list” done in one day. It won’t happen. Be prepared to
have to go back multiple times to really get “it” done (whatever “it” is). Have a sense of humor about the
experience even as you may want to throttle someone. Lastly - when the chagim come about and you hear the
sounds of the shofar coming from all directions, and you lose track of the number of sukkot you count on the
way to school, and the streets are illuminated by the lights of the chanukiot glowing from every window and
mirpeset, you will be reminded why it was all worth it.

ANOTHER EXCITING, IMPACTFUL PROJECT OF

Leading the way…