My Aliyah Has Been Approved!

The email arrived Friday afternoon, thirty-five weeks after my interview. I stared at it blankly for probably two minutes, wondering if I was reading it correctly, if it really said that my aliyah application had been approved.

When I convinced myself it did, I pictured myself back in Israel-- and then, finally, I reacted. My hands shot up to the sky and I gasped, "Yes!"

I contacted all my friends and even acquaintances to share the good news. While I was wandering around the cactus and succulent gardens at the Tucson Botanical Gardens, I daydreamed about being in the Negev. Then I wrote out my to do list. (It is much shorter than it was at this time last year!)

find a good home for my cat
just donate everything
sell my car
pack my suitcases
get on the aliyah flight

So which aliyah flight? How soon could this be accomplished? A friend pointed out, "You will need to make sure you're healthy and strong for your move so the stress doesn't knock the stuffing out of you." She has a point, but how much more time do I need to get well? It has been very troubling (ok, frightening) that I can't seem to overcome whatever it is I've caught.

I paused amid the excitement and looked inside. I realized that I did not have the energy to re-pack my things even just well enough to donate them.

The aliyah approval is good for a year and the visa will be good for six months. (I wonder: does it really take just two weeks to get the visa? It was supposed to take no more than eight weeks to get the approval, but it took more than four times that long.)

An Asherah Tree in Tucson

Since the absorption center doesn't accept "old" folks like me, I'll have to find a rental. I'll be looking for a room rather than an apartment because shipping my household goods no longer seems justifiable financially. I spent a lot keeping myself in cheap hotel rooms from after I sold my house in May until I moved into this apartment in November, and it will cost quite a bit to break my lease here.

There's no need to bring a lot of household goods, but there are many things it will be hard to part with. I notice a part of me resisting the idea of uprooting myself again. I'd been "homeless" for six months before I rented this apartment. I needed a home and now I hesitate to give it up.

I've used my time in Tucson well, despite getting sick just after I moved in: I attend Torah study regularly, I found a wonderful chevruta and we've been studying Leviticus, I've met quite a few very nice people, and I've gone to the botanical gardens a few times. But I feel some regret about the things I have not crossed off my to do list. And the Federation's tour of Jewish Tucson today made me feel that this could be a good place to live.

How foolish to feel any hesitation now that I can make aliyah! I'm more myself in Israel.  I belong to the Land and I won't thrive anywhere else. 

I've spoken with a woman who lives in Karmiel, Sylvia, and it sounds like the perfect Israeli town for me. My chevruta is willing to continue studying with me via Skype. Israel is my destination; why stop now?

Nesting in a saguaro

Jon suggested that I plan to go in April, which would give me adequate time to get healthy and to make living arrangements, but Sylvia pointed out that government offices are closed that month for Pesach. So I will have to go after April. (Will I want to fly right back to the States for Kohenet in August? I certainly can't wait until August to make aliyah! But I also can't interrupt ulpan for a trip to the States.)

This doesn't have to be complicated. The only significant hurdle is finding a home for Nutmeg. (I don't dare think about what it will be like to part with her.) I created a flyer and I took her to the vet for a check up. She has a slight infection. The first antibiotic made her nauseous, so we're trying a different one.

Israel awaits! Of course I do need to regain my health and strength before I go. My doctor's appointment is on the 29th. If I'm not better by then, surely he can fix me up quickly.

A few months ago, I wrote that my greatest fear was that I might never make aliyah. It bothers me that I'm not rushing out the door now.