Growing up, I was always a spunky kid. I recall being in seventh grade and telling my mother that I was going to go to Bar Ilan University for college. I would make aliyah, and if she wanted to see me, she would need to come and visit me in Israel. Clearly, at a young age the importance of living in Israel was instilled in me.
While looking into schools in Israel for my year of study after high school, I wanted a school where learning to speak Hebrew was a priority. Throughout my formal education, I did not receive a proper Hebrew language education, and wanted a way to converse with my Israeli relatives (of which there are many) without miming. Orot was the perfect choice. It was a small school, in an out of the way area similar to where I grew up. I loved Orot so much, and learned so much while I was there, that I chose to spend another half year there.
I must insert here that I was already going out with the man who would become my husband in high school. At the beginning of my second year, I had a conversation with my father that I still remember like it was yesterday. He said I needed to make a choice, and only I could make it. To stay in Israel or return to the United States. So I did what any girl in love would do, I turned to my then boyfriend. He and I discussed our future at length, in terms of where we wanted to live and raise our family. The answer from both of us was here in Israel.
So the choice was simple. I left Israel to return to the States for college, with the agreement from my boyfriend/soon to be husband, that we would finish our degrees, and then move to Israel.
Many things happened along the way, one of them not being Aliyah, as we had originally intended. Knowing that our Aliyah would not happen for a few years, we bought an apartment, sold it and bought a house, with the intent of selling it when we moved. We also started our family.
So what helped us along? A few things. First, really good friends of ours, who we intended on moving with, moved; and we were still in America. Second, when we named our kids, they were given Israeli names, so that when we moved, they would not feel completely out of place.
When my second daughter was born, we gave her the name Idit. My little sister asked if we realized what would happen to her name if an “o” was added in. My mother immediately responded that we would be living in Israel before that became an issue.
We moved right as children in her class were starting to read in Pre-K.
A year before we moved, I came on a pilot trip with my 2 kids for 6 weeks. I, as a Hebrew first grade teacher (thank you Orot) had the summer to spend traveling throughout Israel, looking for a community to move to. So the 3 of us embarked on a great adventure to find where we wanted to live.
My husband and I came up with a list of what was important to us, and our family, and what we were looking for. Nothing outlandish, in my opinion, just what mattered to us. We wanted something small, but near a city. Bare minimum 90% Hebrew speaking community (we wanted and still want our kids to speak Hebrew outside the house at all times, or as much as possible). We wanted a cohesive community, 1 Beit Knesset, 1 Rav, a school in the community, an open mind to practice the religion in your own way (head covered/not covered, pants/skirts, length of sleeve), a “winter” of some sort, and if possible, someone we know from before to help make the transition easier.
Thanks to a very good friend, we came upon Moreshet (near Karmiel, in the lower Galil) which had everything we were looking for.
Moving to Moreshet has been the best decision we could have made. My older kids are fluent in Hebrew. Those who know both English and Hebrew, ask Idit to show off her Hebrew as they love her “raish”. We have found a community in the true sense of the word. Everyone looks out for each other, and we all help each other out.
While on Shabbat Klita here, and after we moved, everyone would ask me where I learned to speak Hebrew so well, that I sound like an Israeli. Some had no idea I am American, born and bred. My answer is always the same. I spent a year and half in Michlelet Orot in Elkana, where I learned to speak Hebrew. I often think about our “little school on a hill” and how much fun I had there, the friends that I made, the bonds that have lasted over a decade, and will for many more to come.
I look forward to taking a trip with my family to Orot to show my kids where I spent my time learning Hebrew and forging friendships that remain with me to this day. Without the help of Orot, I would not have had the opportunity I had in America, teaching Hebrew to children. I was able to do what I love, teaching children a love for both the language and the country. At the end of the day, one thing is important above all, and of this I know Orot is proud when I say, I AM HOME.
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