Please don't tell me I'm noble. I'm not.
Please don't ask me how we're able to do it. Truth is, we are able to because we want to.
Please don't tell me you're jealous. There's nothing to be jealous of.
Lastly, please don't think or tell us that we're special. We're anything but. And frankly, we don't want to be, even though we are on the cusp of our Aliyah (which we hope will take place in December). Our real dream is just to be part of the crowd, the overwhelming crowd we hope to some day hear about. The crowd of Jews around the world deciding once and for all that Israel is their home.
So, why am I being such a jerk? Why am I writing these "fightin' words?"
I'll tell you why. Because I'm frustrated. I want all of you to feel the same way I do. I want all of you to see what I see, to strive for what I strive for. And I want you to realize that it is possible. That yes, if you will it, it is no dream.
But first, let me explain. The first time I went to Israel, I was 26. Married with a four-month-old son, my wife and I went to Israel with her parents. The day we got there, my father-in-law and I were walking to Machaneh Yehuda, and he said to me, "Glenn, isn't it so nice to be walking in a country that is your home?"
I said, "It's nice here, but the United States is my home."
I didn't want to make Aliyah - not in the least. I mean, I cared about Israel, but the thought of Aliyah was not on the radar screen.
Then, three years ago, I went on a "mission" with Rabbi Moshe Hauer to Israel. And I didn't know it when I signed up, but unlike many missions that are designed to feel like vacations, this one had a goal. The goal was to help us understand what our relationship with Eretz Yisrael is supposed to be.
It changed my life. And from then on, I've wanted - no, needed - to make Aliyah. It was simple. One trip. A week long. The correct focus. And my life hasn't been the same since.
You know why? Because my wife and I made a decision that we would never be satisfied living outside Israel. That was the first step - feeling the discomfort of not being there. Then, three years ago, we decided on a specific goal. Get to Israel within five years.
I used to work for a company called beenz.com. Don't even bother looking it up on the Net. It's gone. But the point is, we had a saying at beenz: "Don't blame the person, blame the process." You see, if something went wrong, we knew it was a problem with the process we put in place. Conversely, if a process is put in place, and it gets you the result you want, it doesn't matter who's going through that process; it should work.
So that's what we did. We created a process. And now, we're going through the process. So you see, it doesn't really matter that it's us. It could be anyone going through this process.
And that's why I don't want to hear that we're noble. Nor that we're special.
You know what I want to hear? You know the comment I'd love to hear someone say, that I haven't heard anyone tell me yet?
"Say, Glenn. I'd love to understand how you've put everything in place where you are able to take your family on Aliyah."
And I want to hear it from you. Because Israel is such a terrific place.
But you being there would make it even better.
Please don't ask me how we're able to do it. Truth is, we are able to because we want to.
Please don't tell me you're jealous. There's nothing to be jealous of.
Lastly, please don't think or tell us that we're special. We're anything but. And frankly, we don't want to be, even though we are on the cusp of our Aliyah (which we hope will take place in December). Our real dream is just to be part of the crowd, the overwhelming crowd we hope to some day hear about. The crowd of Jews around the world deciding once and for all that Israel is their home.
So, why am I being such a jerk? Why am I writing these "fightin' words?"
I'll tell you why. Because I'm frustrated. I want all of you to feel the same way I do. I want all of you to see what I see, to strive for what I strive for. And I want you to realize that it is possible. That yes, if you will it, it is no dream.
But first, let me explain. The first time I went to Israel, I was 26. Married with a four-month-old son, my wife and I went to Israel with her parents. The day we got there, my father-in-law and I were walking to Machaneh Yehuda, and he said to me, "Glenn, isn't it so nice to be walking in a country that is your home?"
I said, "It's nice here, but the United States is my home."
I didn't want to make Aliyah - not in the least. I mean, I cared about Israel, but the thought of Aliyah was not on the radar screen.
Then, three years ago, I went on a "mission" with Rabbi Moshe Hauer to Israel. And I didn't know it when I signed up, but unlike many missions that are designed to feel like vacations, this one had a goal. The goal was to help us understand what our relationship with Eretz Yisrael is supposed to be.
It changed my life. And from then on, I've wanted - no, needed - to make Aliyah. It was simple. One trip. A week long. The correct focus. And my life hasn't been the same since.
You know why? Because my wife and I made a decision that we would never be satisfied living outside Israel. That was the first step - feeling the discomfort of not being there. Then, three years ago, we decided on a specific goal. Get to Israel within five years.
I used to work for a company called beenz.com. Don't even bother looking it up on the Net. It's gone. But the point is, we had a saying at beenz: "Don't blame the person, blame the process." You see, if something went wrong, we knew it was a problem with the process we put in place. Conversely, if a process is put in place, and it gets you the result you want, it doesn't matter who's going through that process; it should work.
So that's what we did. We created a process. And now, we're going through the process. So you see, it doesn't really matter that it's us. It could be anyone going through this process.
And that's why I don't want to hear that we're noble. Nor that we're special.
You know what I want to hear? You know the comment I'd love to hear someone say, that I haven't heard anyone tell me yet?
"Say, Glenn. I'd love to understand how you've put everything in place where you are able to take your family on Aliyah."
And I want to hear it from you. Because Israel is such a terrific place.
But you being there would make it even better.