I left Miami in September and made Aliyah with my family.
In Hebrew, Aliyah means to go up. Our sages say that by coming here to the land of Israel, our souls are elevated—a process of bringing to the top and skimming off all the stuff that’s unneeded.
We gave up many things physically when leaving the U.S. Each day I recall some item that I miss but realize I don’t need. Of course there’s the more profound longing — like for my mother and daughter who remain outside the land.
But I have to always remember my ‘why’.
We are souls in bodies here on this earth. We have a purpose, and it’s both a privilege and a responsibility to be a Jew. I didn’t know what that meant until I started digging 16 years ago.
My husband and I grew up in the same neighborhood, enveloped in American culture and society. It’s all we knew, all our parents and grandparents knew.
But something within me stirred. There’s more, I kept saying. And then I discovered Torah and how the spirituality I craved from eastern cultures and religions was rooted in my own. And I spent everyday since uncovering my legacy as a Jewish mother.
Who am I? What is my super power? What does my Creator want from me?
This photo was taken yesterday at a restaurant in Carmel Beach, a part of Haifa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The majestic Mount Carmel and Cave of Eliyahu the prophet loomed behind us. This was similar to the many Florida sunsets we’ve seen. But yet so different.
I have learned that the Jews are the only people in the history of humanity to return to our homeland. Why? Because ours is a mission interwoven with prophecy and the purpose of Creation.
My husband and I have spent hours, weeks, months and years pouring over sacred texts and learning with teachers who are connected to the chain going back thousand of years.
Millennia ago we became a people with a purpose leading to the ultimate finale, a new beginning. No matter how far I may stray, He waits and welcomes me back to my role.
Thank you, Hashem, for listening to me, for never leaving me, even in my darkest moments when you seem so far.
After so many years and generations of pain and wandering, for me personally and as a part of my people, it’s all making sense now. All the prophets, the sages, the stories, it’s all coming to fruition.
Thank you, Hashem, for bringing my family and I home to the Promised Land.
Thank you, Hashem, for giving me eyes that see and ears that hear, and a soul that ached enough to search and find my purpose here.
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Sojourn in this Land and I will be with you and bless you. Bereishit (26:3)
Mindy Morasha 