We recently made Aliyah from Florida with our children, and then the war started.
During the first couple sirens, having to run with my kids to find a shelter, it was a real test of strength and faith.
My father booked us a U.S. Embassy flight to Athens–as our families in America tried to convince us not to return to Israel. For a month we stayed b’chutz, outside the land, in Greece.
And then it was our teenagers who said they wanted to go home. Not to the U.S., which had been our temporary home for three generations, but to Israel. They returned with my husband, reunited with friends, and resumed their new lives in the Holy Land.
But I wasn’t ready and stayed behind with our youngest son, who was also still traumatized. Seeing the Greek Acropolis lit up from the balcony there was a dream for most tourists.
But for me, seeing it everyday became a reminder that I was a stranger in a strange land.
After six weeks away, I longed to see the Kotel (Western Wall) instead of the Parthenon!
Despite the nagging fear and uncertainty, I needed to be home in my land with my people. My soul ached.
And so we are back here now. We have rented a small apartment in Zichron Yaakov with a shelter downstairs.
My youngest son has started in a school here that has more Olim, and he is making friends. Our family is recreating a life here in the Promised Land, one day at a time.
I am in therapy and paint everyday. It helps me heal. I also paint with our children, including our teenagers, as well as other people in Israel.
While our brave soldiers defend and protect us with guns and tanks, I see how paint and prayers are a powerful way to empower moms and children, to heal trauma, and bring families together.
As a Jewish woman, I still feel a lot of pain from our current situation, as well as the carried pain of previous generations.
I was let go from my job when the war started and have not yet started to bring in an income again.
I’ve recently opened MINDY’S STUDIO, offering programs in Art, English and Writing for children and adults, as well as Branding for mission-driven women.
With love and blessings from Israel,
Mindy Rubenstein
Creative Director
MINDY’S STUDIO
http://www.M613.org
Mindy Morasha 