Aliyah, the Emuna Way

My family’s journey to make Aliyah is a story of amazing Hashagata Pratis (Divine Intervention) that we have been privileged to have witnessed firsthand.
 
My husband Tuvia and I first had the desire to make Aliyah 8 years ago, but back then things were very different.  We were not blessed to have much of a connection to our Judaism and had not yet learned about Emuna.  We were basically looking at the world without spiritual lenses.
 
My priorities back then were so different to now.  The most important requirements on my list for Aliyah were the following:

1. Fantastic shops and malls
2. A modern and luxurious house
3. Country Club swimming pool

Hashem in his infinite wisdom did not grant us the privilege to make Aliyah back then and we would have to wait for another 8 years till our prayers would be granted.  My husband had a well-established family business started by his father in 1950, which we were trying to sell, in order to free us up.  However we were not able to sell it which left us with the option of him commuting back and forth from the UK to Israel, like so many others choose to do.  We made the decision that it would not be healthy for our marriage and family life.
 
They say that hindsight is “golden” and looking back I can see now why Hashem was blocking us.  We needed to do a huge amount of spiritual work on ourselves and were not yet worthy of being in Eretz Yisrael.  Hashem helped us on our spiritual journey in a big way, by putting the Garden of Emuna into our hands.  This book has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has profoundly changed many peoples’ lives. We then started to listen to Rav Brody’s amazing CD lessons and reading all of Rav Arush’s other books, which had a massive impact on my husband and me.
 
We continued to try and move to Israel over the course of the years, but the door was still blocked and so we plodded along in our comfortable routine in the UK.
 
Forward 8 years and Hashem initiated a sequence of events that would open the doors for our Aliyah.  My husband’s family business suddenly went into Liquidation.  This was a challenging time and I am not sure how well I would have coped if it had not been for my connection to Tzaddikim like Rav Arush and Rav Brody.  Thankfully with the knowledge of their wonderful teachings, I was able to look at events happening in my life with spiritual eyes.  Instead of telling myself that life was finished and this was the worst thing that could happen to us, I asked myself what hidden message Hashem was trying to convey to us.
 
After a lot of hitbodedut (personal prayer, a tool that has been life changing and I don’t know how I would manage without it), I came to the realization that Hashem was showing us that there wasn’t much future left in the UK for us and maybe now was the time to make Aliyah.  However, I still doubted this and so Hashem now sent us even louder messages.
 
One morning out of the blue, we received a call from a Real Estate agent who asked if we would be prepared to show our house to a couple who were looking to buy.  I thought to myself why not, let them have a look and see what happens.  The next morning this couple had put on an offer on our house (the one that we were not looking to sell!) 
 
Unbelievably, even with these very clear messages from Hashem, I was still doubtful and after a gut-wrenching week of having to make a decision, I told the couple that we were not willing to sell our house.  I guess this boiled down to a lack of emuna and trust; I was also allowing other people’s negative stories and opinions to influence my thoughts.  A tip I would like to suggest is, try not to seek too many people’s opinions on Aliyah. Instead try and speak to Hashem in your words and you will eventually get the answers you need.
 
A month later we very privileged to be able to go to Israel for Pesach and to visit the town of Ramat Bet Shemesh, which I could visualize myself and my family living in.  I knew deep down that I had made a huge mistake by not going ahead and selling our house to the mysterious purchasers.  I was gutted that Hashem had offered us so much help and had spoken so loudly, but I had refused to trust Him. He had taken away our business, my 15 year old son was not flourishing in the UK and as well as this, Hashem had sent a mysterious couple out of the blue to buy our house, and they were genuine cash buyers. How many more signs did I need from Him?
 
 I decided to do a long hitbodedut session in which I apologized to Hashem for ignoring His help and begged Him to give me another chance.  I then shared with my husband my deep regrets and said I would phone the Real Estate agent just to check what was happening with the couple.  The Real Estate Agent was amazed that I had phoned, and he informed me that the other house that the couple had found had just fallen through! I couldn’t believe Hashem’s kindness and that He was actually giving me another chance even though I had ignored Him. I must say this really enforced my emuna and bitachon (trust).   We were now back in business and, as an additional kindness from Hashem, the buyers offered us even more money to secure the deal!
 
Rav Arush says that it is detrimental to receive things without prayer. Thank G-d, I can comprehend now  what this means.  I am almost sure that if we had moved eight years previously when our goals had been so shallow and materialistic, we would not have appreciated the miracle of being able to live in Eretz Yisrael and would not have felt so blessed by Hashem.
 
I am still in awe that we have finally made it to Eretz Yisrael and feel immensely grateful to be here. It feels like we have finally arrived home. Hashem orchestrated the events for our Aliyah in such an incredible way.
 
Please don’t misunderstand; it has not been easy coming here. Since arriving here we have experienced some very challenging tests.
 
We moved our kids at a difficult age. My son is 15 and my daughter 11. My son is struggling with the new environment and 5 months later  we have not yet found a school that is right for him.  My daughter is also finding it challenging having to learn a new language and sit in a class where she is unable to comprehend what is being taught.  In addition to this, my husband had a terrible bike accident which left him unconscious with a broken jaw, eye socket, and facial bones. With Hashem’s grace, he has made a miraculous recovery and is now feeling better than ever.  Because he broke his jaw and was only allowed to consume fresh fruit and veg smoothies for six weeks, his energy levels rocketed and as a result he is now so much fitter and more health-conscious than he has ever been.  This is a good example that everything that Hashem is does is for the very best and there are hidden blessings in everything. Sometimes we cannot see this. 
 
Despite all of our challenges, I still feel we have done the right thing and I am confident that with enough prayer, Hashem will help us through.
 
 I would not go back to the UK if you paid me.  I feel closer than ever to Hashem since living here.  I am privileged to be living in a great Torah environment with fantastic shiurim.  We are able to go to Jerusalem whenever we like and also visit the grave sites of many great Tzaddikim.  We can go for walks in the beautiful stunning hills of Jerusalem.  The community I live in comes into itself on Shabbat.  There is unique and special atmosphere on this Holy Day, which you cannot experience outside of Israel.
 
We don’t feel threatened with the ever-growing antisemitism that is unfortunately spreading daily throughout the Diaspora.  Yes I can hear you say, what about Hamas and our many other enemies that we in in our tiny country are surrounded by?  I feel safe here, I know that Hashem is watching over His people and has His eyes on this special land 24×7. “The land where the eyes of the Lord our G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year till the end” (Devarim 11:12) – Thank You so much Hashem for blessing my family and me to finally be here!