The Night Before

I've been anticipating this very post for months now, constantly thinking about what I would include to sum up everything about living in America and my feelings on the immediately impending emigration to Israel. Now, only hours away from boarding the flight to my new home, the night is finally here. It's my last night living in the United States.

Throughout the duration of this blog, we've discussed a lot about the processes involved in emigrating. The best place for me to begin this post would be explaining exactly why I got involved in the process and why I'm choosing to leave my life in America behind to go serve in an overseas army.

I've been exposed to Zionism for a good portion of my life. I've grown up with an ardently Zionistic brother and I've been educated about the State of Israel and what exactly it means to us as Jewish people. Through visits to and learning about the tiny country in the Middle East that an entire religion calls home, I've come to appreciate it as both the foundation of our history and the safe haven for our people.

While I always held this deep appreciation and admiration for Israel close to my heart, it wasn't until a trip to Poland that I made up my mind about my future and what I needed to do to help insure Israel's: become a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. The sites of the horrors and tragedies the Holocaust created serve as a chilling reminder that evil exists in the world. Unfortunately the Jewish people have faced those evils on more than one occasion throughout history. Now that we have a homeland to call our own, it's imperative that we protect it and defend the Jewish people against any who seek to harm us. It's this very notion that's fueled my desire to pursue this goal and make Aliyah.

It's never easy to leave the comforts of home that have become all too familiar. The routines I've become accustomed to, the college life, for example, will now be replaced with new routines, the army life. The packing is always tedious, the goodbyes always difficult. I'm under no false illusions, a great challenge awaits. I go into it with passion in my heart and a firm belief in a cause. I'm ready to take the challenge.

I've been blessed with a beautiful home, a loving family, an incredible girl, a few best friends as well as many close ones, and the best upbringing I could have ever asked for. I'm turning the pages, closing out an unbelievable chapter in my life. Tomorrow, I'll board an airplane to open the the next one. Tomorrow, I will be realizing my dream.

I'd like to conclude by mentioning how astounding the support pouring in from home and abroad has been. I appreciate it more than I'll ever know how to say!

-Brett