Israel’s ancient heritage and holy sites awaken the spiritual feelings of people belonging to all faiths. Every Oleh can always point to the moments when they experienced that strong connection to the land and its people.
Here is the incredible story shared with us by Shelli and her husband Samuel.
My husband and I were raised in an observant home and have strived to continue passing that tradition over to our 5 children.
At the time our oldest son Eli was serving in the US Marines, and the second oldest Isaac was serving in the IDF. They followed in the footsteps of my maternal grandfather who fought in WWII, and brought honor to my husband’s paternal and maternal grandparents who suffered greatly in the concentration camps.
The land of Israel is so central to the Jewish religion and our hearts ached every day to return to our ancestral land. Easier said than done, as we were deeply rooted in the Chicago Jewish community. We founded and were running the Hatzalah volunteer emergency medical service. Our 3rd son Meir was in high school with all his friends, and our 5th son required extra attention and services as he was born with 3 heart defects and Down Syndrome.
Despite all of this our yearning to move to the holy land did not cease, in fact, it only grew stronger. Our oldest children already chose their paths, and with our other younger children we were at a juncture in our lives that it was now or never.
Our gut told us now.
‘’A big hurdle for us was the major financial burden such a move would take. We trusted in G-D and he sent us Operation Exodus USA.’’
Operation Exodus USA is a Christian organization that exists to assist the Jewish people immigrating to Israel.
They are affiliated with Ebenezer Emergency Fund International, a ministry started in the United Kingdom in 1991 by Gustav Scheller.
From the day we stepped off the plane at Ben Gurion Airport we never looked back with regret.
We are now living in the beautiful North where we just witnessed the end of a 5 year drought with beautiful plentiful rains.
My son Eli is a Sergeant in the Marines and gets out in August.
Isaac finished his IDF military service, works at a winery as part of an IDF after army work program and will be attending IDC Herzliya University for international financial law.
Meier is studying in Ulpan and will be attending university soon.
Our 8 year old Yossi has fully been integrated into Israeli society with the language and is loving school and playing with his friends.
The special needs guy is getting everything he needs provided for him by the state.
Both my husband and I are working, making friends and thanking G-D every day to have the privilege to live here.
Operation Exodus USA is a Christian organization that exists to assist the Jewish people immigrating to Israel. They are affiliated with Ebenezer Emergency Fund International, a ministry started in the United Kingdom in 1991 by Gustav Scheller. In 2018 Operation Exodus USA Aliyah had assisted 805 individuals and families in making their dreams come true
To learn more about Operation Exodus USA, visit their website at www.AliyahUsa.com or ask your Jewish Agency Shliach