By Emily Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief
“There is no one right way to make aliyah.” When speaking with the YU Observer, Chevy Charlap (SCW ‘23), a Yeshiva University alumna who moved to Israel almost two years ago, emphasized this sentiment.
She was not the only one. The YU Observer interviewed four YU alumni who made aliyah to get their insight on the challenges and meaningful parts of the process. While all the interviewees live in the exact same place (Baka, of course), each emphasized that everyone’s aliyah process is unique. “Just because your journey and your decisions look different than the person next to you doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong,” Charlap said.
It’s Not Enough to Help from Afar
From the time the war broke out in Israel, aliyah was constantly on Sela Ratner’s (SCW ‘24) mind. She was “proud” to attend the assemblies YU held, but at the same time, felt she could be doing more. Each initiative and ceremony that she was a part of was “beautiful,” she said, “but it wasn’t enough for me to do all these things from afar.”
Ratner made aliyah in October 2024 and is learning in an online interior design school. “I felt like I was reaching my true potential by being here,” she said.
Gila Kalman (SCW ‘24) made aliyah in February 2024 and works as a keeper at the Israel Aquarium in Jerusalem. Never having been to Israel before her year in seminary, Kalman did not feel any connection to the country. When her seminary went on a trip to the Golan Heights, she fell in love with the land, and slowly she turned her idea of making aliyah into a plan.
‘Every Step You Take is a Mitzvah’
By living in Israel, Ratner believes that she is putting down roots in the place where the Jewish people are meant to be. “In this day and age, with everything that’s going on in college campuses and everything that’s going on in Europe and all the antisemitism, for me it was such a no-brainer: Why wouldn’t I raise my kids surrounded by Jews and in our homeland?” she said. “It would be such a shame if I always wanted to do this and never got to do it.”
Israel is the future of what Judaism will look like, according to Ratner. “We have so many people who are fighting for the Jewish people every single day, the least that I can do is be here and help be a part of the land that they’re fighting for.”
As someone pursuing a career in interior design, it was meaningful for her to see how designers have helped rebuild communities in the north and south, and have made the houses of injured soldiers more accessible. In this way, her job “takes on a whole new meaning.”
When asked about her connection to Israel, Kalman responded, “What’s no to love?” She added, “ Israelis, as crazy as they are, have their priorities straight because of everything they have to deal with.”
Kalman highlighted the beautiful culture in Israel, where everyone is family. “ Everybody knows, at the end of the day, you’re welcome to my house for Shabbat,” she said. “If there’s a siren, come to my miklat (bomb shelter).”
“Nobody’s ever holding in what they’re thinking or they’re feeling, they’re just gonna say it, because life’s too short.”
Kalman noted that Jews have been violently expelled from every country they have lived in. “Even if we are okay sort of right now, we won’t always be,” she said of Jewish life in America. “I know it’s difficult and it’s not so easily said and not everyone can pick up their lives and move to Israel,” she added, “but everyone should have a plan to go to Israel if they need to.”
“Israel at the end of the day, and Hashem at the end of the day, that’s really all we have,” she continued. “We may think we have America, but we don’t.”
For Charlap, spending the Jewish holidays in Israel is extremely special; when she walks to the Kotel on the shalosh regalim (three pilgrimage festivals), she feels as though she is walking in the place Jews have walked for thousands of years. “Every step you take is a mitzvah,” she said.
Charlap loves living in a country that is run by Jews, for Jews. “My neshama just feels so at home here. It feels like it belongs,” she added. “It feels like this is what life was meant to be.”
Adjusting to the Move
Making aliyah doesn’t come easy, though. Charlap’s main concerns when moving to Israel included things like integrating into Israeli culture and maintaining financial stability. Yet, the hardest part of making aliyah for Charlap was not the process itself, but rather, being far away from her family and friends once she moved. “ Watching my nieces and nephews grow up over WhatsApp group chats has been really, really difficult,” she said.
Getting used to the culture, dynamics and language barrier in Israel was also hard for Charlap. “Adjusting and adapting to a whole new way of life, even small things, like fruits and vegetables here need a hechsher, is a huge shift in mindset,” she said.
Kalman also noted the importance of making sure one has a community once they move to Israel. “ Aliyah is one of the loneliest, most isolating things you can ever do,” she said. “Doing it without a community I would say probably is nearly impossible.”
Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork
Ezra Emerson (SSSB ‘23) made aliyah in September 2024 and is thankful that he and his wife started the process early, as he was not expecting to have to take many long trips to get his documents processed. “There was always surprises that were thrown at us, but we managed them really well,” he said. “ Sometimes it was very stressful, but sometimes it was very simple and very like ‘follow the instructions.’”
Charlap only got her visa the Friday before she was meant to make aliyah, a process that took her six months. Ratner started her aliyah process three months before she moved to Israel and ran into problems with her background check which delayed her being able to get her visa and book her flight. She got her visa a week before she made aliyah and because of this incident, was not able to get on a fully free aliyah flight.
When she got to Israel, Ratner described the grueling process of setting up her various accounts, and to get herself through these challenges, she had to “laugh through them.” Kalman also said one of the hardest logistical parts of moving to Israel was getting her medicine.
Ask for Advice
Charlap emphasized that students who want to make aliyah should have a plan, both financially and socially, and should ask all the questions they have. If she could have done things differently, Charlap would have immersed herself in Israeli culture more from the start and forced herself to use Hebrew in her day-to-day to prepare.
“ Make that plan and also be ready for that plan to totally blow up in your face,” she said. “ As much as it’s a mitzvah to make aliyah, it’s not a mitzvah to be unhappy or to be miserable.”
Emerson would advise students who want to make aliyah to start the process early. “Even just by opening the application, the more time you will have to deal with the documents,” he said. “I didn’t expect how taking a year plus to start the aliyah process was actually necessary.”
While Ratner emphasized that each person should make aliyah in their own time, she also said, “Someone who feels that strongly about it and is just right over the cusp, I would say just do it.” She added, “It’ll be with its challenges, but it’ll be an amazing experience and one that you definitely won’t regret.”
Kalman described that when people make aliyah, they must seek out help for themselves. “ You should come in expecting that anything and anything could go wrong because nothing’s clear and nothing’s straight forward.”
‘It was Worth Fighting For’
When people make aliyah, they do not internalize how hard it is until they actually do it, Kalman said. “It’s an uphill battle,” she added. “ Do it because you really, really want it.”
“As much as I say every Jew should live here, don’t do it because you’re being pressured by external sources, because if you do that, you won’t make it.” Still, every single day, something impactful happens to Kalman. “I couldn’t envision living or being anywhere else,” she said.
Even amidst all the struggles, making aliyah was worth it for Charlap. “Knowing that this was something I really wanted, it was worth fighting for,” she said. “ It was worth the stress and the hassle and the headache and the confusion. It was worth every minute of it because now I get to live out my dream of being in Israel.”
Charlap has found meaning in making aliyah because she has brought a whole new generation back to Israel, and sees herself as part of the bigger picture of the Jewish people. “You feel connected to Hashem and to the Jewish people and to the genuineness of the Jewish religion in a way that I don’t think is possible really outside of Israel,” she said. “Everyone here fights like family, loves like family, treats each other like family, because we are. This is where the Jewish people are meant to be.”
Emerson echoed her sentiments. “This is my new home,” he said. “At the end of the day, you live in Israel, it’s a bracha to be able to have this place as our home.”
Even amidst the hardships, Ratner said that each person’s aliyah process will work out. “There’s so many people who have done it before you, there’s so many people who will do it after you,” she said. “When it gets hard or frustrating or overwhelming, just take a minute to be proud of yourself and fully recognize what a big, brave thing you’re doing.”