I Believe in Destiny

I Believe in Destiny

In the summer of 1992, I found myself near (the former) Camp Naomi in Raymond, Maine. Driving home from my self-tour of the place that had lived in my dreams for the previous 8 years, I was flooded with memories. Six months later, in February 1993, I planned a camp reunion with a friend (David Krivelow). We photocopied my memories at his office in Cambridge and using my "Hello Kitty" address book, sent the invitation to everyone's parents' house. No RSVP required.

Over 70 people showed up to Matt Garrett's in Brookline, MA and we had an amazing evening reminiscing and telling stories. The next day I left for a 10-day business trip in Israel. I was working in the Jewish community promoting Israel programs to young adults. I had been dreaming about living in Israel since my first trip at age 17 during a 7-week summer tour when I fell in love with the Kibbutz, the people, and the feeling that I was home. The love continued on my Jr semester abroad in Haifa. This trip, I visited with friends and lined up a potential job at the Jewish Agency. I agreed to take over a friends' lease (from Andrea Mail) in Jerusalem. I was leading a high school trip to Israel in the summer and planned not to come home.

A week later, Richie Skoler, a friend from camp that I had reconnected with at the recent reunion, called and said, "Hey, Mike Schnur moved to town. Let's get together!" Mike hadn't been at the reunion, and I was curious to see him. He had been my boyfriend the summer of 1983 and I thought it would be fun to catch up. (His name must be familiar to most of you!) 

When we saw each other at Richie's it was love at first sight for both of us!

Wait, what happened to the job and moving to Israel? 

It was my "sliding door" moment, and I chose Mike and our potential life together and have never looked back. We agreed that we'd try to spend a year or a summer together in Israel with our future children. Eight months later we moved in together and were married in May 1997.

Sometimes life passes you by....

We never found an opportunity to come as a family for longer than a 2-week visit. The next time I came to Israel was 1996 when my boss at Boston University Hillel (Rabbi Polak) thought I needed a boost. There was a lot of turmoil here at the time with busses blowing up and a suicide bombing during Purim in Tel Aviv. I visited with friends who had made aliyah and was envious of their time here.

We had our kids in 1999 and 2002 and I didn't get back to Israel for 13 years when I was selected to be a Fellow with the Nachum Goldmann program in 2009. My beloved country had changed and matured. Now I was more in love with the people, the sights, the sounds, and feeling of being home. I came back and told Mike- it's time to take the kids. Since that family trip in 2012, I have been almost every year and sometimes twice a year, filling my cup and my desire to spend time here.

Even though the year/summer I planned as a family never worked out, my kids are deeply connected to Israel too. They have each been 5+ times and Elizabeth is getting ready to lead a trip for camp this summer.

Due to my involvement with Hadassah and the Jewish community of Boston, in 2018, I was asked to lead a women's trip with Momentum. This led to 3 more opportunities to share my love of Israel with others. On one of the trips, in 2019, I was walking in Tel Aviv with a friend (Linda Roth) and telling her about my plan to "one day start spending more time here" when I realized that "one day" needed to be sooner not later. So, plans were put into motion. Then the pandemic hit, and the plans were moved back.

As soon as allowed, I came back to lead a trip in November 2021, then (Mike and) I brought 16 friends on a couples trip in 2022- a mixed group of Catholics and Jews. We met once a month for 10 months leading up to the trip so we could learn from each other about our travel styles, religious beliefs, and learn about Israel. We ran our own creative Passover seder in an Arab village and went to Bethlehem on Easter Sunday.

Every time I come to Israel; people ask me if I have family here. While I have one older cousin who lives in the south, the truth is that everyone here is my family and that's why I love it so much. When I walk down the street on a Friday night and everyone wishes each other a Shabbat Shalom, I feel like I belong. Every doorway has a mezuzah (holder for the shema, a sacred prayer). The moment I get in line for the plane at Logan airport and hear Hebrew all around me, I'm transported. Suddenly any hesitation I have to speak Hebrew disappears and I become my true Israeli self.

So now I'm writing this from my apartment in Tel Aviv. I'm here for 6 weeks.

Doing what?

A whole lot of nothing...

Just being.

Think of it like a snowbird. Some people go to Florida,

I came to Israel.

Actually, I'm going to do an in person ulpan (intensive Hebrew class), see clients on zoom, and continue my volunteer Hadassah work as the Evolve Israel Travel Chair (working on a brand-new national trip this Fall for women 55 and under).

I've spent my first few days buying things for the apartment and making it feel like home, exploring my neighborhood which is right next to "Shuk HaCarmel", (the open-air market in Tel Aviv), and seeing friends.

Also, I'm going to start writing about "My Faces of Israel" and introduce you to friends and people I meet. I'm always curious about how people came to live here- whether they moved here on their own, with their families, or were born here.

Stay tuned!

xxx