from Birthright to Aliyah?
Hi, folks:
My son went to Israel for Birthright this summer and had a transformational experience, which is wonderful. Now he's researching Aliyah, which makes his non-Jewish mom proud - but nervous! He is 26 which is past the age of mandatory military service, which would have been a deal-breaker. Does anyone have experience with this situation, someone to talk to who has some wisdom or caution to share? My son lost his father, then was pretty much abandoned by his father's family over inheritance issues. His rabbi & mentors/teachers from his Napa temple have both passed away, and I have no affiliation with a temple here in Oakland as a non-Jew. Any ideas?
Jul 20, 2017
Parent Replies
Hi there,
The rabbi at our synagogue is very young and sweet, great with young adults. This weekend he actually just had a lunch with all of our college-age students about their experiences in Israel, and he could direct you to other families with lots of information about programs and options. His name is Rabbi Albert and you could email him at rabbialbert [at] bethjacoboakland.org. Good luck!
Tamara
That's a lot of loss! You both might want to check out some fabulous Jewish organizations in the area (in no particular order) : Urban Adamah (urban farming and food justice w/Jewish principles/values.) There are a lot of engaged young people and bon fires and music and a 3-month internship for young adults. 2. Chochmat HaLev - Jewish renewal congregation in South Berkeley. Also lots of music. Spiritual leader there, Jhos Singer, has spent a good deal of time in Israel. 3. Kehilah Community Synagogue near Grand Lake - also a wonderful welcoming community with a focus on social justice. 4. Wilderness Torah - wonderful organization that holds celebrations of major Jewish holidays in correlative natural settings (e.g. Passover in the desert; Sukkot on a farm, etc.) 4. Torah of Awakening - roughly monthly Shabbat celebrations with fabulous music and spiritual connection. Spiritual leader Brian Yosef might be a good person for your son to talk with. Another resource is Rabbi SaraLeya Schley. She is a warm knowledgeable rabbi with a lot of experience in Israel. Google these organizations and see what looks interesting. Everyone will welcome BOTH of you and give no thought to you not being Jewish.
On a personal note, I hope your son stays here, closer to you. Best of luck!
Call your local temple and make an appointment to see the Rabbi. He/she should be thrilled to meet you and your son and discuss these issues with you. It will also be good for your son to have a temple close to home to go to. In my experience, rabbis are happy to make time for people genuinely interested in the religion. I also have a non-Jewish mother and was exploring doing a formal conversion for a while.
Hi,
Please check out this link for the Israeli House, where you can make contact with the person in charge. Even though most of this link is in Hebrew there is info in English which you can chose. They could help you with questions and information regarding Aliya and military service.
http://embassies.gov.il/san-francisco/Departments/Pages/Israeli-house.a…
Good luck!
Eva
I like Chochmat Halev in Berkeley. Maybe you could call them and ask for some info/guidance or connect your son with them. Theya re very open minded and I think they wold be generous with their time.
Hi there. It was wonderful that your son would like to make Aliyah and that he must have been very inspired by his Birthright trip. I applaud you that you are supportive of your son even though you are not Jewish yourself. I gather from your post that your son was raised Jewish, his father was Jewish and that you are not. The reason I am saying all this is because Israel has concepts of who is Jewish that is much more adherent to traditional Orthodox Judaism than liberal Reform Judaism and this does influence ease of attaining Israeli citizenship even if you were raised Jewish. While I am not an expert in the process of Aliyah, I know that there is controversy over this debate. I hope you have checked into this angle before you get started. Perhaps, if you haven't already, you can start with the Israel Consulate in San Francisco. Wishing you and your son the best in this process.
I think any Rabbi or Cantor in Oakland would be happy to discuss this with him and with you! Call around. Temple Sinai, Beth Abraham come to mind. Also, how about suggesting he spend more than 10 days there before making Aliyah! Check out internships, gap year programs, etc to find something for his age group. My daughter spent a semester of high school in Israel and came home talking about going to college there. Or a gap year. I suggest you Start googling. We looked at a program for our 18 yr old called Aardvark. I'm sure there's some for older kids. Up until last week the gap year option was still on the table but now she's going to start her freshman year of college and talking about spening her junior year of college in Israel! Israel is a magical, warm, exciting place and has that effect on people. We visited our daughter there and play around with retiring there. Talk to a rabbi or cantor and tell him to slow down.