Making aliyah
West Hartford woman joins others in making history

By Judie Jacobson
August 9, 2006
http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2006/08/09/news/news03.txt

WEST HARTFORD - during the course of this summer, seven 
specially chartered planes will take off from the United States, 
Canada and the United Kingdom and head for the State of Israel.

When the flights have all landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, 
and their full loads of passengers have disembarked, history will 
have been made. A total of 2,100 “olim” (new immigrants to Israel) 
will have arrived in Israel over the course of the summer - marking 
the largest period of “aliyah” (immigration to Israel) from the west 
in the history of the Jewish state.

And Talya Adler will be one of the history-makers.

“I always felt that Israel was my home, and I knew from the time 
I was in ninth or 10th grade that I wanted to live there,” says the 
20-year-old Adler, who is the daughter of Rabbi Yitzchok and 
Leslie Adler of West Hartford. Rabbi Adler is spiritual leader of 
Beth David Synagogue in West Hartford.

A graduate of the Bess and Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy in 
Bloomfield and graduate of the Hebrew High School of New England 
in West Hartford, Talya Adler had deferred entrance into Yeshivah 
University’s Stern College in the fall of 2004, in order to study for 
one year at a Jerusalem seminary.

When that year ended, Adler still couldn’t bring herself to leave. 
Instead, she signed up for a year of “Sherut Leumi” - a national 
service program for Orthodox girls that serves as an alternative 
to military service. She spent her year - ironically - working for 
Nefesh B’Nefesh, a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating 
aliyah from North America and the United Kingdom. At Nefesh 
B-Nefesh - the same organization responsible for chartering this 
summer’s seven aliyah flights - Adler’s main responsibility was 
to help new immigrants find employment.  
 
A slow and deliberate decision

As her year of national service came to a close, Adler confronted 
the notion of returning to the states.

“When I started out, I thought I would go (to Israel) for one year 
and then I then come back and go to college, just like everyone 
else does,” explains Adler, who spoke with the Ledger from her 
parents home in West Hartford, where she was visiting for 
two weeks.

“But then I realized that I just couldn’t leave, so I thought I’d buy 
extra time and do national service. But, once again, I couldn’t 
see leaving. So, I decided to see if I could make this work. 
Now, I’ll be making aliyah and attending Bar Ilan University in 
Ramat Gan in the fall.”

As a new immigrant, Adler says, her tuition will be fully paid.

How do her parents feel about her decision to make aliyah?

“Well, it wasn’t sudden…it was a gradual process that took close 
to two years. So, they knew it was coming, and they had a long 
time to get used to it,” she laughs. “Of course, they’re very proud 
of me.”

Now more than ever

As she prepared for her flight on Aug. 9, Adler reflected on what 
it means to be making aliyah at such a tumultuous time.

“War is always scary, and so, everyone is somewhat nervous. 
But I’m not afraid to be going. If anything, the current situation 
has strengthened my resolve because I know that at this moment 
Israel needs everyone. You can show a lot of support from 
America, but there’s nothing like coming to live in Israel. 
It says ‘I’m with you.’ And, I’m not with you from the other side 
of the ocean - I’m really a part of it.”

Adler also says that it is reassuring to have friends from home 
living in Israel. Michael and David Rosenblitt of West Hartford, 
for example, who were elementary and high school classmates 
of Adler’s, are now serving in the Israel Defense Forces - as is 
their older brother, Jesse. And Ayal Kellman, who also hails 
from West Hartford and is a graduate of the Hebrew High School, 
also made aliyah and recently completed his IDF service.

Aliyah hits record high

Since its founding five years ago, Nefesh B’Nefesh has had one 
single-minded goal: to help strengthen the State of Israel by 
revitalizing North American aliyah and increasing the number of 
olim. To accomplish that, the organization, working hand-in-hand 
with the Jewish Agency for Israel, has focused its energies on 
removing the financial, professional and logistical obstacles that 
prevent many from making the move.

The proof of the organization’s success is in the numbers: 
In 2002, Israel reported 500 newcomers from North America. 
In 2005, 3,000 arrived. By the close of 2006, the projected number 
of North American olim is 3,500.

In 2006, Nefesh B’Nefesh extended its reach to assist in boosting 
aliyah from the United Kingdom. In fact, one of the seven Nefesh 
B’Nefesh flights arriving in Israel this summer will depart from 
the United Kingdom. When it takes off, it will be the first specially 
chartered aliyah flight in British Jewish history.