First Year Reality Check

Yom chamishi, 1 Cheshvan 5769.

The Dearly Beloved and I were discussing the topic “What do we miss that we left in the States?”

A thread on the Tachlis chat list had precipitated this discussion, as future olim asked the advice of seasoned veterans about what they should bring to Israel, and what they should leave behind.  Now, at the end of our first full year, we decided to explore the question.

What should we have brought with us?

To tell you the truth, we had to really work our brains on this one.  Apart from what has become a family joke — leaving behind the snow shovels  — we couldn’t think of anything.  (To let you in on the joke:  My husband used to get paid to do snow removal in Baltimore.  He had access to snow shovels, snow blowers, and even small snow plows.  And he made a tidy profit each winter.  “But who needs snow removal equipment in Israel?” he had said.  Then came our first winter atop the 997-meter high yishuv of Neve Daniel.  And there was the Dearly Beloved, clearing our 33 steps with a kitchen dustpan and a sponga squeegee, and cursing himself for his mistake. 

He was so delighted that he found at least a garden shovel by the next snow…  But when we went back to the States for Soldier Boy’s wedding, you can be sure that we packed a big ol’ Home Depot snow shovel into a friend’s lift.)

We don’t mind being normal upon occasion; and we have heard that people do regret stuff that stayed behind.  So I asked again, out loud, “Okay, so what should we have brought that we didn’t bring?”

The Stunt Man, who had been busy “Facebooking” at the laptop nearby, answered, “Dovid.”

We parents broke into laughter.  The Stunt Man won the prize for suggesting the only thing that belonged to us that we truly missed:  his dear brother, the Yeshiva Bochur, who has stayed behind to finish school.

What could make parents happier than a teenager who misses his brother, rather than all of the superficial entertainments deserted in Chutz l’Aretz?