I witnessed one historic moment this week. A good old friend of mine in Moscow made aliya with her husband and their two children! I was honored to accompany their first step in Jerusalem.
I used to think they would be among the last Jews who would leave Russia partly because they have good jobs in Moscow. She surprised me about a month ago by sharing with me their decision to leave Russia for Israel for a number of reasons. I was even more surprised to hear that they had started planning this fateful process several years ago.
I myself am an immigrant to Israel, so I know what it's like to make aliya. But my case may not be so typical. When I officially immigrated here, I was already living here with a stable job and was already fluent in Hebrew. I was also very familiar with native Israeli culture though I've never got used to it until now.
I was impressed first and foremost with their courageous decision. I'm not so sure whether I could take such courage if I were in their place, especially because I love Moscow and even thought of emigrating there from Israel.
What really impressed me while accompanying this historic moment of theirs was how warmly and wholeheartedly so many people we met on the street etc. welcomed and blessed them. Even I, who am rather critical of Israel, especially culturally, was filled with joy and pride of being part of this country.