Myrna Bennett and her husband Jim, zichrono livracha, grew up in San Francisco, and when they decided to make a stop in Israel on their way to spending some time in Europe, the Land made a greater impact on them than they had expected. Fast-forward some 55 years later, and Myrna Bennett finds herself part of a wonderful Haifa community, with three sons, 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, all of whom live in Israel. Oh, and one of those three sons is Israel’s prime minister, Naftali Bennett. Myrna was gracious enough to allow my wife and me into her home, where she truly opened up to us, talking about her story, showing us family photos and an AMAZING diary her father kept, and we were even there for a surprise phone call from Naftali. Well, it was a surprise to us. Myrna wasn’t surprised at all … Israel's prime minister calls his mother everyday to say he loves her. And apparently, she loves him more, at least according to Myrna. One extra note: Myrna's husband Jim passed away in 2015, but it was crystal-clear during the interview that he was an absolute equal partner in the Bennetts' amazing story, and that he lives on in so many ways. I wish I could have met him. - Goel 00:00 - Intro 06:32 - Meeting Jim and Visiting Israel 15:31 - Kibbutz Life 25:19 - Setting Up Shop in Haifa 35:00 - Montreal and Embracing Torah 44:41 - Back to Israel 54:35 - Naftali Calls During the Conversation 1:05:02 - My Son, The Prime Minister 1:16:23 - Rapid-fire Questions
Rav Simcha Hochbaum grew up on Staten Island, in New York. Beginning in the second grade, when he heard about Avraham’s Aliyah in parashat Lech Lecha, he became focused on the idea of returning to the Land of Israel. He and his wife Leah were able to make that happen in 1995, moving to the Hevron, the city of our forefathers and mothers. Parents of six wonderful children, they still live in Hevron, and that’s where I sat with him recently to Return Again to his Aliyah story.
Ari Greenspan grew up the son of a US Army rabbi, and he was sure he’d follow in his father’s footsteps and become a rabbi himself. But when he was standing outside the old Jerusalem train station, he quite literally had an epiphany, and that moment in time set his life on a completely different path, a path that led him to Israel and that has impacted Jews all around the world in many significant ways. Ari is known to some as one half of the “Ari and Ari” team that travels to far-flung Jewish destinations in search of historical nuggets. But he’s also a member of the founding team at Ptil Tekhelet, the organization that reintroduced the mitzva of tekhelet to the Jewish world after it was lost for 1300 years. Just before Rosh Hashana, I sat with Ari in his Efrat home to Return Again to his Aliyah story. 00:00 - Introduction 03:44 - Ari's Paradigm Shift 10:56 - Making Plans 18:16 - Putting Down Roots 24:47 - Can Being a Dentist Make Ends Meet? 33:16 - Children and Family 44:33 - Living Jewish History 54:41 - Discovering the Jewish World 1:06:36 - Rapid-fire Questions
Rabbi Ken Spiro grew up a Reform Jew in New Rochelle, New York. As you’ll hear, his Jewish life in childhood consisted of little more than Hebrew school, Passover Seders and Chanuka presents. At the end of high school, something interesting began to happen. So here we are, decades later, and Rabbi Ken Spiro has not only been living in Israel for close to 40 years, but he’s impacted the lives of Jewish people all around the world through his important work with Aish HaTorah. Also a tour guide – and a podcaster himself - Rav Ken is a proverbial wellspring of information about Jewish and world history, and what it all means for the Jewish people today. I had the opportunity to sit with him recently in his Old City apartment in Jerusalem to Return Again to his Aliyah story. 00:00 - Intro 02:38 - Where It All Began 08:46 - Childhood With Little Jewishness 13:16 - Arrival in Israel 21:11 - Army and Becoming Israeli 28:29 - Evolving Hashkafa 37:37 - Raising Children 56:30 - The Challenge of the Hareidi World 1:04:51 - Israel ... A Work in Progress 1:12:20 - Rapid-fire Questions
Dennis Mitzner is a fascinating guy. Originally from Finland, he’s been involved with Israel and Israel-related issues since he was a teenager in Helsinki. He started spending time in Israel when he worked on a kibbutz – wait until you hear what his job was! – at 19, and then came back here in 2007 to work on his master’s degree at Tel Aviv University. He made Aliyah for good in 2011. Dennis and his wife have two children, 4 and 2, and they live in Tel Aviv. That’s where I sat with him this week to Return Again to his Aliyah story. 00:00 - Intro 04:14 - Finnish Jewry 12:19 - Growing Up in Finland 20:30 - Why Aliyah? 28:21 - Life on a Kibbutz 34:50 - Entering and Leaving the Academia Bubble 44:33 - Finding His Groove ... And His Wife 1:05:26 - Kids and Languages at Home 1:13:29 - What COVID Has Done 1:25:00 - Rapid-fire Questions
Leah Aharoni is founder of the Arev Leadership Institute. She’s also a successful and impactful business consultant for woman-owned and women-focused companies. She and her husband, Goel – YES, GOEL – have seven children, from 5 years of age to 25. Leah grew up in the former Soviet Union until she was 13 (apologies for saying in the pod itself that Leah left Russia at 11), and then moved to the US – Riverdale, NY, specifically, before an amazing turn of events brought on by her boundless curiosity led her to make Aliyah in 1993. Today, Leah, Goel and their family live in the Binyamin town of Kochav Yaakov, and that’s where I sat with her recently to Return Again to her Aliyah story. 00:00 - Intro 02:18 - From Russia to Riverdale 08:30 - Israel Becomes a Goal 16:06 - Leah Meets Her Future Husband - By Chance? 23:12 - Simultaneous Community and Career Journeys 31:37 - The Power of the Jewish Soul 40:06 - The Beautiful Voice Inside Each of Us 45:38 - Israeli (Yemenite!) and American Cultures - Do They Clash In the Home? 52:37 - Rapid-fire Questions
Menachem Herman is a giant in Jewish music. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he grew up in a musical family – presumably with his guitar nearby at all times. Menachem made Aliyah in 1980, landing at the Diaspora Yeshiva, where he began to play with the Diaspora Yeshiva Band. Songs we all know – and maybe even assumed came from much further back than the 70s and 80s – such as Ivdu Et Hashem B’Simcha, Malchutcha and Hu Yiftach – were Menachem’s world – in addition to learning Torah at the Yeshiva. From there, he simply grew to become one of the leading sounds in Chassidic rock music. Throughout the 80s, 90s, 2000s and all the way up to today, Menachem has played all over the world for Jews looking for music that touches the heart and soul. Today, Menachem continues to compose and play his music. Menachem and his wife live in Mitzpe Yericho, a gorgeous community on the edge of the Judean hills overlooking the Judean Desert. 00:00 - Intro 02:03 - Growing Up in Winnipeg 18:28 - On the Right Path 29:33 - Culture Shock 37:04 - Discovering Breslev 47:06 - Getting Back to Music 56:16 - Education in Israel 1:07:15 - Aliyah Advice and Perspective 1:17:56 - Rapid-fire Questions
Avraham Hermon - 22-year Oleh, originally from Allentown, PA, joins Goel to talk about the fascinating journey that has led Hermon to living with his family in Har Bracha, manufacturing his own beer, and running marathons in costume, all for the sake of developing a stronger and stronger relationship with the Land of Israel. 0:00 - Intro and Childhood 6:00 - Arrival in Israel 13:25 - Meeting Rav Kook and Other Impactful Israelis 21:35 - Aliyah Becomes a Done Deal 31:12 - Getting Settled, in Both Life and Career 43:28 - The Decision to Build a Life in Har Bracha 50:40 - A Scary Moment When Avraham and His Wife's Lives Were on the Line 59:30 - Rapid-fire Questions
R' Moshe Lichtman, 30-year Oleh, author of Eretz Yisrael in the Parasha and A Drop in the Ocean, as well as translator of Eim Habanim Semeichah, joins Goel to talk about his Aliyah journey. 01:07 - Where It All Began 15:11 - THE Moment 23:10 - The Plan 30:46 - The Bump in the Road... and New Plan 37:29 - Building a Life in Israel 1:23:49 - Kedem or Israeli Grape Juice? Heinz or Israeli Ketchup?
Rav Simcha Sterzer grew up in Williamsburg – Brooklyn, and was a yeshiva rebbe for more than 40 years. On a visit to Israel in 1992 his life changed forever, thanks to his wife saying, “I could live like this.”The 93-year old Rav Sterzer speaks with inspiring simplicity, and Goel greatly appreciated being able to sit with him in his home recently.
Dr. Deena Wasserman grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a rabbi, but actually, also the great, great granddaughter of another rabbi – quite a famous rabbi.For Deena, Aliyah was always on the radar screen, but the question was: When and How?Layer on top of it the question of making Aliyah as a physician, and the path to returning home was anything but obvious, even if the idea of returning was crystal clear.
Gilla Jasper grew up in southern Connecticut – a town called Stamford, and knew from her earliest days that her father had moved to Israel from Iran in 1958, living there for 5 years before leaving for college in the US.So Israel was central to Gilla’s upbringing, but Aliyah was not. What turned the tide? This is an episode about Goel and his family’s Aliyah, in celebration of their 20th anniversary in Israel.
Eliyokim Cohen grew up a proud Jew, first in Framingham, Massachusetts, and then in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a solid upbringing, but things started to go sideways for Eliyokim in college. Eventually, he found himself with 35 police weapons pointing at him after a 45-minute car chase. Something clearly needed to change. And change it did, as Eliyokim began a journey that led to him sitting with me on his Netanya porch with a view of the Mediterranean Sea, talking about his Aliyah.
Hayim Leiter grew up in Philadelphia. Sure, his family was Zionistic. You know. Loved Israel, rooted for the IDF. But well, let’s just say it wasn’t at the top of the list for him in the same way that surfing was. He surfed off the coast of New Jersey… Rhode Island … California. But along the way, he began a dance with the Land of Israel that led him here permanently, where at least once a week, he makes sure to surf off the coast of Ashdod. It’s a beautiful story about a relationship that grew and grew, and continues to grow.
Chaim Rutenberg grew up in Muncie, New York, a follower of his heart from a very young age. He always tried to do the right thing, but not necessarily in a manner that his family and community expected. So when he heard a talk by Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz in Muncie, and Ketzaleh didn’t ask for money, but instead asked for Aliyah, Chaim was touched. And that was the beginning of a journey that eventually landed Chaim in Israel. And while Chaim and his wife did go back and forth, they are now here to stay. Chaim is also the founder of Beef Up Our Boys, and Goel talked with him about that important army initiative as well.
Dr. Michael Tobin grew up on Long Island, in New York, a big baseball fan who looked up to Willie Mays more than anyone else. Suffice it to say, Israel was not on his radar screen at all. But Jewish and Israel-focused messages were reaching him whether he liked it or not (Wait until you hear about his 20-mile run on Yom Kippur in the 70s), and things reached a crescendo when Michael and his Lebanese Christian girlfriend – and eventual wife, Deborah, decided to bike around the world, including stops in both Lebanon and Israel. Buckle up. This is a wild story told by a wonderful storyteller.
Josh Wander grew up outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a suburb called McKeesport. He grew up in a pretty seriously Zionistic home – as Zionism was defined back then – and the more Torah he learned, the more he felt pulled to Israel. Josh has led a colorful life that even included a run as candidate for Mayor of Pittsburgh – even as he was sure he and his family would soon be returning to Israel to live their lives. It’s a wild story. These days, Josh lives with his family in an town called Maale Zeitim, right next to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and that’s where we sat recently to talk about his story. If you want to follow Josh, you can find him at Facebook.com/jwander or @votewander on X.
Ari Singer grew up in Manhattan, New York, a child of two Holocaust survivors - whose stories are amazing in their own right. While his upbringing in New York was going fine - he was a student at Manhattan Day School - his parents decided to end their family's exile in 1973, and Ari, then 13, made the big move to a 25-year old country that was just weeks away from the start of the Yom Kippur War. Ari and his family have been tested since 1973 as well, but there is an infectious "let's just keep moving forward" attitude that Ari learned from his parents, and it's served him quite well. He's one of the most optimistic people Goel Jasper has ever met, and they spoke recently at Ari's home in Peduel.
Gary Epstein grew up in a strongly Jewish and Torah-observant home, but – as he says – Aliyah was nowhere near the forefront of his mind for many, many years. In the early 2000s, he saw that perhaps the Israeli business world could use the help of his law firm, so he began spending more time in Israel. And Aliyah was still not on his radar screen. Then, he had two children make the big move and yet, still, Aliyah was not on his mind. So what did it? Why is Gary Epstein a happy oleh? Goel met with him recently in Gary's son’s home – in New York, believe it or not, and they talked about his story. They laughed, nearly shed some tears, and spoke about so many different aspects of life in Israel.
Hezy Bentzur has become somewhat of a celebrity in the world of Aliyah, since he’s the owner of iAnglo English-speaking new car lease and buying service, which is used by many Olim looking for their first car in Israel. But man, oh man, his story is so much more – so much cooler – than just coming here and building a successful business. Join Goel on a wild ride that starts in Texas, makes stops in Oklahoma and Arkansas, and eventually takes Hezy and his family home to the Land of Israel.