Update: 2 Weeks to Go!

Yes, I am well aware that the posts are starting to become fewer in number, not that I don't have material to write about, just sheer lack of time to write. But I wanted to document my Aliyah process, not only for other people to hear about it and hopefully be inspired by it, but also for me so that I can look back and see how I felt about this upcoming move, which is probably the biggest decision of my life that I've completely chosen for myself.

So...the packing...Yeah, it's kind of happening. After about a month of procrastination, I took the first big step, I found two boxes and pulled up the suitcase I'm taking with me...and they've sat in my room for the past week collecting dust. I'm not sure why it is, but I have this thing about pushing stuff off to the last minute, kind of like I think that something will change as the day gets closer and the job will be somehow easier.

So I know have two weeks and a day until that plane takes off, a plane I've been waiting for for two years. And what's funny is that I'm not excited at all. Well that's not true, of course I'm excited, but I don't have that butterfly anticipations in my stomach, the "Oh wow, I'm leaving" feeling. Other people are getting excited about it "So when are you leaving?" in a very hopeful kind of way (no, they're not, I'm joking) but I have notices myself saying that's this is the last time I'll be able to do 'X'.

I wrote a few weeks ago about a bike ride I did up Greenspring in the Baltimore area. I went about 12 miles or so up that road before I turned back. I had been planning to go last week and this week as well, but I was recovering for the accident last week, and this week it looks like rain's going to hit the Baltimore area (besides I should get a start on packing). But on Tuesday, I went to drop my sister off somewhere and found that I had a free hour. An hour that I could just take to myself, without having to worry about schedules, pickups, deadlines, and other slave masters that can run our lives.

So I decided to just drive, drive up Greenspiring. Now for those of you in the Baltimore area who have never done this I highly recommend it, for those of you outised the area, you'll have to use your imagination. I don't know what it is about this road, but it seems the further you go up it the more beautiful it gets. You cross over the beltway and find yourself in a stretch of woods and a country road. I saw a dear on my way back, which reminded me of a time about 4 years ago when biking had to stop as a family of dear crossed the road.

After this winding conntry road through the woods, which kind of act like a portal into literally another world, you're really in the country passing this incredible colonial style house sitting in enormas corn fields.

This stretchs for about a mile before you're back in the woods climbing a steep hill up to this incredible vista that overlooks more farmland. It's incredible to think that this is really what America is about these rolling hills and open areas, we like to live where the action is but sometines it makes us forget about this other side of the hill. Where people live on large plots of land really touch it and appreciate what it means to be walking on grass most of the time instead of concrete.

Anyways I drove about 20 miles out and was just thinking, this will be the last time I do this, because it is. I am moving to Israel, a country where the inhabitants REALLY love their land. These farms out in the backwoods of Baltimore, don't have to worry that their land will be given away to people who want to kill them. They may take it for granted but they have a gift, Jews in Israel, Jews in general, whether they want to believe it or not, will never have that luxery of feeling that they have finished. Because we won't, not until the Beit Hamikdash is standing on the Temple Mount and the world is begging us to be their moral compass. We ourselves need to work on heading in the right direction, part of which is not just coming home to Israel, but also to do what we can to bring Torah into our lives. I heard an interesting point made, the Torah is not a book about about how we can make G-d happy, the Torah is a book on how to become a better person, and how to change the world into a positive place.

Rant done: I'm moving to Israel in 2 weeks and I can't wait!