Wednesday, August 5, 2009

About the Writer
for
the Israels in Israel
Born and bred in Norfolk, Virginia, Ronda Kruger Israel is known as Mrs. Aaron Israel, Ema, daughter of Frances and Leon Kruger, the Chocolate Lady(owner and founder of the Chocolate Dreams Company), Savta,to Mia Hadassah(so far‼), group pilot trip leader in Israel, blog writer(I can’t believe I’m doing this), good cook and proactive Israeli citizen. Now you know all about me!
In the hottest summer on record, July , 2000, the Israels made aliyah from Highland Park, New Jersey and went straight to Modi’in. I had gone on a wonderful Tehilla Pilot trip in February of that year and fell in love with the brand new city of Modi’in. We are still as happy as the day we arrived and we have been through 9 fun filled, challenging packed, incredibly awesome years. Our four children are no longer children and they are fully integrated into Israeli life.
When we arrived in eretz yisrael I was compelled to write back to the states to family and friends to let everyone know what we were going through and what was happening to us of cosmic (in)significance. There was no Nefesh B’Nefesh when we came, and our experiences were /are a lot different than the people who come on the NBN flights these days.
We don’t regret one moment of taking buses to government offices in various cities, standing in lines with our children to get official papers, walking all over the city without a car, busing it for a vacation or riding a train to visit family for Shabbat. I vowed that I would keep my letters positive and upbeat and for the most part I have succeeded. However, we are/have lived through some very challenging times (and certainly continue to do so politically and economically).We have seen amazing changes in our homeland since our arrival and changes in ourselves.
I invite you to read some or all of my letters and articles (please feel free to share my blog with others who may enjoy a good laugh or cry or who are thinking of aliyah) posted here and share in the lives of the
Israels in Israel.