“Home” for the Holidays

18 Great Reasons why Living in Israel will make your Holidays the Best!
By Ariella Bracha Waldinger

1 You will be seen by Hashem in His beloved Holy Land….THE INHERITANCE HE BEQUEATHED TO US

2 Everyone around you, wherever you go is preparing to celebrate the holidays along with you. The energy is tangible and revitalizing and it’s fun to be a part of the excitement.

3 Everyone smiles and greets you with holiday wishes and blessings. This connection binds you to the feeling of our nationhood and creates both pride and joy. You also receive text messages from businesses with holiday greetings.

4 Nature itself announces that the holidays are coming. You can see the pomegranates, dates and apples mature and waiting on the trees for harvest.  It brings such joy to know that all the simonim of the Rosh Hashana holiday are available to us in the backyard or nearby orchards and that their growth is Blessed by G-d Himself.

5 Grocery prices are marked down instead of being marked up and all the food is KOSHER.

6 If you have a credit card, you can get 10 payments without interest for your holiday purchases. Also, if you spend a certain amount of money at the grocery store, you receive gifts from them i.e., honeycake and or honey..

7 The wines of Israel are fabulous and are marked down during the holidays…you can take advantage and stock up on them for yourself and they make great gifts..

8 The experience of Birkat Kohanim at the Kotel during the Shalosh Regalim is a life altering experience, only to be experienced in ERETZ HAKODESH.

9 You are in the right place at the right time! You can feel the connectivity of the Jewish calendar and the Jewish people as one in the Land. It awakens a deeper awareness of both time , space and identity.

10 Taking time off from work is not a problem and you don’t have to make up the time.

11 You can find everything you need for your Sukka at your neighborhood store. There are no big shipping fees to pay and everything you need sells for a reasonable price.

12 One of The Best things about the holidays is that there are so many ways to touch others, help others and share the wealth with the less fortunate. These very acts of chesed and tzedaka touch upon the middot of humility, gratitude and love. They refine our souls and unite us as a nation.

13 The true currency of Eretz Yisroel is not money but Emunah and Bitachon…faith and trust. During the holidays, we tend to perceive this currency in a more tangeable way as we hear many and varied stories of Hashkacha Pratis…..G-D’s Divine Providence. This too builds up our nationhood, as well as our selfhood and for sure our trust in our King.

14 In Eretz HaKodesh, you can talk about G-d as much as you want. In fact in many circles, it’s the main topic of conversation, especially during the holidays.  In Israel, wherever you go, even on a taxi ride, you can hear words of Torah and the name of G-d mentioned frequently. This is soul food only to be found in G-d’s Divinely chosen Land.

15 During the holidays of Sukkot, succah’s are visible everywhere even in the tiniest area of space. The joy of seeing all these booths that G-d commanded us to build once again brings the reality of G-ds Divine will into the equation of life. Succah hopping is a great adventure. And, they don’t make you take your succah down because it is violating a neighborhood ordinance! Many restaurants throughout the land have succahs built for their patrons to utilize. You don’t have to worry about snow or rain or cold.

16 During the holiday of Chanukah the lights of menorahs are brilliantly shining everywhere. It is a magical, mystical sight to behold. All visual jewish symbols spark our mind, heart and soul connection and besides, they are beautiful and rich in meaning.

17 Your Tefillot goes straight to G-d with no intervening angel. On Shimini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, when we say the beautiful, inspiring tikun for geshem (rain), G-d responds with a cleansing shower of rain.

18 Walking 4 amot in the Land is a mitzvah and builds up both your soul muscle and your physical muscle.

To summarize…THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!