This year the Knesset passed a law to celebrate "Aliyah Day" in Israel. The day will be celebrated this year on November 8th. The purpose of the law is to "Implement the value and importance of Aliyah in the past, present and future, for the inner strengthening of the people of Israel, as a basis to the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, to it's development and it's shaping as a multicultural society with a joint mother tongue and a joint future."
Happy 'Aliyah Day' from the Olim in Ken Kiryat Yam – Rapha made Aliyah from Australia, Sarah from Iran, Adrian from Lithuania and Gleb from Moldova.
The day was set on Cheshvan 7th. The lawmakers explained the date chosen as a close date to the reading of the "Lech Lecha" parasha, that begins the subject of aliyah. Cheshvan 7th is also the day when the people living in Israel start to pray for rain in the "Shomne Esre" prayer – in Hebrew "Ve'ten tal ve'mater le'bracha" (and give as rain and dew for blessing). The reason the 7th of Cheshvan is the day when we start asking for rain – is because when the temple existed, all of the people in Israel would walk to Jerusalem ("make aliyah to Jerusalem"), even from the farthest places, and the walking time for the farthest Jew to Jerusalem was 15 days. And so, so that every person in Israel could return to their house with no trouble, and so the rain doesn't disturb their walk home, even though it was already winter, still they did not pray for rain, until the 15th day after the end of the Sukkot holiday, until Cheshvan 7th, so the last of the Jews can make their way home safely.
We thought the first Aliyah day in Israel is a great chance to know some (a very small part) of the stories of the many diverse Olim that we have in the movement. Watch the moving stories by 4 movement members, each coming from a different place in the world.
In the video: Adina Teibloom (made aliyah from the USA, Rakezet in Ken Ramat Gan), Sascha Friedman (made aliyah from Belarus, Communar in Ken Kiryat Nordau), Havtem Takala (made aliyah from Ethiopia, Communarit in Ken Kiryat Tivon), Dalya Gilman (made aliyah from Argentina, Garin Tiltan)