From the Lower East Side to the Middle East: Telling the Story of Aliyah on Facebook
In June, Cheryl Nayowitz posted on Facebook this photo of the word "Isreal" (sic) scrawled in the concrete sidewalk outside her son's yeshiva on the Lower East Side. In the post, she announced her intentions to move to Israel, to make her Aliyah. Photo courtesy Cheryl Nayowitz.
For the Nayowitz family, who immigrated to Israel (Aliyah) in July 2012, Facebook has been a way to share their journey with friends and family in the United States.
In early June, Cheryl, 31, posted a picture on Facebook of the word “Isreal” (sic) scrawled into the concrete sidewalk outside her son’s yeshiva on the Lower East Side. In the post, she announced her intentions to leave: “We are hoping to live there indefinitely as long as we can make it happen, as of now we don’t have jobs, taking savings and a major leap in faith, it’s the right time for our kids… It’s very bitter sweet, so exciting yet daunting and overwhelming.”
Click below to see photos that tell the story of the Nayowitz family’s journey to Israel:
In the summer of 2010, Cheryl gave birth to Shelley, her third child and only daughter. When she left for Israel, she was four months pregnant with her fourth child.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
The Nayowitz family had been living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan since 2003. Cheryl and Eyal lived in a one-bedroom apartment but upgraded to a two-bedroom as their family grew.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
Cheryl said that the sudden loss of her father, Sheldon Jay Bausk, spurred her decision to move to Israel. Like Cheryl and Eyal, Sheldon came closer to Jewish observance later in life. "You just realize life is short, if you want to do things, you have to do them. Nobody knows how and when they’re going to die," said Cheryl.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
The Nayowitz family arrived in Israel on July 11, 2012 wearing matching T-shirts depicting the iconic New York yellow taxi cab.
"I thought it was funny because most people wear shirts that represent Israel and I love NYC and wanted to represent more where I came from," Cheryl wrote in an email.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
Dov, 7, and Rafi Nayowitz, 4, wearing the matching New York taxi cab T-shirts their mother designed.
The checker cab pattern was also an homage to Cheryl's father, Sheldon, who owned a New York City checker cab and drove it around for fun. Sheldon worked as a stockbroker but said that the checker cabs of his youth represented his hard-working roots. Friends called him "checkerman" and he even wore a yarmulke with the black-and-white checker design.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
Chanina Schleifer Rosenbaum, a friend, greeted the Nayowitz family at the airport.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
Shelley, 2, Rafi, 4, and Dov, Nayowitz, 7, after a long day waiting in line at the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
Before settling in to their new home in Yad Binyamin, the Nayowitz family took some time to sightsee. Here, Shelley, 2, stands on a narrow street in Tzefat, a northern Israeli city famous for being the birthplace of Jewish mysticism.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
After a number of exhausting days visiting various government offices, Cheryl and Eyal decided to take their children to the beach in Ashdod for a break. According to Cheryl, no one was swimming because the number of poisonous jellyfish in the water peaks in mid-summer.
Though they couldn't swim, Cheryl said it was a crystallizing moment. "I was sitting watching the water and I realized, I'm on the beach in Israel." She said she was reminded of a famous Jewish poem "Eli, Eli" written by Hannah Senesh, a Hungarian Jew who escaped to Palestine during the Holocaust. Senesh later lost her life at the hands of the Nazis after she returned to Hungary to try to help more Jews escape.
"I felt like I was taking part in the eternal picture of the Jewish people. The song implores god not to take away the song of man and beautiful things like the sound of waves crashing," said Cheryl. "Israel kind of strips everything down to what’s real."
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
Eyal Nayowitz with the Israeli movers who helped the family settle into their new home. They filled a 20 foot shipping container with their belongings from the United States.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
Eyal and the children after a long day.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
A view of Yad Binyamin, Israel, the community where the Nayowitz family now lives.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
The Nayowitz children and three of their close friends from the Lower East Side who were in Israel visiting their grandparents. They may be in a new country, but the Nayowitz family will have many opportunities to connect with their friends and family back home.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nayowitz.
