Twenty years in, I still find myself appreciating benefits I never imagined before making Aliyah.

When people discuss Aliyah, they rightly focus on the big issues. Security. Schools. Employment. Antisemitism. Cost of living. The US dollar exchange rate. Family. The religious significance of living in Israel.

People also talk about what they’ll miss. Sundays. Familiar routines. Family. The little things that become surprisingly important when they’re gone.

Those are the big questions.

But after almost twenty years here, I’ve come to appreciate some smaller benefits that rarely make it into the Aliyah presentations. None of them would determine whether you move, yet all of them make my life a little better.

This is a list written by someone unapologetically religious. Yours may look different, but you probably have one too.

Let’s start with the slam dunk. One day, not two. That’s it. That’s the item.

To anyone who spent years explaining two Seders or so many days off work, this probably needs no further elaboration.

The Jewish Calendar Actually........

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