When young law student Arthur Miller books a trip to Israel for himself and his new wife Ronnie in the aftermath of the Six Day War, he unknowingly begins an odyssey that will last almost four decades. After thirty-five years of annual visits, he finally fulfills his dream of making aliyah. Join Arthur and Ronnie on their delightful and inspirational journey to figuring out life as Israeli citizens.
Arthur’s keen observations and hysterical sense of humor, combined with his easy-going American attitude, are a recipe for a unique aliyah experience. His passionate love for the country and its people provides the backdrop against which we see the good in Israel through Arthur’s eyes. From bureaucratic offices and clerks at banks and post offices to hospitals and medical emergencies and travels via cars and trains, the many facets of daily living shine through Arthur and Ronnie’s story.
Whether you’ve already made aliyah and can heartily identify with Arthur and Ronnie or you are in love with Israel and want to read about it from afar, perhaps in anticipation of making aliyah someday, this fascinating chronicle will have you laughing, crying, commiserating, and getting in touch with the infatuation that we all share for our beloved Land.
Cuprins
Preface v
1 Coming Home 1
2 When Jews Get Together… 4
3 The Roots of My Love for Israel 8
4 How We Met 12
5 The Beginning of a Love Affair 14
6 The Decision to Go Home 18
7 The Best-Laid Plans 20
8 Because It’s America 25
9 My Turn 27
10 Home at Last 33
11 Sukkot as Israelis 36
12 First Street, Second Street
…Fourth Street? 38
13 Inside the Ministry of the Interior 41
14 Banking Made Easy 50
15 Automobile and Licensing Woes 58
16 It Pays to Be a Senior 75
17 Israel Railways 78
18 Kvish 6 82
19 The Hospital and the “A” Word 90
20 Postal Clerks 103
21 Back to the Movies 123
22 “Baruch Hashem” 127
23 A Trip to the Mall 130
24 El Al: The Airline of Israel 134
25 A Trip to City Hall 146
26 Sirens, Rain, and More 150
27 Retiring in Israel 157
28 You Can’t Make Aliyah;
You Would Miss Football 165
29 Memorial Day 168
30 Watch Your Spelling 174
31 Keeping Kosher 177
32 Who Said There’s No Such Thing
as a Free Lunch? 183
33 Chessed You Would Not Believe 185
34 Just How Small Is Israel? 191
35 “I Am Not Cheese!” 194
36 The Lone Soldier 203
37 Do You Believe in Miracles? 207
38 The Promised Land 213
39 The Diaspora 218
40 Defender of the Faith 221
Epilogue 230
Postscript to Chapter 37,
“Do You Believe in Miracles?” 234
About the Author 237
Despre autor
Arthur Miller grew up in New York’s Lower East Side, where he attended Rabbi Jacob Joseph School from first grade through high school. He graduated from City College of New York and Brooklyn Law School, and he has a master’s in law from New York University.
After marrying Ronnie Hershcopf in 1967, the new Miller family lived on the Lower East Side until 1971, when they moved to Brooklyn, New York. While living in Brooklyn, Arthur donated his time representing members of the Jewish Defense League in their struggle for Soviet Jewry. He also was an adjunct assistant professor of taxation at Pace University in New York.
Arthur was subsequently transferred to Worcester, Massachusetts, to become a partner in an international accounting firm where he was employed since 1973. From 1991 until his aliyah in 2004, Arthur was a tax partner with Fletcher Tilton, a nearly two-hundred-year-old-law firm in Worcester. After his aliyah, Arthur became (and remains) ‘of counsel’ to Fletcher Tilton.
During their years in Worcester, Ronnie Miller was a Judaic studies teacher at the Chabad yeshivah and at the Worcester Solomon Schechter.
While living in Worcester, Arthur was active in the Jewish community, serving in several leadership positions for the Worcester Jewish Federation. He was a regular contributor to the op-ed pages of the Worcester Telegram and Boston’s Jewish Advocate, writing columns defending Israel. For many years, he was co-host of a local radio program where, in addition to playing Jewish and Israeli music, he used his microphone to publicly advocate for and on behalf of Israel.
After making aliyah in 2004, realizing their lifelong dream of residing in Israel permanently, Arthur and Ronnie have been living in Beit Shemesh, in what Arthur describes as ‘the happiest years of our lives.’
Since their move, Arthur has continued his advocacy on behalf of Israel; he is a regular contributor to the ‘Letters to the Editor’ of The Jerusalem Post, where he averages two or more letters per month. He is also currently the film director for the Beit Shemesh 55-Plus Anglo Group, where he presents Israel-related films, including many films for which he is the editor.
The Millers have four children, only one of whom lives in Beit Shemesh near them: their daughter Ilana, with her husband, Gidon Schurder, and their five children. Their son, David Miller, CFO for Champions Oncology, lives in Teaneck, New Jersey, with his wife, Jennifer. The Millers’ daughter Yael Stieglitz, an occupational therapist, lives in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jonathan. Aliza Deutsch, another Miller daughter, is a Judaic studies teacher; she lives with her husband, David, in Arthur’s old apartment on the Lower East Side.
Of course, it is the Millers’ greatest prayer that all their family, including their fifteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, will merit to settle in Israel very soon!
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