Running out of Time (Article #9) 6/29/2006

Here we are in single digits. Our countdown has run down so quickly that we are astounded to find that the move is literally upon us. As you read this, we will have less than a week to go before we make the big move and there is still so much left to do. If I sound a little frenzied it is because we are frenzied.

Before I continue, I would like to wish a special Mazal Tov to Michael and Jennifer Stern and all their children. A few weeks ago I introduced you to the Stern family who were given the final push toward aliyah by reading these articles in the 5 Towns Jewish Times. It is now official. The Sterns will be moving to Chashmonaim on September 5th, and I wish them much Hatzlocha and and easy klitta (absorption). May many more families join us in our homeland as soon as they can.

Our furniture and belongings will be put into a container on Sunday and Monday of the upcoming week and we hope to have them at the beginning of August, just in time for our home to be ready. We need to pack our suitcases for the plane and settle all the last minute things that need to get done. And there are a lot of them.

One of the challenges our Aliyah has faced in contrast to many others, is the fact that we made our final decision to move 3 months ago. Until then, I was interviewing for a job and we were uncertain if things would line up right regarding places to live and schools for the kids. I have to believe that most olim (with larger families) have planned this process out over a longer period than we have.

Accordingly, we had to get so much paperwork done in a small amount of time. Of course, for all the paperwork there is the endless support documentation that goes along with it. Plus a million passport photos. And everything needs to be filled out at least twice.

The best part is that even these past few weeks when we had thought we were done with the paperwork – we keep getting more requests for copies and forms, etc. For instance, we provided Nefesh B’nefesh with copies of our birth certificates and Aliyah Visas as well as our Israeli address. Ostensibly this went to Misrad Haklitah (Interior Ministry) so that they will have everything they need to process our file while we are on the plane.

Well, this week we got a request from the Jewish Agency (who handles all the paperwork “pre Aliyah Visa”) for copies of the Aliyah Visas and our address information. I knew when I got the call that they were asking for it so they can have it ready for the flight and are in essence duplicating NBN’s efforts. But I still had to spend the time getting the information just in case they needed it for another reason.

Even more confusing to me was the fact that they had to request this information at all. Our visas are digitally printed stickers containing a bunch of computer information and a digital image of our passport pictures. So clearly this information is contained in a computer database owned by the Israeli government.

Why then would they need me to get them copies of our visas? Why not just open the computer and hit the print button? Does it make sense to you?

Then you have the Jewish Agency and their “at the last possible minute” meetings. Nefesh B’nefesh gave us a whole list of all the things we need to do upon arriving in Israel. Open a bank account. Sign up for health coverage. There is a long list.

Last week, in the same phone call asking for visas/addresses, we were invited to a meeting where they Jewish Agency would review what we need to do upon arriving in Israel. Almost exactly the same information we already have. But the kicker is that they decided to hold this meeting exactly one week before we leave!!!

Do they think we are just sitting at home wondering what to do with ourselves? I cannot believe an organization whose clientele is exclusively Olim, couldn’t figure out that the week before the first flight departs might not be the best time for those Olim to attend a meeting.

To make things interesting, my new boss leaves for America on the Wednesday after we arrive in Israel. He therefore asked me to come in to work beginning the first Sunday we are there – 3 days after we arrive. So Goldie will be left on her own to handle the first day of day camp (in Hebrew), the first day of real shopping for groceries, and a whole lot of other firsts as well. Not to mention registering the kids for school, figuring out where everything is and shopping for those things we did not bring with us (like a kitchen table).

I am constantly reminded that we should expect these kinds of things in Israel. That you need to be patient to deal with the bureaucracy there. Hopefully, this is as frustrating as it will get (yeah, right).

So we still have tons to do with very little time to go. We are now up to around 80 packed boxes. We probably have another 40 or so to go, and it all has to be done by Sunday.

We finally arranged for our appliances and some new beds to be delivered to the shipping company. These items will be prepacked into our lift container prior to moving day. Other items have been ordered and delivered to the house. The only thing we have yet to buy is some cordless phone extensions and we hope to get them before Shabbos.

After finishing the packing process, in order to get the lift on its way we need to make an inventory list for the shipper, value each box for insurance purposes, scan and email all of our invoices for newly purchased items so the shipper can pass everything through customs with the minimum of fuss, update our inventory as furniture and our breakables get boxed and packed by the movers, get (yet another set of) copies of our visas and passports to the shipper so they can expedite customs and figure out what is being left behind if not everything fits.

While we have made arrangements for the sale of one of the cars and will be selling the other to a dealer (we think), we still need to sell/rent our house and I am sure you can imagine how thrilled we will be to be paying the mortgage and an Israeli rental at the same time until we get something done on the house.

In the past 2 weeks, our older 2 kids were accepted to their High Schools. We won’t know about the next 3 until we are in Israel. We missed signing up the little guy for a Gan (private preschool/daycare) and we are scrambling to figure out what to do with him, since Goldie has agreed to continue working for BBY through electronic digital data transfer facilities.

While we have changed our address for Jewish periodicals like Mishpacha magazine, we still have to notify the companies who will not forward to Israel to send everything to Goldie’s brother’s home.

We must cancel our auto insurance and modify our homeowners to reflect the fact that our house will have no contents. We need to separate our life and disability policies from the group plans we held them under in the Yeshiva, and make them private policies until we replace them in Israel.

Banking is a whole production in itself. We needed to open up a couple of new bank accounts so that we could take advantage of personal banking relationships that we will need since we will not be able to “stop by” the branch when there is a problem/issue. We are trying to get a Capital One credit card since we heard that they do not charge a processing fee for foreign currency conversions.

We need to be sure to leave behind enough funds to pay the rent on the Israeli house (our landlords are Americans). That is assuming of course that we actually finalize the details of our lease and we sign it before we leave.

We are landing on a Thursday, so we also need to figure out what we are going to do for Shabbos meals the first Shabbos. We were invited for a meal by a cousin who will live near us, but since we did not know until the last month where we would be living, we have not had time to really get connected to any of our new neighbors (our immediate next door neighbors have been terrific to us – they just happen to be in the 5 Towns for the summer).

The list just keeps growing.

The flipside of all this inevitability is ……the inevitability of it all. No matter what we do or don’t finish, come July 5 it is a whole new ball game. We will be on our way, and that’s when the fun will really start.