Yocheved Katz was raised in Baltimore, where she also raised her family, and today she lives with her family in Ramat Beit Shemesh. I had the privilege of meeting Yocheved and am excited to share her inspiring aliyah journey.
Tell us a bit about yourself, your family, and your background.
My name is Yocheved Katz. I was born in Baltimore, and I stayed there until I was married. I continued my married life there until we made aliyah. I am the second of seven children in my family and I grew up going to a shul called Shomrei Emunah and attended the Bais Yaakov in the neighborhood. After high school, I went to seminary in Eretz Yisrael, and then I came back to Baltimore and became a physical therapist assistant.
I met my husband while he was learning in Ner Yisrael. We stayed in Baltimore through the birth of our five boys, and then at that point we decided to come to Eretz Yisrael. At the time of our move, our oldest was nine and our youngest was one.
My husband grew up in Queens, New York. He went to DRS, and then KBY, and then Ner Yisrael in Baltimore, where we met. We moved to Eretz Yisrael in 2020, and we’ve now been here for about five and a half years.
What inspired you to want to come to Eretz Yisrael?
Really, it was my husband. His background and his schooling gave him an emotional connection to Eretz Yisrael that I don’t feel I received growing up. As a family, my parents made a lot of sacrifices for Eretz Yisrael – sending me to seminary and doing my brother’s bar mitzvah in Eretz Yisrael. Growing up, I was one of the only of my friends and classmates who had been to Eretz Yisrael, and those experiences definitely made an impression on me. But they didn’t give me that deep emotional pull to build my life here and raise a family here.
My husband, on the other hand, attended DRS, which is a more Zionistic school, and his connection to Eretz Yisrael was then solidified at Keren B’Yavneh, where he lived side by side with Israelis. His emotions toward Eretz Yisrael were much more developed, and that was a huge influence on me. I wasn’t exposed to olim the way he was. His parents had actually come to Eretz Yisrael before he was born to try living here, and he grew up learning the history of Eretz Yisrael’s wars. That was not emphasized in my education, and I felt a gap in my emotional connection. I really attribute the turn in me to my husband – he would tear up just from the mention of Eretz Yisrael.
Because I knew how much Eretz Yisrael meant to my husband, we made a real effort as a couple to prioritize it. The first Sukkos we could, we came to Eretz Yisrael, and then we came for another Sukkos too. Later, we took a four week trip to Eretz Yisrael. So prior to moving here, we had been here as a couple three times – never with the intention of making aliyah though, but to build a connection to our Land.
The summer before we made aliyah was an opportunity for my husband to see what it would be like to work here. At that point, I had five boys and wanted to see if I could navigate four weeks with my boys, going on trips and keeping entertained. We rented an apartment in Ramat Eshkol, my husband worked American hours, and we gave ourselves the summer of a lifetime – experiencing life in Eretz Yisrael, with both fun and spiritual experiences. Altogether we came away with an awesome summer of incredibly meaningful experiences with the family.
Something else that deeply affected me and my appreciation for Eretz Yisrael, were two deaths. The first was a woman in Baltimore with eight children who was diagnosed with an illness and unfortunately passed away. I remember thinking how short life is and how chaval it would be not to maximize and live your life out if you can in Eretz Yisrael. The second was a sister-in-law’s aunt, whom I knew. She lived in a big, comfortable home in LA, and she left American comforts to move to Eretz Yisrael. She was nifteres at a young age, and the outpouring of emotion at her levaya and the respect people had for her decision to come here completely blew me away. Every niece and nephew couldn’t get over how connected they felt to this aunt who had moved and settled in Eretz Yisrael. Those two significant losses really shifted my perspective and made me think differently about life.
What was the preparation for your move to Eretz Yisrael like?
My husband is very efficient and on top of things, and we were able to make the move pretty soon after deciding we wanted to settle in Eretz Yisrael. The first step was figuring out school in Eretz Yisrael. We didn’t know what would be a good option for our family, so I called a few people who had previously made aliyah and asked if they could help direct me. I wanted to know what schools in RBS would be comparable to the school my kids were in at the time in Baltimore. I got in touch with a few great people who gave us helpful guidance about the school options.
RBS wasn’t a new community by the time we moved, and many families had already gone through the process. Once that was settled, my husband asked his company for permission to continue working American hours from Israel. He kept his American job and works American hours, which has its challenges and benefits, and we had already tested it the summer before so we knew what that would be like.
Nefesh B’Nefesh really took us through the process; we got on the plane, and we settled here.
We didn’t really know people our age with kids who had made aliyah before us. I came alone and felt pretty scared in that way. I intentionally spoke with people who had been here for a long time rather than recent olim, but in terms of friends, I didn’t really have any before the move.
What was everyone saying when you decided you were moving?
Because everything happened so quickly, we went from being a couple that never really discussed aliyah to to suddenly announcing we were moving with our family. That made it hard for our families.
The hardest part for me was leaving family. I had a grandmother that lived behind me, a sister up the block, and cousins in the neighborhood – my entire family had settled in Baltimore. So we were surrounded by nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law – it was just one big bungalow colony of relatives. It was beautiful and that was the hardest thing to tear ourselves away from.
Once we decided, my mindset was that I am doing something eternal. I felt like I was tapping into eternity. I grew up with cousins we were close with and I saw that people get married, build their own families, and move on. As comfortable and wonderful as it is to be raised among your own family, it is not eternal. I didn’t want to live for now; I wanted to live for the future, for eternity. That focus helped me move past the pain of leaving family. I kept my focus on the fact that this was not a decision that has to feel comfortable now, it has to feel comfortable for the long term.
Two years later, my brother also moved to Ramat Beit Shemesh. Someone recently said to me “You don’t leave; you lead.” I thought that was such a beautiful way of thinking about leaving family – you’re not leaving them, you’re paving the way. Even if they don’t move permanently or fully shift their lives here, the fact that people come to visit and know they have a place to tap into for Yom Tov or the summers has impacted my entire family.
It was also hard hearing so much negativity about moving to Eretz Yisrael and about RBS. I had to work against that and shut out a lot of negative noise of people telling me I didn’t know what would happen to my kids or my family. It felt like more curses than brachos. My parents were supportive and our shul did something beautiful, sending us off with a bracha from the Rav, but the broader community and even some family members questioned us. It also reflected a reality in certain communities where although people feel they’ll come to Eretz Yisrael when mashiach comes, they don’t value it so strongly to come now. I came from that more chareidi, yeshivish mindset; that’s how I grew up.
You grew up without an education that emphasized aliyah and today you live in Eretz Yisrael – was it hard to shift your mindset?
My mindset completely shifted. At first, I didn’t relate to my husband’s outlook, but over time I understood it more and more, and came to appreciate it. I came from a more yeshivish background and I remember when I was dating, people said to me that the only boys left in Ner Yisrael were KBY boys. From my background, a yeshiva like KBY got a reputation that it was “too” zionistic. But I learned the value of opening your mind to something that can change your life forever.
Take us through the move. What was the transition like?
I really attribute our move to Covid. We were in such a disarray in Baltimore – we were paying such a high tuition while my son was sitting in bed on a tablet. At that point in Israel, things were still open. The kids weren’t attached to school or their friends and rabbanim, so pulling them out then was much easier.
At first, I thought we would go to Eretz Yisrael for a year and see if it worked. But the more I spoke to people, I realized that if this was a reality that I wanted to make work, I needed to let go of attachments. We sold our house, shipped our belongings, and committed fully. I made the decision to pack up our entire house so we filled an entire lift. Having already been married for quite some time and with a full family, I was very attached to the things that we had – my dining room table, my couches. When we landed here, that was one familiar thing that I still had – my stuff – and for my emotional stability I felt that was important at the time of our move. I didn’t feel like we were starting again. I felt like we were taking our life and moving it here.
My husband’s job was movable. He continued working his CPA job remotely. I had already stopped working as a physical therapist assistant, having continuously cut back hours as my family grew. I was pulled to be a stay at home mom and the more I could do it, the more I cut back my hours, so by the time we moved, I had already stopped working for a year. Baruch Hashem, we were zoche to have two girls here, our family continued to grow as we moved, and I continued to be a stay at home mom.
How was the move for your kids? How did they integrate into society in Eretz Yisrael?
Thankfully, it went very smoothly for my family. We chose one school that we thought would provide my kids with similar benefits as their school in Baltimore. One of the draws was that it was in a building with a nice outdoor space where they could run around and play ball; my kids were very into sports and we didn’t want to take that enjoyment from them. The school was also half Israeli and half American – it was important to us that they be able to acclimate and pick up the language right away, which they did. Once my kids were in school, they were fully immersed in Hebrew and learned right away.
My oldest was in fourth grade when we moved and had the hardest time emotionally. Leaving family and feeling like he was missing out on family simchas was hard for him, but my sister sent me her boys in the summers which eased that feeling of loss. We spoke a lot with him about what we were doing and why we were doing it; being there emotionally for the kids during our move made it so much smoother. Now he is in mesivta, it’s been five years since we’ve moved, and he’s grown in his own emotional connection to moving to Eretz Yisrael.
How is your life different here in Eretz Yisrael?
I remember one time telling my sister “I’d rather try and fail than fail to try.” I grew confident that if it doesn’t work out, then that’s ok but at least I put my effort in and tried. I always felt that nothing is final. You can try something as big as this, and if for some reason you have to go back, you go back. But not to do it because of fear did not seem right.
I have a natural pull toward Eretz Yisrael which I am so grateful for; I describe it as my neshama being pulled toward Eretz Yisrael. I get a tremendous amount of simcha just being in Eretz Yisrael. Just being. Sitting on my mirpeset right now, I have a tremendous amount of appreciation just for the air I’m breathing in. My five senses, which we use every day in our lives, are elevated when it comes to Eretz Yisrael. Eating a fruit – the texture, the taste, the smell – when you know it was growing in Eretz Yisrael, you have an extra sense of specialness that you’re eating the pairos of Eretz Yisrael. It’s the same when you’re watching a sunset. You know there are beautiful sunsets everywhere in the world, but when you’re watching it in Eretz Yisrael, it suddenly becomes so much more personal and so much more elevated because you know it’s yours and it’s happening in our Land that was promised to us. That was the biggest change that I feel strongly in my everyday life – my eyesight, my hearing, everything I touch – it’s connected to something so much bigger than anything I ever felt in America.
Practically, the independence for my kids is a huge difference. I can’t imagine a life where my kids can’t just take my credit card and run to the makolet, or take a bus by themselves. Parks, school, chugim (extracurricular activities) are all parts of life very much stayed the same.
I really feel that where in the States I was anchored by family, here I’m anchored by friends. The chizuk that we give each other here is beautiful and it’s necessary.
Life has its low points and its high points. I try to view issues that come up here with the thought “Is this a universal issue?” And many times it is. For example, there are chinuch problems in America and there are chinuch problems here.
Joining our neighborhood gave us an opportunity to join a new shul, and put our kochos into developing the shul and the area. I am always conscious of being welcoming and warm to new olim. I try to have a positive spin while being real at the same – there are definitely challenges but not every difficulty is because of Eretz Yisrael. That’s something I try hard to be mindful of.
Do you have any advice for those in America?
I feel underqualified to give advice, but I’ve heard powerful advice from others greater than myself. I often quote Rav Moshe Taragin: All the Jewish people were meant to come back to Eretz Yisrael; this is where it’s more accessible to fully live by the Torah and in connection with Hakadosh Baruch Hu. We’re here to do what all Yidden are supposed to do and where we’re all supposed to be. We’re not unique because we made aliyah – this is what it means to be a Jew, this is what you do.
If you can, tap into someone or something that’s connected to Eretz Yisrael and make that a part of yourself. In the Torah tidbits (an OU publication) that I read every Shabbos, there is a lot of leadership that really shows you a tremendous love of Eretz Yisrael. I find that it is mechazek my move every single week. I think anyone can get that chizuk wherever they’re living and can connect to Eretz Yisrael in a deeper way. I heard someone say “Whatever you do, do more.” If you learn, learn Torah connected to Eretz Yisrael; whatever you are doing, do more of it.
If you have the means then direct them toward Eretz Yisrael: give tzedakah toward Eretz Yisrael, take your vacations here. I heard one Rav say to make sure you come every three years. I know that, practically speaking, people will say they can barely afford life in America, and that is valid. But if you are taking vacations anyway, maybe save up for a trip to Eretz Yisrael. If you’re not here, it’s hard to sustain the feeling for something you’re not seeing, breathing, or living. Coming here three times really kept Eretz Yisrael at the forefront of our minds. It’s also incredibly mechazek people who have moved when they see others coming, visiting, and showing interest. We recently met a couple from the States who were so in love with Eretz Yisrael. Because of different factors, they couldn’t come right now, but they talked about how they loved being in the presence of those who have done it. That’s such a beautiful thing – be the person that admires those that have made the sacrifice to move and leave what’s comfortable.
So often people say, “I can’t do it,” for one reason or another – usually family or parnassa. But you see that there are so many people who also had very similar reasons to have said “I can’t,” and have. No one should think that their circumstances are more unique than anyone else’s and therefore disqualify them as a candidate for aliyah. Everybody, as a Yid, is a candidate to come to Eretz Yisrael; it’s just a matter of opening your mind and heart and really asking yourself if this is something you can do.
