Episode #50: Gilla Jasper

Rav Simcha Sterzer grew up in Williamsburg – Brooklyn, and was a yeshiva rebbe for more than 40 years. On a visit to Israel in 1992 his life changed forever, thanks to his wife saying, “I could live like this.”The 93-year old Rav Sterzer speaks with inspiring simplicity, and Goel greatly appreciated being able to sit with him in his home recently.

Dr. Deena Wasserman grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a rabbi, but actually, also the great, great granddaughter of another rabbi – quite a famous rabbi.For Deena, Aliyah was always on the radar screen, but the question was: When and How?Layer on top of it the question of making Aliyah as a physician, and the path to returning home was anything but obvious, even if the idea of returning was crystal clear.

Gilla Jasper grew up in southern Connecticut – a town called Stamford, and knew from her earliest days that her father had moved to Israel from Iran in 1958, living there for 5 years before leaving for college in the US.So Israel was central to Gilla’s upbringing, but Aliyah was not. What turned the tide? This is an episode about Goel and his family’s Aliyah, in celebration of their 20th anniversary in Israel.

Eliyokim Cohen grew up a proud Jew, first in Framingham, Massachusetts, and then in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a solid upbringing, but things started to go sideways for Eliyokim in college. Eventually, he found himself with 35 police weapons pointing at him after a 45-minute car chase. Something clearly needed to change. And change it did, as Eliyokim began a journey that led to him sitting with me on his Netanya porch with a view of the Mediterranean Sea, talking about his Aliyah.

Hayim Leiter grew up in Philadelphia. Sure, his family was Zionistic. You know. Loved Israel, rooted for the IDF. But well, let’s just say it wasn’t at the top of the list for him in the same way that surfing was. He surfed off the coast of New Jersey… Rhode Island … California. But along the way, he began a dance with the Land of Israel that led him here permanently, where at least once a week, he makes sure to surf off the coast of Ashdod. It’s a beautiful story about a relationship that grew and grew, and continues to grow.

Chaim Rutenberg grew up in Muncie, New York, a follower of his heart from a very young age. He always tried to do the right thing, but not necessarily in a manner that his family and community expected. So when he heard a talk by Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz in Muncie, and Ketzaleh didn’t ask for money, but instead asked for Aliyah, Chaim was touched. And that was the beginning of a journey that eventually landed Chaim in Israel. And while Chaim and his wife did go back and forth, they are now here to stay. Chaim is also the founder of Beef Up Our Boys, and Goel talked with him about that important army initiative as well.

Dr. Michael Tobin grew up on Long Island, in New York, a big baseball fan who looked up to Willie Mays more than anyone else. Suffice it to say, Israel was not on his radar screen at all. But Jewish and Israel-focused messages were reaching him whether he liked it or not (Wait until you hear about his 20-mile run on Yom Kippur in the 70s), and things reached a crescendo when Michael and his Lebanese Christian girlfriend – and eventual wife, Deborah, decided to bike around the world, including stops in both Lebanon and Israel. Buckle up. This is a wild story told by a wonderful storyteller.

Josh Wander grew up outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in a suburb called McKeesport. He grew up in a pretty seriously Zionistic home – as Zionism was defined back then – and the more Torah he learned, the more he felt pulled to Israel. Josh has led a colorful life that even included a run as candidate for Mayor of Pittsburgh – even as he was sure he and his family would soon be returning to Israel to live their lives. It’s a wild story. These days, Josh lives with his family in an town called Maale Zeitim, right next to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and that’s where we sat recently to talk about his story. If you want to follow Josh, you can find him at Facebook.com/jwander or @votewander on X.

Ari Singer grew up in Manhattan, New York, a child of two Holocaust survivors - whose stories are amazing in their own right. While his upbringing in New York was going fine - he was a student at Manhattan Day School - his parents decided to end their family's exile in 1973, and Ari, then 13, made the big move to a 25-year old country that was just weeks away from the start of the Yom Kippur War. Ari and his family have been tested since 1973 as well, but there is an infectious "let's just keep moving forward" attitude that Ari learned from his parents, and it's served him quite well. He's one of the most optimistic people Goel Jasper has ever met, and they spoke recently at Ari's home in Peduel.

Gary Epstein grew up in a strongly Jewish and Torah-observant home, but – as he says – Aliyah was nowhere near the forefront of his mind for many, many years. In the early 2000s, he saw that perhaps the Israeli business world could use the help of his law firm, so he began spending more time in Israel. And Aliyah was still not on his radar screen. Then, he had two children make the big move and yet, still, Aliyah was not on his mind. So what did it? Why is Gary Epstein a happy oleh? Goel met with him recently in Gary's son’s home – in New York, believe it or not, and they talked about his story. They laughed, nearly shed some tears, and spoke about so many different aspects of life in Israel.