[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img] Dateline Jerusalem — This weekend I will be celebrating the first anniversary of my aliyah.

It is hard to believe that I have been in Israel for an entire year.

Most of my family and friends said I would not even make it 3 months.

Some believed that I am so stubborn, I would stay here just to prove everyone wrong.

Some claimed that I went to Israel because I have become a religious fanatic.

I am not that. The religious here do not think I am religious enough.

My family thought I had abandoned them to live in a war zone. Very few thought I would be truly happy living here with the bureaucracy, the language barrier, the volatile “peace” process, and a myriad of other reasons why some consider it a “hard” life.

Despite a Setback or Two

But, I am truly happy here. I no longer have a job (my company laid off 500 people), my landlord just raised my rent, everything is more expensive because the dollar is weakening as compared to the shekel, I can't speak or understand Hebrew, and I miss my family and friends.

BUT I AM HAPPY.

How can I explain what living in Israel is like? For someone like me who always has a comment or two, why can’t I express or describe my feelings about being here?

Besides the goosebumps on my arms, the tears in my eyes and the realization that I am finally home, what else can I say except that it has been a most incredible experience.

And, it is not just when I am in Jerusalem where G-d’s presence is felt everywhere.

Everywhere I go in Israel, I experience His presence.

Crime? What Crime?

There is an absolute peacefulness that permeates the air at all times. I have never felt as calm or as free as I do here.

Crime is almost non-existent.

Strangers wish me “Shabbat Shalom” (peaceful Sabbath) , and they invite me to their homes for a Shabbat meal. I am not afraid to join these people I have never met before.

No matter what travails I have been through, my experiences have been relatively positive. It is almost like having a baby.

When you go through labor and/or a C-section, you experience the pain momentarily. But somehow after that precious baby is born, you forget the hardship and can't wait to have another wonderful child.

I am so thankful to G-d that I have been given the opportunity to live here in Israel.

I can only say that I wish that everyone could come, at least for a visit. No matter what your religion or degree of observance, Israel has something for everyone.

L'hitraot. Shachar

Shachar is the Hebrew name of a California-based attorney and former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff, who moved to Israel last year.