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.

Dateline Jerusalem — If one were to ask me what I do in my spare time, when not working and not on the computer, I would say that I shop.

I used to be a shopaholic when it came to clothes, shoes, gadgets, and items at a 99-Cent store (more like a 99-Dollar store by the time I finished shopping).

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Although I make out a list, I must go down every aisle— just in case I forgot something.

Dateline Jerusalem — This week I celebrated Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks (shavuot means “weeks” in Hebrew).

There are exactly seven weeks between Passover (Pesach, in Hebrew) and Shavuot.

On Passover, Moses led the Jews out of Egypt, and on Shavuot. G-d gave us the Ten Commandments, which is the basis for ethical behavior throughout the world.

Dateline Jerusalem — I am a shoppaholic.

My town has thousands of little shops, corner grocery stores, sidewalk cafes, open air markets, butcher shops and bakeries, an outdoor mall, and a large modern indoor mall.

There are so many little b­usinesses that I have no idea how the owners can make a living.

Dateline Jerusalem — I am a shoppaholic.

My town has thousands of little shops, corner grocery stores, sidewalk cafes, open air markets, butcher shops and bakeries, an outdoor mall, and a large modern indoor mall.

There are so many little b­usinesses that I have no idea how the owners can make a living.

Dateline Jerusalem — I am a shoppaholic.

My town has thousands of little shops, corner grocery stores, sidewalk cafes, open air markets, butcher shops and bakeries, an outdoor mall, and a large modern indoor mall.

There are so many little b­usinesses that I have no idea how the owners can make a living.

Dateline Jerusalem — I am a shoppaholic.

My town has thousands of little shops, corner grocery stores, sidewalk cafes, open air markets, butcher shops and bakeries, an outdoor mall, and a large modern indoor mall.

There are so many little b­usinesses that I have no idea how the owners can make a living.

Dateline Jerusalem— What do I hate the most?

Being an American attorney.

So what did I just get hired for in Israel? Being an American attorney.

For almost 20 years, I have hated the practice of law.

Dateline Jerusalem — I took a bus from Tel Aviv to where I rented an apartment. The synagogue is across the street, the post office around the corner, the pharmacy next to the post office, a small market next to the pharmacy, and the urgent care/medical group is about a 10-minute walk from there.

Across the street from the urgent care are the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Absorption.

Dateline Jerusalem — I took a bus from Tel Aviv to where I rented an apartment. The synagogue is across the street, the post office around the corner, the pharmacy next to the post office, a small market next to the pharmacy, and the urgent care/medical group is about a 10-minute walk from there.

Across the street from the urgent care are the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Absorption.