Leaving the North

In the first picture (2014) is an 18 year old boy, nervous about leaving home for 3 weeks, entering a world of Yeshiva that will shortly become his full time life. In the second picture (2018) is a (very!) young couple, a few weeks before beginning their married lives together up north. In the third picture (2022), is a family of 4, sad to say good-bye to Kiryat Shmona but excited for the next stage.

Like Detroit and Modiin, Kiryat Shmona will always be part of me. It was where I turned from a boy to a man, from single to married, and from a husband to a Daddy. It's where both Shifra and I picked up lifelong friends, and learned how to be married together. It's where I got my first real job, working at the Makolet every morning before Yeshiva. It's where I understood how to act as a soldier and to bring similar skillsets to real life, learning how to combine Torah with the Hi-tech world. It's where Shifra did college and took her first step into the teaching world. It's where Eitan learned to crawl, walk, and talk, ride down slides, and be part of a Maon, and it's where Hadar learned to crawl, stand, and eat like a big girl.

We will always be grateful for the times we had and the people who were part of it. Special thank you to Yeshivat Kiryat Shmona, my Shiur and friends from other Shiurim (especially Football Kash 1, 2, 3, and 4!), the Rabbis, Naomi, and the city residents who combined to make our time there more special than the nervous 18 year old in the picture could have ever imagined.