End Of An Aira

Last night we had another meeting of the MNFBBQ. While each and every MNFBBQ gathering is special, even when the movie is "White Chicks" , last night's event carried special significance. It was Air's last get together with the MNFBBQ, the great organization that he co-founded, before his and Veev's imminent aliyah. With my going to Louisville this coming weekend and him leaving town next week, it was also probably the last time we will see each other before either we go to Israel or he comes back to visit and, of course, welcomes me to our shul.

Air and I exchanged a very brief man-hug afterwards. That's the extent of the sentimentality I will express, but I do want to say how much I admire the decision he and his family are making. As Macabee said the other night at the bon voyage barbecue, making aliyah is not an easy decision to make and an even harder one to execute. Aliyah is obviously an ideal of many of ours, yet most of us find a way to justify delaying it. At the same time though, it means leaving what you call home and all your friends and family for a new life, filled with all its uncertainties, six thousand miles away. For many, it means changing lifestyles both culturally and economically.

It's much easier said than done. Air and Veev aren't just saying they want to make aliyah. They're doing it. It will mean learning to read and speak Hebrew fluently, beyond "ani iparon," but they're doing it. It will mean finding new jobs, but they're doing it. It will mean creating a new social network, but they're doing it. Most important, it will mean that Air will have to wake up at 3:30 every fourth Tuesday morning to barbecue, but they're doing it. We all talk about it but they're doing it. We wish them only the best.

As an aside, shame, shame, shame on Jerry for making Air's last MNFBBQ meeting a viewing of "Date Movie." Before meeting Lesley, I had gone on a handful of dates. Some were great and some were painful, but none matched the mind numbing and at times unbearable idiocy of "Date Movie". It wasn't quite "White Chicks", but it was way too close for comfort. The only saving grace for the evening, besides the Romanian hot dogs and burgers, was that the movie was thankfully short and we were able to watch the end of yet another Tigers' victory and the Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup clincher.