Q
: What were your early experiences
of Zionism when you were growing
up?
Rochelle Zelcer: Growing up, I went to
Akiva Hebrew Day School [now Farber]
w and then I went to Hillel Day School,
which were very Zionistic places in terms
of education, the teachers and the overall
messaging from the schools. I also went
to Tamarack Camp, which is also very
Zionistic.
My parents are from the former Soviet
Union, and I grew up with an underlying
value system that first, we are Jews, and
then we are other things.
Q How old were you when you visited
Israel for the first time?
RZ: The first time I came, I was 18 and
came on Birthright. From that time, I said,
“This is it. This is the place for me. This
place is amazing.” Every winter break and
summer break that I had going forward, I
would go back to Israel. I went on any trip
I could get on.
If I couldn’t get on a trip, I would just
go to Israel for the summer. One summer,
I went to Nishmat, which is a seminary in
Jerusalem, for the summer, and I was no
longer a tourist. I was really getting the
taste of Israeli culture and olim who were
coming to live in Israel. This was where
I wanted to raise my kids, and this was
where I wanted to be.
But I had to go back and finish my
psychology degree at the University of
Texas. The day after I finished, I had a
ticket to go back to Israel. I didn’t even
stay for graduation. I found an internship
working with psychologists.
I assumed that I would get a second
degree here in psychology and continue
in that field, but that didn’t work out for
various reasons. I had to prove it to myself
and my parents that I could make it here
and that I could create a life. So, I worked
three jobs, including the internship. Then
my brother got engaged, so I went back
to Dallas. My parents asked me to move
to New York for six months. I think they
were hoping I would meet a New Yorker
that would refuse to leave New York.
A month after I moved to New York,
I met my husband. I told him I would
only go out with him if we were going to
make aliyah. He agreed and eventually
we got engaged. The next day, I told him
we needed to go to the aliyah office and
register. I’m very fortunate and grateful
that my husband, Barry, had a flexible job
that allowed us to pursue this dream.
Q: Where did you live?
RZ:: I had a friend who was going
away for the summer. So, she lent us her
apartment. Then we moved a few times,
and we have been living in Ramat Beit
Shemesh for eight years.
Q: Tell me about your kids.
RZ: We have five boys, so that is pretty
messy. It’s a beautiful jungle.
Q: What do you miss about living in
Detroit?
RZ: I miss Detroit like crazy. I loved
the winter. I loved the snow. It was such
a big part of my childhood — having a
huge yard and being able to go outside
and play in the snow for hours and hours
and shoveling the snow. I also love the way
that people are so very real. I miss all the
memories that I built there.
Q: What message do you have for anyone
who’s reading this interview back in
Detroit?
RZ: I see the beauty of Israel, but I also
see the challenges; and I see them in a very,
very distinct way. I hope that people won’t
allow those challenges to become a deterrent
for them when they want to make aliyah.
There’s no shame in being an American in
Israel. You can be who you are. That’s the
beauty of Israel. When my parents came to
the U.S., they wanted to assimilate because
they felt that was important for us as
children, but Israel is the melting pot of Jews
from all over the world.
Rochelle Zelcer:
‘This is the
Place for Me’
AVIVA ZACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
30 | SEPTEMBER 16 • 2021
ERETZ
MEET THE OLIM
Rochelle and
Barry Zelcer
and their
five sons.