M
arcy Tatelbaum, 44,
made aliyah in 2007
with her husband,
Yehuda, and their three chil-
dren, Meir, Yakir and Techelet
who are now 21, 19, and 16
years old. She loves living in
Israel where every day contrib-
utes to a meaningful existence.
JN: Do you remember an
early trip to Israel?
MT: When I was about 8 years
old, we came on a family trip
to Israel for two weeks. The
next time we came was when
my sister was here in seminary,
which was her 12th grade year
at Akiva (now Farber).
Starting when I was 15, I
took many trips on my own,
for winter break and summers
to visit family and friends and
then to Michlelet Esther for
seminary after high school.
Once I married my husband,
whose family lives here, we
used to come every year or two.
JN: Where did your family
go to shul and where did
you go to camp in the sum-
mers?
MT: When I was a young child,
we lived near Shomrei Emunah,
and then when I was 9, we
moved to the Young Israel of
Southfield area. I went to Camp
Stone every summer from age
9 until 14.
JN: Did your family promote
Zionism in your house?
MT: Yes, very much so. My
father was deeply in love with
this country. He took his first
trip to Israel in 1967. He used
to come on trips specifically
during intifadas when nobody
was coming to Israel, just to
support the hurting tourist
economy as much as he could.
My father was very dedicated
to local organizations that were
Israel-strong, such as Young
Israel and Akiva.
JN: Were you always plan-
ning to make aliyah?
MT: In my heart, I had wanted
to live in Israel, but my fears
always held me back; and I
didn’t want to be so far from
my family. But once my kids
started going to Akiva, I real-
ized I was raising my children
with this “Israeliness.
” The
Torah Mitzion organization was
very active then in Akiva and in
the community. They brought
Israel to us and a light to our
community, and I wanted to
live that way. For me, it was
an authentic way of life that
you couldn’t compare to life
in Detroit. As a Jewish parent,
I felt strongly that it was my
responsibility to give my chil-
dren the opportunity to grow
up in a Jewish country.
My oldest, Meir, was in first
grade at Akiva; and there, if you
were moving to Israel, you were
a superstar!
JN: What was your aliyah
flight like?
MT: We were on a charter
flight with Nefesh B’Nefesh so
it was fun and hectic. The arriv-
al was really special. We were
greeted by family and friends.
After living in Jerusalem for
one year, we decided to move to
Maale Adumim.
JN: What are you both
doing professionally?
MT: Yehuda is an attorney; he
specializes in personal injury
law. I started out as a content
writer for several startups and
eventually took a writing role
at Hometalk. That role evolved,
and for the past 13 years, I was
the director of human resourc-
es. Recently, I started a new job
as head of HR at a global start-
up, Triple Whale.
JN: What are the kids up to
now?
MT: Meir just finished his
army service through Yeshivat
Hesder Tsfat, where he will be
studying for the next year and
a half.
Yakir completed a year of
Mechina (army preparatory
year of study) at Ein Prat, in
Kibbutz Sufa on the southern
Gaza border, which he loved.
In August, he started his army
service in Shiryon (tanks).
Techelet is in 10th grade at
the local Amit girls high school
and is an amazing student.
JN: Do you miss anything
about living in Detroit?
MT: I miss the people. The way
people take care of each other
in the Detroit community is
second to none.
JN: Do you have a message
for anybody who is reading
this interview and thinking
about making aliyah?
MT: For me, living in Israel
opened my eyes to diversity.
Because it’s so homogenous in
Detroit, especially within the
Modern Orthodox community,
you really don’t have the chance
to meet and learn from Jewish
people from other cultures.
I’ve learned in Israel that there
are all different types of Jews.
There’s no one way to be a Jew
and to love God.
Living in Israel is a gift of an
opportunity for growth in every
way: personal, spiritual, profes-
sional. The opportunities here
to live a happy and satisfying
life are boundless.
Meet
Marcy
Tatelbaum
38 | FEBRUARY 24 • 2022
ERETZ
Marcy Tatelbaum, her husband, Yehuda, and their three children,
Techelet. Meir and Yakir.
‘Living in Israel is a gift,’ she says.
AVIVA ZACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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