34 | AUGUST 11 • 2022 

JN: Was there Zionism in your 
home?
Shira: My parents have always 
been pro-aliyah, but aliyah was 
not realistic when they bought 
a house and had full-time jobs 
and three young kids. When 
people talk about aliyah, they 
think about the ages of the 
kids, which was always a factor 
for us. 

JN: Tell me about your par-
ents’ aliyah.
Shira: I was just wrapping up 
my second year in Israel and 
I got a phone call from my 
mother: “Shira, we sold the 
house and are making aliyah.
” I 
thought I was getting pranked 
by the “Mojo in the Morning” 
talk show, but it was true. 
They made aliyah in the 
summer, and I was elated! It 
is amazing to have a support 

system in Israel, and I got mine 
back — and the best part was, I 
became their support system. I 
helped them deal with health-
care, phone bills, and setting up 
electricity and water, and it was 
amazing to know I can help 
them.

JN: What was your biggest 
influence for making aliyah?
Shira: Akiva (Farber) did 
an amazing job of bringing 
us Israel’s Memorial and 
Independence days. They put 
on the complete ceremony just 
like it is in Israel. We even had 
the sirens, which made us cry.
I am very idealistic. Once, 
when I was reading the parshah 
that said Moshe, the leader of 
the Jewish people, couldn’t go 
into Israel, and I thought about 
the fact that he led everyone, he 
did all the work and he moti-
vated the Jews, but he couldn’t 
go in. That really bothered me. 
After knowing this, how could 
we not go in? 

JN: When you got here, what 
did you do?
Shira: When I first came, I 
decided to do Sherut Leumi 
(National Service). I wanted 
to experience the raw, hard, 
challenging neighborhoods, to 
get the real Israeli experience. 
I worked in a special-needs 
kindergarten in Ramat Gan in 
the mornings and, in the after-
noons, I helped run a club for 
teens who were dealing with 
living in a neighborhood with 

drugs and a violence problem.

JN: What are you doing these 
days?
Shira: I create marketing strat-
egies and campaigns for Anglo 
businesses in Israel and create 
websites for clients and busi-
nesses.

JN: How did you meet your 
husband?
Shira: I love this question 
because my story shows the 
value of giving back. When 
making aliyah alone, I received 
a lot of support from the com-
munity and from an organiza-
tion that supports Lone Soldiers 
and lone national service volun-
teers. It is hard to accept help, 
so I would say to myself, “I will 
give back as soon as I can.
”
When my family made ali-
yah, I started volunteering with 
Lone Soldiers and National 
Service volunteers and creat-
ed a program called “
Adopt 
a Soldier,
” where I set up 
“matches” between families and 
soldiers. 
I invited our own soldier, 
Menachem, for Shabbat and 
that is how I found my match.

JN: What do you love about 
living here?
Shira: I made aliyah the sum-
mer of 2013, so I experienced 
Protective Edge in the summer 
of 2014, which was really chal-
lenging. But what did I learn? I 
learned about the humanity in 
Israel. Random people would 

ship trucks of hygiene products 
and food without question. It 
was natural because Israelis 
care about one another. 
Before that happened, there 
were small examples through-
out the whole year. Being alone, 
I was invited out for weekends 
and meals and taken care of by 
strangers.

JN: What do you miss about 
living in Michigan?
Shira: I miss the scenery, the 
greenery and family. My hus-
band and I are going on a trip 
this summer to Florida, New 
York and Detroit. The first two 
places are for tourism — Times 
Square and Disney World — 
but we’re going to Detroit to 
show him my childhood and 
my memories. Detroit is a close 
community, and I will always 
feel at home there.

JN: Do you have a message for 
any young person who’s think-
ing about making aliyah?
Shira: If you’re coming for 
idealistic reasons, try to do a 
program and experience being 
with Israelis. Try not to be in 
a bubble because a bubble can 
hurt you in the long run. It’s 
like an immune system and 
when it breaks, it’s going to be 
harder. 
 From the beginning, you 
can have English-speaking 
friends, but network with 
Israelis and try to be in pro-
grams and speaking Hebrew 
with Israelis. 

Shira Brown: 

‘How could we not’ move to Israel?

AVIVA ZACKS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ERETZ

MEET THE OLIM

Shira (Parshan) Brown, 26, 
made aliyah from Southfield in 
2014 at age 18. Growing up at 
Young Israel of Oak Park and 
as a student at Akiva Hebrew 
Day School (now Farber), 
Shira had a strong Zionist edu-
cation. 

Menachem and Shira Brown

