יום שלישי, ח׳ תמוז תשפ״וTuesday, June 23, 2026
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Ariela Davis is a passionate Jewish educator/writer and also served as a Rebbetzin before her aliyah in 2020. She is the Menahelet of Ulpanat Orly in Bet Shemesh.
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By Ariela Davis
I try to enforce tznius dress code for my students at school and it upsets me if any of my own daughters try to push the limits but… to be honest, tznius does take center stage in our education system far more than halacha affords it in Shulchan Aruch.
By Ariela Davis
Despite the desperation of seminary kids and tourists to get out of the country in time for Pesach, those of us who have chosen to build our lives here wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
By Ariela Davis
Why notice the things that don’t go right and instead focus on the good, we wonder?
By Ariela Davis
It’s one thing to have nachat from kids because they get a good grade or follow the path we hope they will follow.
By Ariela Davis
Of all the Rosh Hashana simanim, the pomegranate is the one that stands out most aligned with Rosh Hashana – be it from the fabled 613 seeds it holds (has anyone actually ever checked that?) or its majestic crown, reminding us that Hashem is the ultimate king.
By Ariela Davis
I am endlessly grateful to Hashem for the miracles he performed for us in getting our footing in this amazing country... I’m grateful to Hashem for providing us with work that we find challenging and fulfilling and also proud that we were able to recreate ourselves.
By Ariela Davis
Each month, the Kotel plaza looks different from the one before as there is constant excavation and construction happening, an incredible sign of each incremental step coming closer to the Geulah.
By Ariela Davis
Come. It’s your land. You’ll find your place. You will forge your own path on the backs of those who have done it before you.
By Ariela Davis
Life in Israel, for Rebecca, feels more purposeful than anything she experienced in the U.S. She’s struck by the sincerity of the people, their love of Torah, of Hashem, and of one another.
By Ariela Davis
At last night’s ceremony at the Kotel in memory of the fallen soldiers, the camera repeatedly flashed to the flag waving in the wind as if it represented everything we were mourning that day. In many ways, it does.
By Ariela Davis
The Pomerantzes love living in Maalot and encourage other olim to think about the advantages of moving to areas outside of the center!
By Ariela Davis
Living far from family is hard. When we had our fourth child, we had to call a friend to stay with our kids when we went to the hospital, but other than missing family and maybe Target and the ease of Amazon, I don’t miss America at all.
By Ariela Davis
Two and a half years into our aliyah, our family (children and adults) have made new friends. We’ve held onto some non-Israeli habits like buying American cereal, playing baseball, flag football, and ice hockey (in Netanya) but are also slowly adapting to Israeli culture.
By Ariela Davis
They made aliyah with their six children in 2021 to Efrat. But moving to Israel has come with incredible highs, and also some challenges.
By Ariela Davis
Despite having to procure documents from several provinces and states to get aliyah approval, their arrival was a lot smoother than anticipated although there is always the adjustment to a new culture.
By Ariela Davis
How many of us who live relatively happy lives with families and full refrigerators and spend much of our time focusing on what we don’t have and complaining about the small things that don’t go our way?
By Ariela Davis
The experience of retraining to be a teacher is analogous to navigating through an underground labyrinth of bureaucracy. An outdated map with helpful comments scribbled on the margins is available as a guide; plentiful voices above ground of those who’ve ‘made it’ topside are available if called upon.
By Ariela Davis
While it was officially temporary, they viewed it as a full-on move, making the effort to settle and live their daily lives as if this was a long-term move.
By Ariela Davis
When we got on the plane to make aliyah, the world was shut down and I didn’t know when I would see my family again. This was so difficult, especially since they had been so helpful to me in raising my son.
By Ariela Davis
All of this led to the day that Jeffrey came home and told Daniella that he really felt the time had come to make aliyah. This time, they really talked it through.
By Ariela Davis
Living in Israel has provided me many eye-opening experiences to see that mentschlichkeit isn’t something unique to the frum world, or in my experience, even the Jewish world and is sometimes even missing in some aspects of the Torah world.
By Ariela Davis
As much as they had a rich life in England, the Saverys didn’t give up on their dream of aliyah (even though eight years later, no one believed they would actually make it!).
By Ariela Davis
Among Elie’s aliyah perks: I don’t have to wear a tie or suits anymore and I recently graduated and got permission from my wife to wear sandals (no socks!) and my feet are finally able to breathe. They’ve needed to breathe now for a long time!
By Ariela Davis
During the Three Weeks, we need to look at our division which led to the destruction of the second Beit HaMikdash, and for which the third Beit HaMikdash is not yet rebuilt.
By Ariela Davis
The initial big holdback for her was leaving her family and Atara and Zach have been amazed that so many of their family members have moved to Israel since their arrival.
By Ariela Davis
As olim, we envision moving to Israel for the reasons described in Masechet Sotah in the discussion of why Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to enter Eretz Yisrael. Either for mundane reasons like eating the fruits of Eretz Yisrael and swimming in the Kineret... and be a more fulsome Jew in Eretz Yisrael.
By Ariela Davis
Sam laughs that she was on every WhatsApp group, watched every NBN video and asked questions to everyone she knew.
By Ariela Davis
It’s been a heavy year but we are trying to build ourselves back up within our new reality... It’s a crazy reality to look around the world and feel that they’ve scrolled past while we have real family and friends still over there; it’s all still very real and raw for us.
By Ariela Davis
There is nothing more meaningful than living in Israel during this time, which is especially felt during this month.
By Ariela Davis
We felt it was an obligation that we speak about in our tefillot every day. We ask to be here and if we can make it work, we should be here.
By Ariela Davis
The challenges of making aliyah on a short timeline and in the midst of lockdown were many, but Tali says, Once we made the decision, Hashem carried us on His back to our new life...
By Ariela Davis
We shiver at the great privilege of being part of this great people living in this beautiful land and of the sacrifice, the depth and beauty of being here. Even now. Especially now.
By Ariela Davis
Since our aliyah, my husband, who was a pulpit rabbi in America, gets constant calls from rabbis and principals in America who are considering aliyah. Many have since arrived. Some are still figuring out how to make it work. But it seems there is scarcely a Jewish leader in America who doesn’t have aliyah in the back of his or her mind.
By Ariela Davis
At a short lull, I tore upstairs to put on a new Yom Tov dress and yes, my sheitel. I told myself that even if I was spending my entire day in a bomb shelter, this was going to be my way of not letting Hamas take away our Shabbat and Yom Tov.
By Ariela Davis
The fear and stress are very real and while we are mostly managing now, the questions about how bad it could get are a place where our minds don’t want to go.
By Ariela Davis
Parents have become afraid to say no. And parents have become afraid to parent.
By Ariela Davis
While everyone has the right to protest, no one should be able to shut down a highway, keeping people in need of medical attention away from hospitals and workers away from their jobs.
By Ariela Davis
My Facebook wall is replete with parents of former students, rabbis from previous communities where we’ve lived, as well as professors of Jewish studies programs equating actions of Hamas and the IDF.
By Ariela Davis
Anyone who read this news story probably had the same thought I had: what a chillul Hashem.
By Ariela Davis
I used to work in a school where the question often arose as to whether I am yeshivish or modern Orthodox.
June 21, 2026 
