Word Prompt – NACHAS – Ariella Davis

Aliyah with teens isn’t easy – not for the parents and not for the teens. It requires a lot of resilience on the part of teenagers and that’s not exactly a trending quality in today’s teens. And yet, many do it and are thriving. Including many of my students – some who made aliyah as old as 11^th grade. Some walked into school that first day looking miserable but a few months later, have found their place. I feel so much nachat when I see their smiles every day as they’ve recreated their lives anew.

And on a personal level, I have so much nachat from my own four kids, Baruch Hashem.

Each of my children integrated at their own pace and in different places; some at school, some from Sherut, some from working. I derive so much nachat – not just because they’re great kids and are doing great things but specifically because the path they took wasn’t easy – including one of my daughters who is the only student in her grade of 120 students who wasn’t born in Israel.

It’s one thing to have nachat from kids because they get a good grade or follow the path we hope they will follow. But nachat is also when we are astonished and moved by the bravery our kids show in forging their path. When we watch our kids (or students) choose to swim through difficult waters and emerge stronger, the sense of nachat is all the more powerful.