Israel

Israel is a formative place in Yasha’s biography, but not one he experiences as a spiritual homeland in his own right. He moved there at the urging of his grandfather, Zeyde, and served the country; in retrospect, he understands the attachment as bound to the person who made the move meaningful, rather than to the land itself.

Migration and Residence

At Zeyde’s behest, Yasha left the United States to make aliyah and lived in Israel for six years. His time there involved service to the country: he describes protecting his grandfather’s homeland. The account establishes both a substantial period of residence and a concrete act of service, while making clear that the choice began with Zeyde’s wishes.

Zeyde and the Meaning of Home

Yasha’s understanding of Israel is inseparable from his relationship with Zeyde. He saw his grandfather choose, in his later years, to return to his spiritual beginnings and spend his final days in contemplation and prayer on the same earth where the prophets had walked. Yasha’s own connection was different: he says he did not feel a genuine tie to Israel, and went because Zeyde was his safe place. He would have felt at home wherever his grandfather chose to be.

That distinction makes Israel both a geographic home and an emotional one, but not in the same way for both men. For Zeyde, the country answered a spiritual longing; for Yasha, its meaning came through the security of being near him. Even without telling his grandfather, Yasha knew that Zeyde would be there if he asked. The knowledge itself nurtured him, like having a home available even if he never went to it.

Departure and Afterlife of the Bond

After Zeyde died, Yasha returned to New York City to be with his mother. He stayed for a year, until she died suddenly of a stroke. His account thus places Israel within a sequence of departures and losses, while showing that the feeling of safety associated with the country did not depend on continued residence there: it endured as part of what Zeyde had meant to him.

Israel’s significance in Yasha’s story is therefore relational rather than simply national or religious. His service and years of residence are real, but his own reflection separates them from spiritual belonging. The country matters because it was Zeyde’s homeland and because, for a time, it was the place where Yasha could be with the person he trusted as home.