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Did You Go With Nefesh b'Nefesh?

That's the question I hear often and the answer heard from me is "I went with the Jewish Agency."

Nefesh b'nefesh has its place, makes it contribution, but their public relations are better than their services. They do help the aliyah candidate to get a start on things. They give an Anglo style intro to the process. They introduce you to the paperwork. They give an overview of benefits. They list the communities. For some people, this is much more information than they currently possess or would likely be able to gather elsewhere. They are an information source before you get to EY. Once you get there, you won't even know they exist.

All that and I never paid them a penny. But they didn't give me a penny either. The Jewish Agency pays for the flight. The Jewish Agency issues the Sal Klitah, the immigrant basket money. The JA pays for Ulpan. (And from what I hear, the JA pays a large part or most of their budget. So I have heard. Not sure if it's true.)

None of that costs a fortune. For the typical Westerner, it's a fraction of a year's salary. But for a Russian or a Jew in an Arab country - I'm going back a few decades - it's a life saver. It's a lot more than America gave my great-great grandfather when he came to the USA. But the money is from the State of Israel, not NBN.

NBN tells you about their scholarship program. They can list it on their brochures and fund raising material because maybe they actually award somebody, somewhere some money. They didn't give any to us, despite forcing us to share all kinds of personal financial information with them.

They also brag about how they come with you on the plane. What they don't tell you is that they don't talk to you on the plane. So really, the flight is a way for them to visit relatives in the USA.

What I don't like about the NBN question is the impression it gives and the assumption it makes that NBN becomes your surrogate parent. It's similar to the impression people have that universities take care of your actual career needs (rather than their own interests) and give you everything you need to get your start in life when typically they just give you a few courses in Anthropology for $1,300 a credit and send you packing with a slip of paper.

I'm sorry to report that you are kind of on your own in this life - with God at your side of course. There are no human gods, even those with good PR. Aliyah is mostly on your back as is your education as is your parnassah as is your shiduchim. Some organizations help. Some hurt. Some individuals help. Some hurt. But none that I know of, except in rare instances, carry you.

God carries you. And you carry yourself. You can do it. But don't think that NBN is going to be the best friend that you never had.


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