Born in America, raised in Silver Springs, Maryland, Rabbi Dov Lipman loves the land of his birth. But the call from Israel, his spiritual home, was so great that he renounced his citizenship after winning a seat in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. The first American born MK in thirty years. He experienced what is known as Aliyah, the Hebrew word meaning rising, ascending, or exalted. It’s the word used for Jews making the pilgrimage to Israel. Lipman explains, “There was a moment on a visit to Israel in 2003 where I just felt we have the opportunity to raise our family in the Jewish state. Why not take advantage of that blessing from God to be part of that? And it was the best decision we ever could have made.” It was because of his dual life that Lipman was able to create Yad L’Olim, an organization that helps Jewish immigrants from all over the world on Aliyah, navigate the complex bureaucracies of moving to Israel. With the war in Ukraine, Yad L’Olim opened “a special division to provide guidance to tens of thousands of Olim expected to arrive in Israel affected by the war in Ukraine.” On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, recorded at the National Religious Broadcasters convention, Rabbi Lipman talks about how he came to love Israel his home, and still adore America, the place that gave him life.
