3 Existential Themes Every Oleh Encounters

#1: Change & Transformation

You upended your life for a calling, an intuition—a higher deed. But with great change comes instability.

You are ungrounded. Fear and “big feelings” show up more often. You’re in the thick of transformation. It is as scary as it is exciting.

#2: The Lonelines of Responsibility

Maybe you have friends or family here. Maybe you don’t. Either way, you are on your own.

Rabbi Hillel said: “If I am not for me, then who will be?

Aliyah forces you to rise up and take full responsibility for your well-being. There is no waiting—now is the time. And yet, you can, and you will, rise to the challenge.

#3: The Emptiness of the New

A new life also means a brush with emptiness. The old structures—the familiar routines, roles, and even relationships—fall away.

Suddenly, you’re changing jobs, losing contact with people, or sitting in a liminal space—a space of nothingness.

It may feel terrifying, like a slow kind of death. But contrary to how it seems, emptiness is the prerequisite for renewal.