From Boko-Ratone, Florida, this is Behind the Bima.

On this week's episode, Rabbi Ephraim Goldberg is joined by Rabbi David Gottlieb, Rabbi

of Kilae-Tha-I-La-Rabi at Hishivadharat-Siyon, and managing director of Salash.

Rabbi Gottliebh shares his unlikely Aliya story, explains the inspiring mission of Salash,

and describes the important differences

between Jewish communities in Israel and abroad. Plus, a live update from Akiva on the community

of Kiryat Shmona. All this and more behind the Bima. Okay, we are here with my dear friend,

Rabbi David Gottlieb. It's a great privilege and honor to be with you in Israel. We've known each other for many, many years. And among the many reasons I admire you and look up to you, including your Svharam and your Torah that I've always learned, but is the leap that you took to bring your family and to live here and to give up an incredibly successful rabbin it. Sharmaray, Mano, Baltimore, one of the big congregations in America, position of a lot of prestige and prominence, and to put your lot in your destiny in Israel. And when you did, and at the time, I don't know if you knew or anticipated or predicted being here through a war in which you have sons, son-in-law, in which as a leader of a community and a shul, a leader of Talash, all this we're going to unpack and talk about right now.

But it's absolutely extraordinary what you're doing. And on behalf of all of us, thank you. Thank you for all of your leadership and all that you do. And we look on with admiration, a little bit of envy. Hopefully enough that one day will follow one day soon. But thank you for giving us some time and letting us go behind the beam here at the Dabru Studios in Modian. Thank you so much. It really is a pleasure to be here and I appreciate you referring to me as a long time friend and not an old friend. Exactly. Big difference between the two. Big difference. So there's a lot so much to talk about catch up on. But let's not begin right now. Let's take that step back. And let's talk about you have this career. You're thriving. You're a leader in the rabbinit. You're in America. What was the trigger? What was what pushed you, your family, to make that leap, to come on Aliyah, to leave the rabbinit and to come to Israel?

So it's obviously a great question, a fair question, but it's more complicated than perhaps one would think because unlike a lot of people, both in the rabid and

outside of the rabbinit, who have long desire, dreamed of, planned on going on Alia. I never really

did. Maybe when I first got back from Yeshiva, but certainly as my... This was one of those, well, we're dating. Correct. Did not come up at all. Right. And honestly, I really felt that I was going to be like you. A pulpit rabbi in America, I thought that I had, you know, whatever the right skill set is for that. That was going to be my mission.

That's how I was going to serve the Jewish people.

And I was fine with that.

And there was never any moment where there was an epiphany,

and I started planning on doing something else.

And yet, at the same time, clearly, over time, almost subconsciously,

things had started to, I guess, bubble up. But even then, it was

never really a decision to go as much as I was at the end of a contract, and I asked for a

sabbatical. And I told the congregation at the time of the board, who was kind enough to grant the sabbatical, that in all sincerity, I needed a break, and I was open to considering Aliyah. I was transparent with them above board. But at the same time, I said, honestly, it's very unlikely. Right. Because what am I going to do in Israel? Right. You know, pulpit rabbi is not a career, and it's certainly not a Parnasa in the land of Israel. So I was open to it when we went on sabbatical, but I really wasn't planning on it. So how did we get to there and how do we finally make the decision? So I think in hindsight, and I did not know any of this really as I was going through it, as funny as that might sound. But in hindsight, it really was a number of

factors. One factor, which I think a lot of people who make Aliyah are somewhere in this story,

is that I had a relative. In my case, it was my wife's sister, my sister-in-law, Serena and

...