I fell in love with Israel before I fell in love with Eran. As a young adult, I went on Birthright and immediately fell in love with the country—the community, the atmosphere, the food, and the people–especially the people, even if I didn’t know that at the time. Knowing that I needed to get back to Israel in some way, shape or form, I set off for Tel Aviv in 2012 as a Masa Israel Teaching Fellow in a ten-month immersive program. Of course, I immediately loved living in Israel, just as much as I had expected, but what I did not expect was that my soulmate was also in Israel, and I would meet him only three days after my program started.
We met like a lot of young people meet—at a bar. However, our intentions of going to that bar that night in Tel Aviv were quite different. I was there for a Masa party for participants to have fun and get to know each other and the city; Eran was there because he heard there was a “tourist” party, and he thought he might be able to meet a girl. And what luck did he have! We instantly had a connection as we danced and chatted the night away. We exchanged numbers and he later called to invite me to brunch the next day. The rest was history.
Since my Masa program ended, we’ve made just a few small changes to our lives, including moving permanently to Israel, getting engaged in France, marrying in both Israel and Florida, and having two children! To this day, we still live in the city we fell in love in (and with), but now, we get to experience it with our two children. From the parks to the community activities, there is always something for us to experience and make us fall deeper in love with the city and each other.
Rachel Tobol is a Masa alum of Masa Israel Teaching Fellows, a program in partnership with Israel Experience.
