What you have been doing since you year at Midreshet Lindenbaum?

I'm married to Dan Goldstein and have 6 sons:  Ya'ir (15), Natan (15), Gilad (12.5), Yitzchak (10), Sraya (8) and Shalem (5).

I have a BA in psychology from Stern and a Masters in clinical social work from Bryn Mawr. I actually met Dan when I was learning in Midreshet Lindenbaum.  My chevruta, Abby Hazony, knew Dan in college and she kept insisting that we meet, declaring to me that he had my name stamped on his forehead (she really said that), but being only 18 I was not interested in getting married.  One day, Abby and I were walking in town when she spotted Dan and his brother Doug.  She dragged me over and made enthusiastic introductions and suggested that we all go out for ice-cream.  It would have been churlish to refuse... 

The last job I've had is doing background searches in patents.  Before applying for a patent, it's often advisable to make sure no one has thought of the same thing before you.  Most of the searching I do is in medical devices, like artificial heart valves or prosthetic knees.

But, though I love the work, I love even more the stuff I do for fun.  I've been acting in and, lately writing for, the Raise Your Spirits theater company, a Gush women's group who perform original musicals.  We just finished the run of  In Search of Courage, a musical incorporating songs with monologues and conversations by characters who meet each other across time. For example, when Mordechai debates whether to bow down to Haman (played by me…), Yosef pops up to point out that his brothers bowed to him when they thought he was an Egyptian ruler, and Ya'akov points out that he bowed down to his brother Esav when he was on the warpath.  A lot of learning went into Courage as mefarshim and midrashim were the inspiration for many of the conversations and songs.  

My latest project, together with Dan, has been to produce an album of science and geography songs called Tremendous Earth.  We tried to mix high quality music of different styles with high quality education and we've been surprised and gratified by the response the album is generating.  We get people who come up to us and say things like "Oh my gosh!  I just had an anatomy test and sang the cranial nerves song to myself and I remembered them all!" and "I felt so smart the other day because someone mentioned Lesotho and I knew where it was!".  (Check it out at www.TremendousEarth.com)

What made you decide to come on Aliyah? How  would you describe living in Israel?

I love living in Israel.  I am actively grateful every day that I have been given the incredible privilege of living here.  It truly blows my mind.  Sometimes I look out of my window at the hills of Yehuda and can not believe I'm here.  It was clear to me from about the age of 17 that I would live here, so I decided ahead of time that I would only date men who were determined to move here.  When I made aliya, I was a pure Religious Zionist:  Eretz Yisrael is our place.  We do not belong in chutz la'Aretz.  But some time during the last 11 years, I have realized that for the sake of our survival, we must be a strong People in a strong Land.  We must have a strong and moral army, and we must contribute to that army ourselves.  We must love each other and feel connected to each other and work for the common good as a survival strategy.  I feel that kol Yisrael areivim ze la ze OR ELSE!  Ok, this is embarassing but I'll tell you anyway:  When I drive somewhere where you can see a large chunk of Yerushalayim, especially at night from a hill top when you can see all the lights, I want to call out to David Hamelech through time and show him and say "See what your little city has become?".  I think he would be very proud, and I'm proud of us too. 

Aliya was easy for us.  It's just not like the old days anymore.  We had a cell phone the day we landed, and Dan's brother, who made aliya with his family three years before us, had rented a little house for us, so that we knew where we were going and felt at home already.  The horrors that we had heard about the paper work and bureaucracy turned out to be exaggerated.  It just wasn't so bad.  Israel is such a children-oriented place that life with three young children actually became easier for me than it had been in the USA.  The kids had more freedom and were happy, and so were Dan and I.

What impact has Midreshet Lindenbaum had on you as a Jewish woman?

I was an independent and opinionated person when I went to Israel after high school, and I wanted to be in a place that would take me seriously and relate to me as the person I already was and not as someone to be molded according to a specific vision.  I definitely made the right decision.  The laissez-faire attitude of the midrasha gave me the freedom to deepen my commitment to Torah and Judaism.  It gave me the freedom to assess and appreciate and eventually fall in love with Jewish tradition and to decide to be fully committed to Halacha.  May Midreshet Lindenbaum go michayil le chayil and continue to fill a unique and vital role in the education of Jewish women.