She's in Alabama, Her Husband is in Afghanistan

How does an Israeli woman end up in a small town in Alabama, a minimum three-hour drive from stores where she can buy kosher food? How does she miraculously escape from the clutches of the "new Judaism," trying to convince her to join the ranks of the church? Not to mention her significant efforts in the community to encourage Jews to embrace their heritage - after all, someone needs to complete the minyan at the small synagogue, otherwise the Torah scroll isn't taken out on Shabbat.

Meet Miri - an Israeli teacher and artist living in Alabama, mother of two, married to an American Jewish soldier currently serving in Afghanistan. She comes from a family that immigrated from Fez, Morocco, in 1956. The family received a two-room agency apartment in Eilat, where they raised their children. Years later, in 1985, she began her studies at David Yellin College while working at a hotel in Eilat. That's how she met her husband R., a Jewish officer serving in the U.S. Army.

How did you decide to move to the U.S.?

"R. was then serving as a UN officer in Israel. Our relationship lasted about 3 years, during which R. came to Israel two or three times a year, and that's how we saw each other. One day he told me it would be the last time he came. It was clear to me that if I wanted to continue our relationship, we needed to get married. I talked to my family, and we decided to get married in the U.S."

What's life like for an Israeli married to a U.S. soldier?

"The start was very difficult. For several years we had to move from base to base. Because he was in the U.S. Army, we moved every three years to different bases. It started in Germany, then we moved to Texas, where there was a small synagogue on the base with Jewish soldiers and their families. The leader, a colonel, asked me to organize a program for a Sunday school to teach Jewish children Hebrew and Judaism. I ordered all the study materials, so while the non-Jews' kids played on their day off, the Jewish soldiers' kids had a 'Sunday school'.

"We organized plays and holiday parties, involving the entire Jewish community. My duties included preparing bar mitzvahs by teaching the haftarah readings. Occasionally, I would travel with the bar mitzvah boys and their parents to the community rabbi, living about a two-hour drive from the military base. Unfortunately, R. is serving in Afghanistan, so we haven't seen each other in the last six months. The U.S. Army is different from the Israeli army. Military missions often require soldiers to be away from home for extended periods. But with Hashem's help, thanks to our spiritual strengthening and what I learn from the Hidabroot channel, I have the strength to hold on and strengthen myself, him, and our children until we meet again."

When did your spiritual journey begin?

"I remember myself as a child, very believing in the Divine presence, very close to Hashem, always speaking with Him. Over time, I drifted away a bit and looked for answers elsewhere. 'In the way that a person wants to go, that is the way he is led,' and so I ended up in what's called 'Messianic Judaism.' It was a Christian sect convincing Jews worldwide to join. Initially, I was excited, thinking I'd found the right path. However, R., who grew up in the U.S. and knew the Christians' tactics to lure Jews, dissuaded me from joining them, even though he wasn't religious then, he insisted on preventing me from connecting with them.

"In our area, there's a Reform synagogue with a female 'rabbi.' Men and women mix there, they take out the Torah on Friday, and a choir from the church sings our prayers, with a Christian playing the organ. When I first witnessed this, I was appalled. I couldn't understand how Jews could pray in such a place or how they didn't recognize the deceit.

"At our synagogue now, there's no minyan on Shabbat, and the Torah is not taken out. It is clear that the spiritual level in the area where we live does not satisfy my thirst for knowledge and doesn't meet my spiritual needs, which is why I now recharge my soul only with Hidabroot. I feel like I've reached self-completion and the inner peace I always sought. You could say that Hidabroot is like air to me. Our whole family strengthens through Hidabroot. Almost every Shabbat we read the weekly portion, enriching ourselves and the Jewish families I invite for Shabbat with explanations from the website."

Is kosher food readily available?

"We buy grocery items and non-perishable kosher items locally. However, good kosher meats are hard to find, especially with the recent frightening stories about certain certifications. Therefore, I buy the meats in another city, four hours from Nathansville, where we live."