Raised in Jewish Milwaukee, Adina Pullin has made aliyah and is loving it
On a Thursday night, less than a day before Shabbat, Adina Pullin, 22, realized she had nowhere to spend the holiday in Israel.
For many people living thousands of miles away from their families, that could have meant a Friday night spent alone. Instead, one phone call transformed her weekend.
“I called someone at 10 on Thursday, and I was like, ‘Hey, like, I have no plans, what are you doing for Shabbat?’ Pullin remembered. “She was like, ‘Come, come to my family.’ They brought me into their family, and I didn’t feel like a guest, a burden or someone who imposed on them last minute.”
For this Milwaukee native, this one small story captures part of why she chose and continues to choose to build her life in Israel. Last month, she officially made aliyah, becoming an Israeli citizen after graduating from Touro University.
“I’ve been here for a while, but logistically it makes everything a lot easier. Also, I really value being here, and I want to officially be here,” Pullin said.
Pullin now lives in Jerusalem’s Baka neighborhood and works in marketing for a wig salon. She moved back to Israel last September to serve as a madricha at the Baer Miriam seminary.
Pullin does not have any close relatives in Israel, but she says that she has found something that helps to fill that gap.
“I don’t have a lot of family here, but thank God I have a lot of friends,” she said.
Many of those friendships have become family-like relationships, especially with other olim, or immigrants to Israel.
“A lot of people who’ve made aliyah, their families aren’t here,” she said. “So you need to be there for other people.”
This could mean a last-minute Shabbat dinner invitation. It can also mean spending the night with friends whose husbands have been called to military reserve duty, so they are not alone.
Pullin said that her connection to Israel began during her childhood in Milwaukee.
Growing up in Glendale, she attended Bader Hillel Academy for middle school and Torah Academy of Milwaukee for high school. After graduating high school, she spent a year and a half studying at a women’s seminary in Jerusalem, Aish Gesher, before returning to Milwaukee.
“My parents and my siblings, we have very strong values for the land of Israel and the connection to Torah,” she said. “I don’t even think I realized until I decided to stay here, how strong of an impact it made on me.”
She also remembers attending Yom HaAtzmaut events at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center as a child.
During Pullin’s first year of seminary, she learned how much she loved living in Israel. But after Oct. 7, 2023, her feelings slightly shifted.
“The want was still there, but it turned into a need. I realized that I needed to be here, and I just couldn’t see myself leaving,” Pullin said.
Milwaukee still remains a home for her, even from far away.
Her parents, Inna and Eric Pullin, along with her siblings, still live in the Milwaukee area.
“I miss Milwaukee,” she said. “I grew up in the same house my whole life, so I miss Glendale.”
Pullin sees her future in Israel, with a family.
“I hope to be raising a family with Torah and the values of this country. I see the families here, and I see how people raise their kids, and it’s just so different. It’s incredible,” Pullin said.
In the end, Pullin said, her decision to make aliyah really came down to a specific feeling.
“I really feel like, for me as a Jewish person, it’s where I’m supposed to be.”
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