I first met Dr. S. and his wife, M., when they came into my office on a hot Israeli summer morning at the beginning of August last year.
They arrived sweaty and pale-faced.
“What happened?” I asked as I poured them both a glass of cold water.
They told me they had come to Israel specifically to see a property that had been offered to them several weeks earlier.
After completing a long-distance negotiation, they flew to Israel to see the property inperson and close the deal.
When they arrived, however, they discovered that the information they had been given throughout the process did not match the reality at all. The deal fell through. Since then, they had spent two exhausting days running around the city from morning until evening with real estate agents who showed them properties that had little to do with what they were actually looking for.
They were exhausted and discouraged, and they were flying home that very evening to their four young children, whom they had left with their grandparents, having come to Israel with the goal of buying an apartment in Jerusalem.
It was impossible to miss the frustration on their faces-or the tears in the corners of M.’s eyes.
“So what brought you to me?” I asked.
They explained that after yet another exhausting day in which they had seen five apartments that didn’t meet their requirements, they called a close friend from their community late that night from their hotel.
He was also a successful international businessman involved in real estate, and a few months earlier, over Shabbat dinner, he had proudly told them that he had purchased an apartment in Jerusalem and gotten an excellent deal.
They admitted that they hadn’t called him until midnight the night before because they wanted to return home with the new apartment they had come to Israel to buy.
They wanted to prove to their successful friend-and to their close friends in the community-that they, too, understood what they were doing, understood Israeli real estate, and could manage on their own, even though he is a doctor and she is a senior executive in high-tech.
Over the years, I have met thousands of people, and time and again I am amazed by how much ego and unrelated considerations can influence people when making major life decisions involving enormous amounts of money. Human nature and behavior continue to surprise me, even after I think I’ve seen it all.
Their friend told them that he had purchased his apartment through our office, that he had been extremely pleased with the service and care he received, and that they had to come see us before boarding their flight that evening and hear what we had to offer.
I asked them what they were looking for and what they wanted. I asked a few more questions so that together we could define exactly what their ideal property would look like.
Then I told them, “I think I have something that could work for you.”
I could see the color slowly returning to their faces.
We got into my car and drove to a new development that we were marketing in the Talbiya neighborhood. The moment they walked into the large apartment, their eyes lit up.
“This could be exactly right for us,” they said.
I smiled to myself with satisfaction.
They asked a few questions, and I calmly walked them through the technical details. We then began working together on a deal structure that would fit their timeline and expected cash flow.
Together, we built a payment structure that they could comfortably manage and that fit their constraints. Then I called the developer.
After a short negotiation, we agreed on terms that matched the parameters they had set.
They also told me that the lawyer who had been recommended to them and had accompanied them until then had failed to properly verify the details of the original apartment-the very mistake that had caused them to fly all the way to Israel unnecessarily. They asked me to recommend another attorney.
I immediately called an experienced real estate attorney with whom I have worked for many years and completed dozens of transactions. Within ten minutes, while we were driving back to the office, he arrived there to meet them.
The chemistry between them and the lawyer was excellent. It turned out that he had represented several of their mutual friends. Together, we reviewed the structure of the transaction, and they received his legal approval.
Time passed quickly, and their flight home was approaching. M. mentioned that they still hadn’t even had time to pack.
I asked the lawyer to accompany them back to their hotel and, on the way, to stop briefly at his office so they could complete and sign the necessary legal paperwork in Israel. This would save them unnecessary bureaucracy and hours of valuable time once they returned home and were immediately pulled back into their demanding daily lives at the hospital and the high-tech company where they worked.
And that is exactly what they did.
This week, exactly one year after our first meeting, Dr. S. opened the door to their new home in Jerusalem with a huge smile and a warm embrace.
We raised a glass together with the excellent bottle of Israeli wine I had brought, so they would know that in addition to everything else, the Land of Milk and Honey has also been producing outstanding wine for many years.
After our toast, M. proudly took me on a tour of their home. With the meticulous attention to detail of a senior high-tech executive, she showed me every element she had designed together with the talented interior designer we had introduced her to at the beginning of the process.
I had last seen the apartment a month earlier, while it was still under construction, when I came to meet with the designer and technical team to make sure everything would be properly completed before the homeowners arrived in Israel.
Now I could see how everything had finally come together into an architectural creation tailored precisely to their needs and taste. Their high standards and excellent taste, translated into reality by the designer and technical team we had recommended, transformed the large apartment into a remarkable home that was impossible to remain indifferent to-and I have seen quite a few beautiful apartments over the past several decades.
I looked closely at M., remembering the distressed and disappointed woman I had met in my office a year earlier, just hours before her flight home.
This time, the tear in the corner of her eye was a tear of happiness.
“You helped us fulfill a dream we’ve both had since we first met,” they told me.
And I felt that unique sense of fulfillment I experience every time our clients-who long ago became friends-proudly show me their new home.
It is a feeling that reminds me, every single time, why I love my work so much.
At the end of the tour, M. revealed something else to me.
She had informed the high-tech company where she had worked for years that she would be leaving her position in a few months. Together, she and Dr. S. had made the decision to leave their old lives behind, make Aliyah, raise their children in Israel, and build their future in Jerusalem.
During the two weeks they had remaining in Israel, they were exploring employment opportunities through introductory meetings they had arranged in advance. They planned to use the remaining time to make the best possible decisions for their future.
Their children were extremely excited about the move. After spending a week traveling around Israel, they had already visited the neighborhood playground near their new home and met other children their age who welcomed them warmly.
And I was incredibly happy for them and for their children, who had already begun experiencing the ugly signs of antisemitism that had raised its head in the city where they lived, including an unpleasant street incident involving their eldest son.
I was even happier knowing that our city would soon welcome another exceptional family arriving from across the world-a family returning home to our beautiful, eternal city.
Zionism, 2026.
I left their home after nearly two hours with an uplifting sense that another mission, undertaken by our office team, myself, and all the professionals we work with, had been successfully completed.
More than that, I felt a profound sense of purpose knowing that we had helped this wonderful family change the course of their lives toward a better future.
And once again, I was reminded of the reason we get up every morning and work so hard.
