Lisa Cain Hammerman: The miraculous art of motherhood

Lisa Cain Hammerman, a 72-year-old artist from Brookline, Massachusetts, found her home in Israel after arriving as a volunteer on a kibbutz in 1979 following her father's death. Despite a rebellious youth, her fluency in Hebrew and a deep sense of belonging led her to make aliyah in 1980, settling in Jerusalem. She built a career in art education and illustration, but her most profound challenges were personal, including infertility. After adopting a daughter and embracing greater religious observance, her first marriage ended. She remarried, and despite a vasectomy reversal for her husband and her age of 50, she miraculously conceived and gave birth to a second daughter at 51. The couple also fostered seven children. Her journey, which began with feeling "anchorless, rudderless, and at sea," culminated in her becoming the matriarch of a multi-generational Israeli family, with one daughter serving as a combat soldier. Hammerman advises new immigrants to "lower your expectations" and learn Hebrew to adapt successfully.