Abe Goldfarb, 88, and his wife, Pauline, 84, always had considered making aliya, but it took a force of nature to give them the final push. Two days before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, the Goldfarbs packed two days’ worth of clothes and supplies, left their New Orleans home and headed toward Baton Rouge. Though they didn’t know it at the time, their lives never would be the same again. The Goldfarbs’ home wasn’t destroyed in the storm, but the damage was significant and the repairs would have required considerable investment. Instead, the two decided to start anew. There were, of course, challenges: For one, most of the couple’s personal documents were destroyed in the flood. But now, on July 14 — after 10 months of living in the Connecticut home of their daughter, Cynthia — they are set to embark on their life’s latest chapter.

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