For Dr. Emily Steier, a fourth-generation medical professional who made aliyah to Jerusalem in 2023 following Oct. 7, immigration to the Holy City wasn’t part of the original plan.

Like many young couples building their lives in the United States, she and her husband were comfortable, settled, and surrounded by everything familiar.

“When my husband and I got married, we didn’t plan to make aliyah. We loved Israel, but our friends and family were in America; we both had jobs that we liked. We were comfortable,” she recalls.

However, the feeling started changing, especially with the birth of their second daughter, and the feeling of a need to settle that came with it.

“We started to think about where we want to buy a house, where we want to place roots.... We started thinking about options in America, but no place felt right. We had a feeling that we couldn’t buy a home here [in America],” she says.

What began as uncertainty slowly transformed into clarity. Conversations with people in Israel, combined with a growing sense of purpose, led the family to a major realization:

“Over time, it became clear to us that this is where God was calling us to be. Although it required a huge leap of faith, it felt so right. Additionally, we loved the idea of raising our children in a culture that normalizes their Jewish identity and supports their spiritual growth,” she explains.

It was clear that Israel was the only place that could support the life they were being called to. Their original plan was to move in October 2023. The Oct. 7 attacks rattled their plans.

Like many around the world, the Steier family watched events unfold with shock and concern. They paused their plans briefly to reassess the situation. But instead of deterring them, the ensuing war ultimately reinforced their decision.

Two months later, with three young children in tow, they made aliyah, arriving in Jerusalem in December.
“We finally felt ready to come with our three little ones.... We moved straight to Jerusalem. We are very happy to be here,” she says.

On their first day in Israel, a simple logistical challenge became a moment of warmth and pride. The Egged-sized coach bus carrying their belongings could not reach their street, leaving them stranded with more than 25 heavy bags and boxes. Then, random strangers started to help bring their belongings.

“A mother and daughter from the community came to meet us, and then others on the street just stopped to help... high school students, someone from the store next door, the sanitation worker.... Less than an hour later, we were all moved into our house. We felt warmly welcomed,” Steier recalls.

That feeling of belonging stood in major contrast to the reality of moving to a country at war. Sirens, missiles, and uncertainty became part of daily life. “Sometimes it has been stressful with the sirens.... In the beginning, it was unsettling to be so close to war... with missiles overhead and booms,” she says. With no reinforced safe room in their home, the family adapted by using a basement space.

As both a mother and a psychiatrist, Steier approached the challenge with intention.

“We were worried about our kids mostly... and we heard something from Rav Doniel Katz before we came that kids absorb stress about sirens and rockets from their parents’ reactions, and he modeled a way to approach going to the shelter with calm, joy, and faith. This helped us a lot in our approach,” she explains.

Professionally, Steier's transition was equally remarkable.

A psychiatrist by training and part of a multigenerational medical legacy, she initially took time to adjust to her new environment.

“We kind of took the first year slow, to get adjusted,” she says. But it wasn’t long before she began the process of transferring her medical license and integrating into Israel’s healthcare system.

She soon joined the mental health services of Meuhedet in Jerusalem, where she found both professional support and personal grounding.

Despite arriving with limited Hebrew proficiency – “When I first came in, my Hebrew was at a level-hey ulpan... I was not fluent and was not able to fluently understand Israelis at all” – she was encouraged to begin seeing patients after her first month, which helped her tremendously with the language and cultural barriers.

Her role placed her on the front lines of a nation grappling with collective trauma. She treated soldiers dealing with post-traumatic stress and depression, civilians coping with the anxiety of repeated sirens, and, more recently, individuals struggling with eating disorders.

“I meet a wide range of people in the clinic at the most complex moments of their lives,” she says. “People are not only looking for medical treatment but also for tools to cope and the feeling that someone is listening to them.”

Now Steier is taking the next step in her professional journey: building her own private practice in Jerusalem.

“I am starting a private practice at this time, Whole Heart Psychiatry, for women with anxiety and depression,” she explains.

Balancing motherhood, professional growth, and life in a new country has not been without its challenges. The last war, especially, shattered routines:

“The children were out of kindergarten... things with my practice were starting, and then everything kind of stopped,” she notes.

But this nevertheless created precious moments for her to bond with her children. “It was really special to have that quality time with the children,” she reflects, even as she looks ahead. “It was also good to go back to routine and to head toward that goal.”

Underlying her story of aliyah is a legacy that stretches back to her great-grandfather, who once performed an emergency cesarean in the field to save a mother and child. For Steier, now in 2026, that calling has found new expression in Israel.

In a country navigating profound challenges, she has chosen to build a life in Jerusalem overcoming war, linguistic challenges, and the uncomfortable.

Her journey, now with her new clinic, together with her husband and three young children, reflects a life of transformation and faith that, regardless of war and adversity, shows a determination to succeed.■

Emily Steier

From Queens, New York, to Jerusalem, 2023