Posted in , on November 7, 2012

500,000 Miles for the Dream: Alumni Spotlight on Edo Lavi

                Remember to check in, laptop goes in its own bin, where’s that gate? The commute to work for Dr. Edo Lavi is anything but typical. Former NCSYer of the Year, Dr. Lavi spends an average of one hundred hours a month in flight time alone. That translates to well over 500,000 miles in a year. This Ramat Bait Shemesh resident practices orthodontia in the US . Why the commitment to the extensive travel time?  After graduation he and his wife realized they had a great opportunity ahead of them. If they could settle anywhere, where should it be? After going through an extensive list of everywhere from New York to LA and everywhere in between, they settled on the idea of Israel. Dr. Edo says “Life in Israel is completely different; we wanted to live the most inspired life possible.”

                Looking back on his time in NCSY he doesn’t doubt the plethora of inspiration available, but he says there was an element that he valued even more. The camaraderie between him and the other 12 or so other guys from Merrik, Long Island.  Groups have infinitely more power than an individual alone. It’s possible for teens to get together in high school to stir up all sorts of trouble, but this group chose the path that embodied NCSY’s spirit. This group spent their collective energies strengthening each other as a constant resource of chizuk. That’s not to say it stopped them from parading into Spring banquet in tuxedo tops and Hawaiian shorts. But it is a testament to the character of the individuals that they still remain close to this day.

                This wasn’t always the plan, he says “I felt the yad Hashem, I would have been crazy to plan for my lifestyle to be the way it is. Only a madman would attempt to structure it this way” Well it seems to be working out just fine. It seems divine intervention was involved when meeting his spouse, whom he met through NCSY as well.  The two live happily in Israel with their seven children.  He doesn’t take a single moment of it for granted, ”I didn’t sign up for the interesting life, I’m just extremely grateful.”