“So how did they, those who never left their Israel, who called us descend, understood before us that we had descended from the whole that we are into half?”

Divided Hearts includes 18 stories from the lives of descendants. Each story touches on a different stage in the lives of immigrants, people who left Israel at a young age, and are confronted with the consequences and the understanding of the process of immigration even decades after they left, starting with saluting a different flag, frustration over the loss of parts of their language, facing revenge and jealousy, the recognition of severing ties with friends or family and the price they pay for it, the aspiration to fulfill a longed—for dream and the understanding, sometimes too late, that what we were looking for was next to us, but we chose not to see it.

All the stories and characters are real, but the names are fictitious. The protagonists in some of the stories are people I know, people I've met or heard in my nearly 40 years in Colorado, other stories are ones that happened to me and my family, and they're presented here under our real names. The line that connects all the characters, real or fictional, is one, the incessant longing for Israel, the yearning for something that connects our Jewish roots wherever we are, deep common roots and a soul that is divided between two worlds: the Israeli one in the past, who carries the same person wherever he goes, and the current and realistic American. Yaffa Turgeman, who was born in Israel and immigrated to Colorado many years ago, currently teaches Hebrew and Judaism in Denver Colorado.

For over 30 years, she has directed her own early childhood education center, nurturing young minds with care, structure, and imagination. Her life’s work is rooted in guiding children—and families—toward growth, confidence, and belonging. Her true enjoyment is writing children's books and baking cookies with her granddaughters, Lyla, Noa, and baby Orli