Lori's Blog
Conversations with my Rabbi / Lori Mendel
Blog #15, Mars 3, 2021
Today, sitting in the waiting area at the Misrad haPnim…Interior Ministry, to get my ID replaced with a new biometric ID, I had a fleeting thought: by what set of circumstances, events, and connections was I there?
When the interviewer asked me, “What year did you come?” I told her, “1986” and for sure my Hebrew should have been fluent by now, but it is not!
I told my student today about this and he asked “Why did you come here?”
For sure, nothing in my history as a regular person from California would have predicted it! But when I came through TLV on my way home from Egypt I had an epiphany: THIS IS IT! THIS IS HOME! I HAVE TO BE HERE!
So I did it…More fun here than anywhere else…
More friends with different stories, for many, many years, more adventures hiking in the north or in the desert and connecting with the archeological history, more fun swimming in the warm sea until November, listening to oud music, eating local food and drinking at the wineries, celebrating the Jewish holidays, following the terrible local politics, biking on the (diminishing) country roads, sitting in cafes ….feeling at home.
Yes, I thought of my own love from long ago who is not here.