
Lori's Blog
Conversations with my Rabbi / Lori Mendel

#9 for June 30
How can we explain the feeling within?
The job I had left in Los Angeles on coming to Israel was one of being overpaid and underemployed. Raising money for a hospital was big time, but not big on satisfaction.
I tried to relay that in to a job when I got to Israel, but the conditions were too different.
After being here for about 8 months and working and losing a job and seeing what the conditions were, I determined to go back to Los Angeles and try to reorganize. In the process, I gave myself the chance to find a really good job in what I had been doing. I went on several interviews, and for 3 big organizations I was flown out to meet with the Board. Nothing came of these efforts or meetings.
I decided I needed help and went to a career counselor for some repackaging. When I arrived at her office in Beverly Hills, I told her a little about myself and the work I had been doing and wanted to pursue.
After some quiet moments, she looked at me very intently and said, “You know, you are not really here.”
I was stunned.
How did she know?
And how do I take that assessment and work with it?
That night, thinking about the interview, I thought, YES THIS IS IT. I MUST GET MYSELF BACK TO ISRAEL.
Rabbi Ayala and I spoke about this quality that some people from out of the country feel when they get here: HOME.