Back ... home !?!

We are back. No question about it. The bags are unpacked, the pantry and refrigerator are full, we have frequented our favorite restaurants, sticker shock at how cheap things are has set in, and I have started to fill up my calendar for July. Yes, we are back. And I imagine in the coming weeks, I will begin to feel like we are home, too. Well, that's not quite true. It does feel like home because it is home. And as I have posted before, my heart and loyalties are in both Israel and here in the States. I am not divided but dually-loyal. As has been said, "Love doesn't divide, love multiplies." But the love is different, the sense of connection is different and the intensity is certainly different.

The questions have begun to flow in: "How was your year?" "What was the best part?" "What did you like the least?" "When will there be peace?" "Did you feel safe?" "What will you do with your experiences?" "Is it hard to transition back?"

And the one consistent answer: "I don't know." I don't know what all this means – the year, our time, my experiences, my thoughts. I just know that I am a very lucky individual, who had a chance to live in Israel as an adult with minimal restrictions and obligations. I had a chance to just "be" in Israel – as a Jew, as a seeker, as a curious soul, as a bike rider (!), as a father, as a husband, as a brother… I was given a gift beyond words and I feel that I took complete advantage to the best of my abilities and now sit in my comfy house in North Carolina trying to answer everyone's questions knowing that really…it will be very difficult for most people to understand what I/we have just been through. In fact I/we don't really know what all this means quite yet – and probably won't for quite some time.

So I will sit with gratitude in my heart and enjoy the sense of satisfaction for having had the chance, for the first hand experiences, the multitude of cappuccinos, the hikes, the shopping, the music, my rabbinic colleagues, the workers at our minimarket (makolet), our neighbors, the traffic (ugh!), the debates, the struggles, the books, fellow students at the centers of learning I visited, the vistas, the weather, the food, the pastries…the beer, my many teachers, our relatives, friends we made along the way, sites we saw…

I guess I am home now if I'm posting from NC. Okay, I'll come to grips with it. Yes, I'm home. So what do I do now? Who knows? Stay tuned…now that I have the blog…I suppose I will continue to "use" it. Thank you for reading. I have loved hearing reactions along the way. And most importantly, I have loved the journey.

May each of us be blessed with a blessed, safe, meaningful journey – wherever and however life takes us. And wherever we choose or are forced to go.