BY DANIELLE BELLA ELLISON:
Looking out the window at the rain pitter-pattering down on the streets of New York, I imagine the contrast of the sunny beaches, deserts, hills, and city streets of Israel that will soon surround me. A Yale friend of mine who is arriving in Israel a few days ahead of me wrote in her Facebook status yesterday “הולכת הביתה” which means “going home” in Hebrew. Many American-Jews feel that Israel is a special second home to them; I, with an Israeli mother and almost half my family in Israel, feel that ‘second’ is perhaps not a proper description for how I feel when I arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. It is the same as, but also different from the one I get at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. For much of my life I have tried, but not yet managed, to put my finger on the distinction.
To all those abroad this summer, consider the feeling and the meaning of ‘home.’
Danielle Bella Ellison ’15 is in Davenport College. This summer she will be blogging from Tel Aviv, Israel. Contact her at danielle.ellison@yale.edu.