NYC = J'lem?

This past weekend, I traveled to New York for a friend's birthday party. She lives in a mostly Jewish part of New York. Both on Friday during the day and at night, I saw people with yarmulkes and tzitzit haning out from their shirts. These were not the ultra-orthodox, they were simply Jews heading to services to welcome the Sabbath. For dinner that night, my friend made falafel and pita.  While they tasted good, none of which were as delicious as the cheap off-the-street delicacy.

As Saturday arrived, we walked through much of Manhattan and I spied a community of Jews. They were not walking together and they didn't know eachother, but when one Jew passed another, there was a slight nod between them. An acknowledgement. I also heard Hebrew and understood bits and pieces. I would turn around and glance at the couple behind me thinking, I know what you're saying. You are an Israeli and I am an American, but your Hebrew is the bond between the two of us.

Also while in NYC, I heard ambulances whirring and as they passed me I could see the glittering gold Hebrew letters. We passed synagogues whose names were written only in Hebrew. We passed restaurants and food stands where a certified kosher poster was planted on the window or register.

Finally, on Sunday, there was an Israel Parade. I didn't go because I had go back home, but I would have gone had I known about it sooner.

I felt as if I was in Jerusalem for just a moment. There was no Old City, no Ben Yehuda Street, and no Zuni's, but there was a bustling population of Jews getting ready for Shabbat. There was a sense of community and pride among these people, a unity that will never be broken. I could suddenly feel an emptiness. I was not in Israel and I will not be for at least another year. While people say they fell in love with the country they studied abroad, they don't fully understand the feeling I have unless it is a country of their heritage or some other meaningful relation. It's easy to fall in love with exoticism, but it's hard to feel as if you belong there and as if you could stay there forever joining the foreign community.

I feel I belong in Israel because it is the Holy Land of the Jews. The first time I landed in Israel, when I went on Birthright, I felt that sense of wholeness. Israel has more meaning for me than any other country other than the United States. I belong in Israel because I feel comfortable with the whole culture. I feel comfortable speaking, acting, dressing the way an Israeli does.  I severely yearn for the Holyland once more