by Amit Beilin
“The main difference between home and house is that a home is the place where someone lives and where they have an emotional attachment to whereas a house merely refers to a building in which someone lives.”
In Hebrew we don’t have two separate words for home and house, we have just one: בית. (ba-it). It is used to describe both the building in which one lives, and the feeling of belonging, the emotional attachment to a place. I kind of wish we had another word to use, because calling a place “home” that currently is just a house for you, feels weird.
It took some time for me to find myself at home once I arrived in Detroit. Luckily, I have been surrounded by the most incredible people that are doing all they can to make me feel comfortable and accepted. I’m very thankful that the houses I have been a part of have also become a home for me.
Even though I have found my place, the trip to my own home in Israel was something I was looking forward to very much. It’s crazy how strong the feeling of missing home can be, longing to be in your own bed, surrounded by the people that know you the best and love you the most. I was counting down the days until I returned home for a visit, and when I finally arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, I found my parents waiting for me, with their arms open for a hug. The minute I was in their arms I felt that I was home, and I realized how much I had missed this feeling.
The funniest thing was how I felt like nothing had changed. But of course, things had changed – my brother was suddenly taller than me, my sister had matured, my friends are in the army or in a year of service. Everyone’s life kept going without me – but to me, it felt like everything was just in place, just the way I left it. It was home like I remember it, and I’m very thankful and relieved it was because I know how quickly that can change.
My time in Israel flew by unbelievably fast – my mom said it was the fastest two weeks that she remembers – and before we knew it, it was already time for me to come back to Michigan; a place that is thousands of kilometers away, a place across the sea, another place I now call home.