Page 59 - HaMizrachi Tu BiShvat 5782 - USA

shoulder, and her mouth said, “Sure
When you immigrate in your 30s, you
you do,” while her pitying glance said, are unlikely to ever thoroughly blend.
“poor, poor, Balki…” You will forever be a hybrid, a half-
blood. At best, you will be a (whimsi-
In the opening song from In the Heights, cal) centaur with qualities from both
there is a line that says, “In the Heights,
I hang my flag up on display; it reminds worlds. At worst, you will be a mid-
me that I came from miles away.” I love dle-aged, arhythmic American lady
that line, even though it is the opposite who is trying too hard to impress her
of my experience. I don’t need to fly the coworkers and her traitorous friends.
American flag to remember where I And sometimes, you will be just a girl,
came from. I am reminded every time standing before the Israeli cheese
I open my mouth. counter boy, trying to buy shredded
instead of sliced.
And while I am fiercely proud of my
origins and journey, I still often find So wrap that scarf, hang your flag,
myself wishing I could pass for a local. and crank up the music. Speak your
I am aware that as soon as I start a accented truth. Dance out of sync to
conversation with an Israeli, they will your own drum. Remember – it was
immediately know that I am not from Balki Bartokomous who gave us the
here, that I am simply another Ameri- Dance of Joy! You are an immigrant.
can who will say the wrong words and You are full of whimsy. And cheese. In
bruise their ears with my accent. My every language and culture, that means
only chance to control the narrative is you are winning.
the five seconds before the conversa-  Headscarf illustrations are from Atur
tion, which is why the scarf has taken Mitzchech (Sifriyat Beit El), and are used
on such importance. In those seconds, here with permission of the publisher.
I need my scarf to say all the things
that I cannot – that I am a proud Israeli
woman, that I am whimsical and fas-
cinating, and that I am not at all about Kally Rubin Kislowicz made Aliyah from
to mess up my cheese order. Cleveland, Ohio, to Efrat in 2016.
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