Of Vital Importance- Progressive Judaism in Israel

Again, my apologies for NEVER posting... I'm going to try an every other day approach to see if it's easier to write short blogs often as opposed to long blogs once a week. We'll see :)

I posted the last entry as an attempt to explain some of what HUC students and Jerusalemites in general are feeling in regards to the pigua this week. If you want to talk with me about it, please feel free to email. Otherwise, know that I am fine, and like all my classmates, am working on my feelings about Jerusalem, Israel, the conflict here, etc, with friends, HUC professors and staff.

This week was the first week of my two summer classes- Modern Hebrew Ulpan and Bible History. Ulpan is intensive modern Hebrew study- we will take Hebrew all year long, but during the summer, we study Hebrew Sunday through Wednesday for four hours each day. We are divided into four levels, Hebrew letters aleph, bet, gimel, and dalet- I am in aleph, but pretty okay with it, seeing as though I only started learning modern Hebrew last summer. The classes are small, with 10-11 students in each class, and are taught by Israeli teachers who speak almost entirely in Hebrew. On Wednesday evenings, we have two-hour long Bible History lectures, followed by Thursday tiyyulim (trips) around the country to see what we learned the night before. This past Thursday had a two-part Jerusalem tiyyul, but we will be heading out further, all around the country, in the next few weeks. Of special note today is that my friend Sara has been in Israel on Taglit-Birthright Israel this week, and has spent the last few nights in Jerusalem, giving us a chance to see each other. I am definitely enjoying my first "visitor."

On Wednesday, we had an afternoon visit in HUC's sister complex, Beit Shmuel, with the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) and the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). We learned all about progressive Judaism in both Israel and around the world. In Israel, Reform/Progressive Judaism (as well as Conservative Judaism, called the Masorti movement in Israel) is not recognized as a form of Judaism- Orthodox Judaism is the only kind that exists here. The interesting part of this is that most Israelis are secular Jews... the secular Jews' joke goes: "The shul I don't go to is Orthodox". In other words, though most of the country is secular, the only kind of Judaism anyone knows exists is Orthodox Judaism. Progressive movements are certainly not new, but are still very small in Israel- there are currently only 24 Reform/Progressive congregations in all of Israel (there are another 10ish organizations that are affiliated with Progressive Judaism in Israel, including the IMPJ, the WUPJ, and Hebrew Union College- my school). In the United States, Reform Judaism is the largest stream, with over 1.5 million adherents in over 900 congregations. Just to put this into perspective, there are 5.3 million Jews in Israel and 5.2 million Jews in the United States.

Now, just a side note before I come back to the complexities of Progressive Judaism. I spent Friday with another rabbinic student, Harrison, at Kibbutz Gezer, outside of Jerusalem. We were checking out a community service internship opportunity at the Kibbutz, which will eventually involve doing some "social work" and music programming with convicts from a nearby prison, as well as leading Shabbat services and song session at congregation Birkat Shalom, the Progressive synagogue located at the Kibbutz. It was a fantastic day, filled with more food than I think I've eaten in the entire three weeks I've been here, a warm welcome from the Rabbi of Birkat Shalom and her husband, the director of a education center (called Pinat Shorashim) located on the Kibbutz, and a visit from a group from Leo Baeck temple in Los Angeles (whose Rabbi was the rabbinic intern at my temple when I was younger- it was great to catch up with him and his family!). Harrison and I helped to lead Shabbat services, hung out with the Rabbi and her husband (named Miri and David) and their family, and got to know people at the Kibbutz. Needless to say, we'll be accepting this internship and spending one Friday a month at the Kibbutz!

Coming back around to my point... Rabbi Miri Gold of Birkat Shalom at Kibbutz Gezer is the plaintiff in a groundbreaking lawsuit, aimed to gain rights for non-Orthodox Rabbis, as well as their congregations and communities. In Israel, each community/region elects a community Rabbi who is then given a teken (salary) by the Israeli government for serving their community- the teken comes from a religious tax that is paid by ALL Jewish Israelis. The problem here is that only Orthodox Rabbis may "run" for and be elected to the post of community Rabbi. This poses a problem for Rabbis like Miri Gold and communities like Kibbutz Gezer- the community at Gezer is clearly served by Rabbi Miri (and in fact has not seen their community Rabbi in three years) and is not interested in an Orthodox rabbi. Unfortunately, Rabbi Miri is not eligible to be the official community Rabbi (though she does all of the work in the community) nor is she eligible for the teken earned by Orthodox Rabbis. While some of you may know that Reform and Conservative Rabbis in the United States are paid rather nicely (congregational Rabbis right out of school make approximately 80k per year), Progressive Rabbis in Israel make very little money- not really enough to support a family. Add in the fact that Progressive Rabbis are not even recognized by the Orthodox movement (which is again the only movement recognized by the State of Israel, since the Orthodox movement controls the religious areas of government), and we have ourselves a problem here in Israel.

I don't say all of these things about the Progressive movement in Israel to make anyone upset with Israel- in fact, I hope you aren't. Many Israelis are very slowly warming up to the idea of non-Orthodox Judaism and non-Orthodox Rabbis... a few are even warming up to the idea of female Rabbis! There is a lot of work to be done within Israel to work for equal rights for the Progressive movement, its adherents, and its clergy- this work is already being tackled by congregations and clergy, the IMPJ, the WUPJ, and HUC. However, look again at the numbers associated with Progressive Judaism in the United States and in Israel. Now look at another number- 6.7 million shekels. This is the usual yearly budget for the IMPJ. But here are two other numbers- 30% or 2 million shekels. This is the amount lost in IMPJ funding this year, mostly due to the declining dollar. The grand majority of funding for the IMPJ actually comes from American Reform Jewry. You would think, with the amount of money given by American Reform Jews each year, that we care deeply about Progressive Judaism in the State of Israel. Unfortunately, this support only extends to the financial end. Less than half of the incoming Year in Israel HUC class (remember, we will all eventually be Rabbis, Cantors, and Jewish educators) even knew what the IMPJ and WUPJ were when asked this week! Progressive Judaism cannot be pushed to thrive in the United States while it is neglected in Israel, the home of the Jewish people. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the head of the Union for Reform Judaism, the congregational and organizational arm of Reform Judaism in the US, said:

"For Reform Jews, the stakes are especially high. If we fail to establish a significant presence on Israeli soil and do not become a powerful force in the next generation, we will have consigned ourselves to the margins of Jewish history. While Reform success in Israel gives me confidence that this will not happen, it is for this reason that our support of Reform Judaism in Israel is so vitally important. "

I urge those of you who are Progressive Jews in the United States to think about the complex nature of Progressive Judaism in Israel, and consider how you might support (and I don't mean financially) it at home. Even though it may not affect you personally, it will affect the Reform movement in the United States, choices (or lackthereof) for Israelis and Jews all over the world with regard to how they are able to practice Judaism, and if not anything else, me. As a future female Reform Rabbi, I will be in a tough position outside of the United States if changes don't continue to be made in Israel and around the world. Progressive Judaism is growing worldwide and will have a fighting chance if those of us in the strongest position- Reform Jews in the US- are willing to help.

With that said, I want to say again that I am having a wonderful time here in Israel, and am already learning so much. I am enjoying hearing from many of you via email and phone calls, and I ask that you continue to keep in touch. I miss you all. Look for pictures of my apartment and HUC's beautiful campus coming soon!!

The Spirit of King David Street Cannot Be Bulldozed

While I do promise to also post on my own today, I wanted to share this Jerusalem Post Blog entry, written by HUC Jerusalem's Dean, Rabbi Dr. Michael Marmur. He writes on the subject of the terrorist attack we had this past week. I thought I might let him share the story with you this time...

-Meredith

P.S. He's British... so when you read this, it's helpful to think of a British accent... it makes some of the things he says seem funny as opposed to just plain weird :)

Thursday Jul 24, 2008

Reform Reflections: Life and death on King David street

Posted by Rabbi Michael Marmur

For much of my adult life I have studied, taught and worked on King David Street in Jerusalem. It is certainly no ordinary work address. World leaders stay there - in recent months we have played host to Bush, Blair, then Bush again, Blair, Rice, Blair Carter, Sarkozy, Blair (I'm beginning to think that man has nothing better to do), Brown, Mc Cain, Obama - and that doesn't do justice to the tens of less famous officials - Fishing Ministers from Ruritania and Tax Inspectors from Uzbekhistan.

Then there are the Life Cycle Events. Families compete with each other to hold the most opulent and often gaudy events: barmy Bar Mitzvahs, wild weddings, and far from circumspect circumcisions. And let's not forget the welcome crush of tourists, staying in comfort and often returning home with some expensive artifacts purchased at one of our street's many upscale emporia. More hotels are on the way, along with a plethora of swanky apartment buildings aimed at visionaries and speculators.

It is perhaps a surprise that one of the street's most famous and significant landmarks is the YMCA, an oasis of dialogue and culture and encounter and health. If you've never been, you owe it to yourself to drink in the architectural attractions, climb to the top of the tower, and stop off for a Pilates class at the same time. Jews and Arabs (both Muslim and Christian) feel at home at the YMCA.

Over the last years King David Street has also played host to the Annual Gay Pride parade. Visitors to similar events might mistake the throng of men dressed in police uniform walking by the YMCA as some kind of hommage to the Village People, but in our city's parade they are actually policemen, on hand in order to protect the crowd from the taunts of those who combine theological certainty with personal insecurity.

A variety of Jewish institutions grace the street: on avenues nearby some of the most important foundations and philanthropic agencies are to be found. AIPAC is across the street. The Gesher Institute is opposite my own institution, the Hebrew Union College, and our campus plays host to Merkaz Shimshon and Bet Shmuel - the world headquarters of the Reform Movement. In recent years an Ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva has opened up in close proximity. With the international center of Conservative Judaism a couple of blocks away, we are arguably situated in the most denominationally diverse address in the Jewish world. It is truly the High Street of the Jewish People.

The street is no stranger to acts of violence. The most spectacular and deadly event took place back in 1946, with the notorious attack on the street's most famous eponymous hotel. 45 years later, a planned suicide bombing succeeded in killing the man with the explosive jacket, but no innocent victims. And now, earlier this week, King David Street saw the second example in as many weeks of Tractor Terror. A man driving a construction vehicle started ramming and squashing vehicles, although he was killed before he managed to kill anyone else.

Five of my students were in close proximity to the attack this week. Four of the College's Israeli students were enjoying a break at a local café, and were afforded a grandstand view of the grim and swift proceedings. More directly still, one woman recently arrived from the US on our Year in Israel Program found herself directly behind the tractor. As soon as the gunshots began to ring out she took cover behind a tree. Once the emergency was over, she dusted herself off and went to her apartment. When I saw her soon after she was shaken but not stirred, and we spent some time talking about her road to the Rabbinate. For her and hundreds of others, the first Road to the Rabbinate is King David Street.

When I passed the scene of the attack a couple of hours later, an assortment of characters had shown up - a Government Minister in search of a photo opportunity, and some Kahanist crazies in search of a hatred opportunity. Chabad were also there for some reason, with a large banner promising Messianic days. Somehow the bizarre nature of the scene seemed natural in a road in which the incongruous is inevitable.

Those who try to bring death to this place of life will not succeed, even if (Heaven forbid) a future attack yields casualties. Somehow the untidy yet intense drama being played out in the street - Jews and Arabs, locals and tourists, Liberals and Traditionalists, wealthy and modest - must not be curtailed. It may have its tractors and its detractors, but the spirit of King David Street cannot be bulldozed.

Israeli News Update

While today was a normal day for most, it was a truly sad day for Israel. Though there have been atrocities over the last few years, including rockets being shot into S'derot, the shooting in the Old City seminary last year, and last week's bulldozer pigua (attack), Israel has been in a relative state of peace and stability since the end of the Second Lebanon War with Hezbollah in the summer of 2006. The war began when Hezbollah attacked Israeli soldiers in border towns, leading to the deaths of three soldiers and the capture of two others- Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. This week, after waiting two years, Israel and Lebanon brokered a prisoner exchange- Lebanon would return Ehud and Eldad in exchange for, among others, Israel's most notorious prisoner, Samir Kuntar, who in 1979 killed an Israeli man in front of his four year old daughter, and then killed the girl by crushing her skull. Though the majority of Israelis believed that there was no way that Eldad and Ehud could still be alive, some still hoped. Today, after two years and four days, that hope was crushed, when Israel exchanged Kuntar and four Hezbollah militants in exchange for the bodies of Ehud and Eldad.

Prime Minister Olmert echoed the words of many HUC professors who spoke about the event today, saying that "the sheer power of Israel's moral obligation to its soldiers prompted the exchange, even such at a heavy price" (Ha'aretz News, full story here). Olmert stated that "a foreigner wouldn't understand what every Israeli knows well - the mutual responsibility and the obligation to ensure the welfare of each and every one of our soldiers, is the glue that holds our society together and enables us to survive while surrounded by enemies and terror organizations."

I hope that my sharing this news doesn't upset anyone, or make anyone feel that I am unsafe or in an unstable country or situation. The fact of the matter is that Israel is an incredibly safe country. The danger that many of you remember from four years ago during the second intifada has almost completely diminished. I want to assure everyone that I not only feel safe all the time, but that Hebrew Union College has set up all kinds of systems to keep everybody safe and to make sure that we are taken care of at all times.

I also want to stress something really amazing about Israeli society. I know that I have been making fun of Israel and Israelis (and believe me, I'll continue to do so), but this is something that I really admire about Israelis. The people of Israel have a unique ability to simply LIVE their lives. They are certainly affected by events like terrorist attacks and the situation today, but unlike Americans and so many other people, they refuse to be afraid or to stop their everyday lives in fear of what may happen in the future. Even though Israel was faced with a terrible loss today and will never forget it, Israelis will wake up tomorrow, go to work and school, meet friends and family, smile, and keep on living. Just something to think about!

I hope that you'll accept this serious post for today- I promise to let you in on the last few days SOON! Hopefully, our router will finally arrive tomorrow and I will have my own internet, Vonage, etc, and will be better equipped to stay in touch with everyone. Goodnight!

HOT, Netvision, and Me... a Hate/Hate Relationship

First of all, I have to apologize for not posting for the last week. Unfortunately, we've been having to some internet issues,... after spending about three hours a day for the last five days fighting the cable and internet people and the router and modem in general, I haven't been so excited to turn on the computer and find internet. We finally found out that our American router simply isn't compatible with our Israeli internet provider, so we have to order a router from Netvision, our internet people, and it will hopefully work after that! I'll keep you posted!! In the meantime, since I don't have my vonage phone set up yet, feel free to email!

The last week has been really busy and fun here in Jerusalem. After going to services last Saturday, most of the students headed over to a park behind the King David Hotel for a Shabbat picnic. On Saturday evening, we attended a study session and a dessert and havdallah alumni event at HUC, where I saw Rabbi Walter, my rabbi from home. After the event, a BIG group of us went to a hookah bar and dance club near Ben Yehuda St... just so you know, rabbis and cantors can party, too! Many of the nights this week have been spent potlucking (I've made this a verb, like it?) and hanging out at various students' apartments- I've gotten to know a lot of the students, and it seems like a great class so far. My roommates and I spent a lot of Monday cleaning our kitchen, since apparently the people who lived here before us never washed a single dish... oy.

Tuesday was my roommate Lisa's birthday! We went to lunch at Burgers Bar (yes, there's an "s" on the end) for lamb burgers, and then Leslie, Deana, and I broke away for a little birthday shopping. That evening, 35!!! of our classmates came out to dinner at a great place called "Colony" in the German Colony/Emek Refaim area. After a little tour of Emek Refaim from one of the interns, we all went to a cool outdoor bar to continue our celebration. At the very end of the night, the few of us that remained stopped at an Irish bar near our apartments, and guess who was sitting next to us?? Dan Nichols!!! (Jewish rock artist, VERY popular with NFTY kids and Reform movement people in general) And guess who got the only name drop at the table?? Yours truly! It was (hopefully) a nice birthday for Lisa!

Wednesday was my day of relaxation... I walked back to Emek Refaim to have lunch with Rabbi Walter, which was really great! Afterwards, I went to a coffee shop called (ready, Cbus people?) Cup O Joe, and did some reading and paperwork for HUC. These are really the only two notable things about Wednesday, because like I said, I did nothing and relaxed :) Thursday brought registration at HUC, shopping at the Shuk (we forgot our shuk cart- never again!!), and a HUGE event at HUC. A bunch of the students went to HUC for the evening to volunteer for NFTY's 50th anniversary of Israel programs banquet/event/thing! There were over 650 NFTY kids there for dinner, a slideshow, and a short Dan Nichols performance! (They got a full concert later that night on Masada, which we unfortunately couldn't find a way to get to). I got to see Elyse, since she's staffing a trip, and we had a great time celebrating with all the NFTY kids. After the event, a bunch of us had ice cream on Ben Yehuda, and then about 15 people hung out at our apartment, had more dessert, played guitar/sang, and waited for the cable guy (the cable company is called HOT, if you can believe that) with us!

We spent this morning at part of a day of study at HUC for students as well as Jewish professionals and HUC alumni. I went to two classes/seminars... the first was a text study and discussion called "the Transformation of Jewish Ritual: Tradition, Renewal, and Invention"- it was a great class, and I thought the instructor did a great job of focusing on real problems and situations faced in the field. The second class, "From Bima to Bonfire: Musical Trends in Jewish Prayer," was right up my alley. We listened to four different musical selections, and talked about their place in services/Jewish life or lackthereof, if the music was actual prayerful, if it was participatory, and what kinds of feelings were invoked by each. Ultimately, we decided if each piece was better associated with Bima (the raised portion at the front of the sanctuary where the Rabbi/Cantor stands) or a Bonfire (taking about the general concept of song sessions, participatory singing, campfires, etc). We skipped the afternoon classes to finish shopping for Shabbat (stores close by 3pm on Fridays and don't open again until Sunday), rest, and get ready for our evening study session/reception, Kabbalat Shabbat services, and dinner at HUC.

I'll post back ASAP... I will hopefully have internet this week!

Life at 11 Ramban

Hello from Jerusalem!! I arrived with my roommates, Lisa and Deana, at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv at 1:30pm Israel time. Lisa and I got our bags, but of course, as Deana had to run to the plane in NYC, her bags didn't arrive. The process of getting her bags sent to her at school was complicated due to the attack we had in Jerusalem on Tuesday. I have attached the news article here, but please don't be alarmed- this is VERY rare here, and this doesn't seem to be an organized terrorist attack, but rather an angry reaction from an unstable person.

Our apartment is on Ramban St, which is a GREAT location. We are at ten to fifteen minute walk from ANYWHERE we'd want to go, including the Ben Yehuda area, the Shuk (open-air market), Emek R'faim (the German Colony, an area with lots of great stores and restaurants, and the Reform temple we'll probably go to a lot), and even the Old City! We are about 100 yards from the grocery store, which is called the Super Sol, and about 7 minutes from HUC!! Our apartment is very big by Jerusalem standards, and my bedroom is about twice as big as my bedroom at home! I have a "full" size bed, which is very comfy thanks to the linens that Auntie and Uncle Eddie ordered and had waiting for me at school! I have a little futon in my room, a nightstand/storage thingy, and armoire, and some more shelves and drawers. We have central air conditioning and heating in our apartment, which again, is a Jerusalem rarity. We also have a washer and dryer, BUT, the washer is at LEAST 20 years old (no exaggeration here, I've NEVER seen a washer this old in all of my life). We're figuring out how to use it slowly but surely, and I'm already on my third load of laundry! Our bathroom is interesting, as a) the toilet and shower/sink are in different "rooms", b) it is VERY small but still houses the washer and dryer, c) it is sea foam green!!, and d) the shower head is actually in the middle of the long edge of the shower (hopefully I explained that correctly- it's in the spot where you'd never expect it to be!!). Our kitchen is also interesting, as a) we don't know how to work either the stove or oven, b) our fridge is leaking a little bit, c) it's banana yellow and brown, and d) we are so overwhelmed that we haven't even begun to sort out the dishes and cookware (although it is there!!) Overall, we LOVE the apartment, and are very happy with it. We're meeting our 80-year-old German landlord, Felix, on Sunday, but the only other residents of this building, besides a law firm (if you can believe that), are Felix's brother and his wife (in the apartment downstairs) and Felix's niece and nephew (upstairs)- they have all stopped by to say hi and offer their help!

On our first night in Jerusalem, we left our bags at the apartment and went to Ben Yehuda street for dinner. While sitting at a table outside the restaurant, I ran into Seth Gildenblatt and Josh Adland, friends from home/NFTY- it's a small world after all! That evening, we went to the grocery store for the essentials (read: toilet paper), and went to bed. The next day (Thursday), we headed over to HUC's BEAUTIFUL campus (more on this later) to register with the office. We took a campus tour, met the interns (3rd and 4th year students who live in Jerusalem for the summer to help us adjust and meet people), and met head of student affairs and the dean. We also met a lot of our classmates, which was great. We picked up our cell phones (hurray!!), had lunch a cafe aptly named "Cafe Cafe", went shopping for more household items, joined a few students for a potluck dinner at a student's apartment, and went to the HUC-organized bar night at a bar called "Tuvia's" (this is apparently the "huc bar" and the owner even came to say hi and welcome us there). Today, Friday/Shabbat, we took a group trip organized by HUC to the shuk (open-air market, last time I'll write that in here!) to buy food for Shabbat, etc. I've been plenty of times, but it was fun to go back and buy food and stuff at the shuk- we even got a shuk cart (imagine a pushcart covered with plaid cloth that you would use if you were an old lady- except EVERYONE here uses shuk carts). We also stopped at the grocery store, as they close around 3pm on Fridays and don't open again until Sunday, after Shabbat has ended, and I put away ALL of my clothes and stuff in the drawers in my room-I'm finally unpacked! Tonight, we had a big Shabbat dinner at a student's house, which was attended by at least 20 students, plus some of their spouses/partners/boyfriends/girlfriends/siblings (these are all called SO's by HUC, which means Significant Other- more on this later!). Our potluck dinner was wonderful, and we sang for a few hours after dinner, which I of course love. It was SO weird and interesting to celebrate Shabbat with an entire group of people who all want to be Jewish professionals. It was a great first Shabbat. Tomorrow we're heading to Shabbat morning services at HUC.

We should have internet by the time all of you in the states wake up on Tuesday. I will do my best to have my Vonage phone up and running ASAP, and I will let you know when that is. In the meantime, enjoy the blog, and keep the emails coming. Thanks to everyone for all of your support! Happy 4th of July!!