 |
| President Shimon Peres and Rabbi Weinblatt |
 |
| Natan Sharansky and Rabbi Weinblatt |
I
have just returned from Israel where I co-chaired with Rabbi Mauricio Balter of
Beer Sheva the Rabbinical Assembly Annual Convention in Jerusalem. Having
served in 2008 as the Chairman of the convention in Washington, I felt
privileged to be the only rabbi asked to chair two RA conventions.
Approximately 200 Conservative rabbis primarily from the United States, as well as from Israel and elsewhere around the world gathered in Jerusalem for the convention. All of the speeches and sessions were conducted entirely in Hebrew, which made quite an impact on the Israeli officials with whom we met.
Our
program opened on Tuesday evening with a shiur, a lesson taught by Rabbi
Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, an extremely talented young Israeli rabbi.
Wednesday
was a high point, as we went to the home of the President of the State of
Israel. Shimon Peres, alert as ever, greeted us warmly and spoke
eloquently. He was introduced by RA President Rabbi Jerry Skolnik with an
extremely moving and gracious introduction. I sat next to Peres and after
he spoke, asked him a question on behalf of the rabbis about the opening of
Israeli society to non-Orthodox expressions of Judaism. (You will hear
more about the story he told about Ben Gurion on the High Holidays.) I was
honored to then present to the President the RA resolution in honor of the 65th
anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel.
From
the President's home we traveled to the Knesset where I introduced Yuli
Edelstein, Speaker of the Knesset. I became friendly with the famous
former Soviet Refusenik in his previous position as Minister of Diaspora
Affairs. He spoke about the importance of being accepting of diverse
opinions in the Jewish community. His talk was followed by a historic
address. The head of the party known as Bayit Yehudi (Jewish home),
Naftali Bennett, spoke to us. His appearance was significant because it
was the first time an Israeli Minister of Religion spoke to the organization of
Conservative rabbis. He was extremely warm and went out of his way to
express his belief in the importance of all branches of Judaism working
together. On several occasions he referred to us as, "my brothers
and my sisters." He also said how important it is for us to sit
together at a round table where we can all speak together about solving the
problems which confront the Jewish people together. His message of
inclusiveness and recognition that there are multiple ways to live a committed
Jewish life was received like a breath of fresh air.
This new, refreshingly enlightened approach continued with another unprecedented gesture. We were recognized and officially welcomed by the presiding officer of the Knesset while we were in the gallery. This also was unprecedented.
We
then divided into groups to meet with members of the Israeli Parliament about
religious pluralism, Israel and its Arab minority, and security. I
attended the session on religious pluralism, where three members of Knesset
spoke about the importance of including and accepting all Jews and all streams
of Judaism. Rabbi Dov Lipman of Yesh Atid echoed this message
as did an extremely impressive MK I had never heard before, Elazar Stern.
Stern, a practicing Orthodox Jew who wears a kippah, from the Tnuah Party of
Tzipi Livni said he had no problem with women davening at the Wall and wearing
tallitot and tefillin. His only concern is that the prayer services at
this most sacred site be worship and not a political demonstration.
Over
40 of the 120 members of Knesset are new members of the Knesset, many of them
new to politics. One of the members told us that when the current Knesset
was sworn in, they ran out of seats in the gallery since so many invited their
grandparents to attend the ceremony.
The
extremely exciting day concluded with tours of the under-visited but
fascinating Israel Bible Lands Museum and a beautiful outdoor reception
honoring rabbis who were ordained 50 years ago.
On
Thursday after a study session the rabbis divided into groups to tour the
country and explore and delve into four important issues. The theme of
our convention was "Israel Today: Confronting the Challenges of
Tomorrow." I was especially pleased at the way this all went, as it
was my idea to work with four national agencies to sponsor the trips.
Those interested in Hi-Tech went to Google headquarters in Tel Aviv for a
program sponsored by Israel Bonds. The environment and ecology tour
sponsored by the Jewish National Fund went to Sderot and Beer Sheva where they
saw the amazing water reclamation work that Israel is doing, making it a world
leader in this field, as well as the indoor playground built in Sderot.
Another group sponsored by the Friends of the IDF traveled to Nablus in a
double reinforced bus to meet with members of the Israel Defense Force who do
surveillance of suspected Palestinian terrorists. The fourth group
explored issues of social integration, and was sponsored by JAFI (The Jewish
Agency for Israel) and the Joint Distribution Committee. We visited an
employment center which helps members of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community
acquire the necessary skills so they can enter the workforce, as well as a
program sponsored by the Army known as, "Nativ," where members of all
streams teach Judaism to soldiers who may not be halachically Jewish to
help facilitate their conversion.
After
the groups returned to the Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem for dinner, I
interviewed Natan Sharansky in front of over 200 people. I asked him
about a wide variety of issues including the proposal he is working on to
expand the Kotel to provide for non-traditional modes of worship, as well as
his personal journey and how he and his wife navigate their religious
differences. I asked about his vision for The Jewish Agency and the role
it plays in strengthening Jewish identity. I concluded the session with
Sharansky by quoting a verse from the Torah portion, "Moses asked God to
appoint a leader, and said, 'May God of the wind and the spirits of all flesh
appoint a leader over the community.' "Rashi explains that Moses
understood that the leader God would appoint needed to be tolerant.
Kedushat Levi expands on Rashi's comments that a leader of the Jewish people
must be someone who loves all, regardless of whether they are God fearing or
not, and must love each and every Jew just as he is.
After
davening Friday at the Robinson's Arch area of the Kotel, the rabbis went
either on a walking tour of the Old City or a trip to Herodion, the city built
by Herod, and then to the exhibit at the Israel Museum about Herodion and Herod.
The
convention concluded on another high note with a speech by Ruth Calderon, a new
member of the Knesset, who is electrifying many with her embrace of Talmudic
text study. Although she is a secular Jew, she spoke about the place that
Jewish wisdom and sources can play in enriching the appreciation of our Jewish
heritage in the State of Israel.
Upon
my suggestion, we rose and concluded the convention by singing Hatikvah,
Israel's national anthem.
Meeting
with Israel's President Shimon Peres, introducing Yuli Edelstein, the Speaker
of the Knesset, interviewing Natan Sharansky, organizing highly successful
excursions around the country, and doing all of this in Hebrew - all and all an
extremely thrilling, exhilarating and inspiring week!
