January 2015

Rabbi’s Dispatch from Israel

Dear friends,

Happy New Year!  I am writing to you from the Holy Land, where Jeremy and I arrived this morning.  As requested, I hope to share with you some of our experience, to give you a taste of what it is like to be here.

When we hear about Israel in the news, it is almost always about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, known here simply as “hamatzav,” “the situation.”  Riding on the sheirut (shared van) from the airport, we saw signs of the conflict in the high barbed wire fences around the highways and the Wall to separate Israel from the Palestinian territories.

Yet, for better or worse, what strikes me about walking around Jerusalem is not the conflict, but the normal hustle and bustle of Jewish life.  This afternoon, Jeremy and I made our way through winding streets and white-stoned alleys to the Kotel, the Western Wall.  On our way, we saw Ultra Orthodox men in long coats and black hats, secular women riding motor cycles, Modern Orthodox teens wearing both yarmulkes and tzitzit AND skinny jeans and converse.   It was exciting to witness so many different ways of being Jewish, and to imagine the Jewish diversity here as a catalyst for new forms of Jewish identity that rarely emerge elsewhere — case in point: the religious hipster.

At the Kotel (Western Wall), Jeremy and I had to separate — Jeremy headed to the men’s section and I went to the women’s.  I love praying there, putting my hands and head against the huge, ancient stones.  I love speaking to God in a place where millions of people have stood before me, over two millennia.  As I prayed, the Al Axa mosque sounded its haunting call to prayer, and I was aware that I stood on holy ground, where people of three major faiths all feel closer to God.

And yet, despite my joy at the diversity of Jewish identity in Israel, visiting the Kotel reminded me of the limits of religious diversity and acceptance here.  At this holy site, men and women may not pray together, women may not lead communal prayer, and women are not permitted to form their own minyan and read Torah together on the women’s side.  Further, right near the Wall, religious archeologists are displacing Muslim families in order to expand the City of David archeological dig and, some believe, to make way for the building of the Third Temple.

So there you have it – Israel as a collection of contradictions – normal life AND life on the verge of war, religious creativity AND religious suppression, idealistic vision AND painful politics.

Amidst these contradictions, what inspires me most are the people on all sides working to make life better.  Every month, a courageous group called Women at the Wall comes together on Rosh Chodesh (the celebration of the new month), where they pray and read Torah.  Every month, the women are asked to leave, and often, some are arrested.  The Israeli Supreme Court ruled that it is not up to the police to protect the women, because they are putting themselves at risk.  And yet, they still keep coming, because they believe that Israel should be the kind of place where women can pray freely.

Similarly, every week, Israelis and Palestinians overcome cynicism and fear to build relationships with one another and work toward peace.  They do this because they love this place, and they want it to be safe, just, and peaceful.

As we mark the secular New Year, may we be inspired by the Israelis to form the Jewish identities that best fit us, and may we gain courage from our peace-seeking Israeli and Palestinian brothers and sisters, that we, too, might take risks to pursue justice and understanding.

Rabbi Margie