Israeli Chronicles — Connecting Israel & Cincinnati
New faces, new opportunities!
This has been an exciting time for me. I gave three lectures at the Mayerson JCC about Israel —the first provided a basic introduction, the second had to do with Israel’s diverse society, and the third featured a discussion about Jewish pluralism.
The talks were open to anyone interested in learning about contemporary Israel, but they were attended mostly by participants going on the 2016 Cincinnati Congregation and Community Israel Mission this summer.
I was excited to see so many new faces— people I haven’t met before— who took the time to learn more about Israel before boarding the plane this summer. It was exciting for me to share my feelings and connection to Israel; to share the story of our state, which, in turn, strengthens the bridges between Israel and Cincinnati.
In the next month, you will have the opportunity to hear three amazing speakers, who are coming to Cincinnati from Israel!
Our first Israelity speaker is coming to town to talk about the 1.5 Generation of Russian immigrants to Israel. Vadim Blumin is an amazing educator, an inspiring social activist, and a great storyteller! Click here for a sneak peek at what he’s doing in Israel and what he’ll discuss during his talk on March 29. Also, his sister, who is a well-known vocal music artist in Israel, sings about her own immigration experience in her new album.
The other two speakers will elaborate on the issues of Jewish pluralism in Israel:
From 7-9 p.m. on April 4 at the Mayerson JCC, Elliot Glassenberg from BINA will talk about the complexities of religion and state in modern-day Israel.
Then, on April 11, Lesley Sachs will be at Adath Israel Congregation to meet and speak with the Jewish community about the Women of the Wall. Lesley has been leading the Women of the Wall since 2008. Her talk follows groundbreaking legislation that allows egalitarian prayer at the Kotel (the Western Wall in Jerusalem).
Rabbi Gilad Kariv does a good job explaining the significance of this in his blog post from February 3. He is the executive director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), Israel’s liberal Jewish religious movement:
“Until now, Azarat Yisrael, the small praying plaza allowing pluralistic and egalitarian prayer, was separated from the other Kotel plaza. Following this resolution, the same wall to the south will now be an integral and contiguous part of the Kotel complex. There will be one entrance to the Kotel through which people can go to the Orthodox area or to the pluralistic section.
The main points of the agreement are as follows:
FOR THE FIRST TIME – Complete and clear Israeli legal recognition of egalitarian prayer in the spirit of Reform and Conservative Judaism as part of the custom of Jewish holy sites.
FOR THE FIRST TIME – A joint government office with legally binding authority and government funding and official representation from the Reform and Conservative Movements.
FOR THE FIRST TIME – Any visitor to the Kotel and any family from Israel or from abroad celebrating a Bar or Bat Mitzvah will be able to choose between a separated prayer service with a Mechitza between women and men and an egalitarian and mixed prayer service.”
Rabbi Kariv goes on to say:
“FOR THE FIRST TIME – The Reform and Conservative Movements, Women of the Wall, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) have teamed up for a joint and coordinated agreement with the Israeli government regarding matters of religion and state in Israel.
This extraordinary and historic accomplishment is the result of the on-going effort to instill Israeli society with the understanding that there is more than one way to be Jewish in Israel.”
There’s a lot to be excited about! I look forward to seeing even more new faces and meeting more new people at Vadim Blumin’s talk on March 29. Be sure to register ahead of time by clicking here!
