Since Max and I have been living in Jerusalem for the past two months we've both been spending our weekdays busy doing office work. My internship (finishing next week!) has been working for the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, the head of the Reform Movement in Israel. I've really enjoyed my time as an intern there, feeling like I've both learned a lot and been able to contribute to the goings on of the movement. I've had the chance to work with various departments from newsletters to marketing projects and with the new Women of Reform Judaism-Israel. As the first intern at theIMPJ, they've taken it upon themselves to make sure I'm enjoying the work I do and that I get a full picture of the Movement in Israel.
A couple of weeks ago I went to visit a Reform Congregation just outside of Jerusalem in Tzur Hadassah. I met with the Rabbi, Ofer (who is also the only paid employee of the synagogue). He spent the afternoon entertaining both me and his son around Tzur Hadassah. This small community, just on the edge of the green line, is filled with people with all different Jewish ideologies. They struggle to get and retain members, to engage existing congregants, deal with other groups' hateful preaching, utilize a single room for services, educational seminars, bible study, etc. Some of these issues are felt by congregations in the US and others are faced by other Kehillot in Israel and still some are specific to Tzur Hadassah. Ofer explained to me how each community in Israel is different, facing it's own set ofchallenges.
Tzur Hadassah has around a 100 families as members, some years more and some years less. While there are much larger congregations in Israel there are also much smaller. Their members come from every social class and educational background. While some Israeli's have never heard of the Movement, many have but don't quite understand what it is truly about. They often think Reform Judaism is "American" and not"Israeli". While there are certainly congregations here made up of mostly Americans and other Anglos who have made aliyah, Tzur Hadassah is an almost entirely Israeli-born Kehilla.
The kindergarten of the Kehilla is in a small structure that used to also act as the sanctuary. They now have an actual building where they aren't forced to turn a classroom into a sanctuary each Shabbat. The building is essentially one room which serves all of their purposes. Seeing Ofer's pride in this one room shocked me. While it is quite the functional room when I heard new synagogue I thought of the multi-million dollar project that was the remodeling of my own synagogue in St. Louis. But in Tzur Hadassah, and in most places in Israel, this one room is enough for now. This room represents the government agreeing to build four structures to serve as Reform congregations, a huge accomplishment of the Israeli Relgious Action Center. This room represents a movement that is struggling to find and keep members but still persists.
Ofer next took me to a location in Tzur Hadassah where as he said you can see in one place the political situation in Israel. We were standing in Tzur Hadassah looking at a tree line which marks the green line. On the other side of the green line was a Palestinian village and right next to it was a Jewish settlement of Ultra-Orthodox Jews. The growth of the Jewish settlement had literally entered the Palestinian village so that if you didn't notice the difference in architecture it is impossible to see where one begins and the other ends. Regardless of political affiliation or opinions on the settlements, while standing on one side of the green line looking onto the undeniable issues on the other, one can't help but agree with Ofer, this is Israel.
Tzur Hadassah works with leaders in the Palestinian village to help them get their voices heard.
Ofer told me all about existing projects the Kehilla has, it's board of directors, the challenges of being a Reform leader in Israel as well as in Tzur Hadassah and his hope for the future. Our afternoon gave me a chance to observe Reform Judaism in Israel in practice. It's definitely a little rough around the edges but there is true heart and persistence at work.
I mentioned above that Ofer's son was with us for the afternoon. Later on his daughter returned home from school and joined us too. While his wife was still at work Ofer played and took care of his kids. I couldn't help feel I was intruding on his family time but Ofer told me that if he could he would have all his meetings at night (I was not the last on his list to see). He restricts himself to only a couple of late night meetings a week because he is only part-time and has this adorable family. As I'm getting older I always find it fascinating to observe how adults with families balance their family and professional lives. Are they always sacrificing one for the other? In Ofer I saw an unrelenting commitment to both.
I'm a sucker for the hopeful message at the end of the story so here it goes: I spent the afternoon with an impassioned Rabbi who has seen both progress and stagnation during his career. He remains hopeful and hardworking, not overly idealistic, but just the right amount. In the same Rabbi I found an attentive and loving father. Ofer's abilities are important but limited due to the current climate but based on his example as a father and religious leader, if children are the future, I'm not so worried.
