Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, marks the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. It is observed on or near the 5th of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar, which usually falls in April. This year on April 15/16th we shall be marking the 65th anniversary of the creation of the modern State of Israel. A miracle. A promise. A challenge and a joy. A country that has captured the imagination of people all over the world with its amazing narrative of rebirth. A country that is deeply rooted in the past, boasting three millennia of rich history – but also the country that is very much at the cutting edge of modernity in technology, in art, in business and in medicine… A country where East truly meets West, where tradition meets modernity; a country full of contradictions that contribute to its richness and uniqueness. A Jewish homeland that is also home to the largest Jewish community in the world once again, after nearly two thousand years of expulsion…
A number of events in and around New Haven will be celebrating this wonderful milestone. I especially recommend seeing Israeli singer Noa (Achinoam Nini) who will be performing in New Haven on April 24th, a rare treat outside of Israel. Temple Emanuel trip to Israel this summer will be our way of connecting to the land of Israel in this historic year, and I am very excited to be leading this tour! (If you are considering joining us, please do not delay – go to the TE website and register!)
Israel is not just a wonderful tourist destination – it is also a living, vibrant modern country. A democratic state, it has a multi-party political system that requires most of Israeli prime-ministers to build a coalition with other parties in order to govern. NOT an easy task J! As a result, despite multiple changes of governments and prime-ministers over the years, there are certain aspects of Israeli society that are consistently governed by ultra-religious political parties. This has presented multiple challenges over the years, to Israel as a country, to secular Israelis and indeed to non-orthodox religious movements, who have struggled without recognition and support of the state. Some of that is about to change. Many of you have followed the recent Israeli election which had two new parties, ‘Yesh Atid’ (there’s future) of Yair Lapid and ‘HaBayit haYehudi’ (the Jewish homeland) of Naftali Bennett win enough seats in the Knesset to be able to form a coalition government with the majority party led by Benjamin Netanyahu. This new coalition, for the first time in recent history, will not have any ultra-orthodox parties included, paving the way for some of the much-needed debate about the new civil society in Israel. As with any other political reality, the balance is fragile – but it is also an extremely interesting development for Israel, the one we all will be watching very closely.
It is hard to understand all of the nuances that take place thousands of miles away. We rely on journalists and media outlets, as well as on friends and family members, to keep us informed. This April we have a wonderful opportunity to learn a little more about the processes taking place in Israel today from Rabbi Meir Azari from Beit Daniel (flagship Reform synagogue in Tel Aviv) who will be coming to Temple Emanuel on Sunday, April 7 at 10:15 am. Rabbi Azari is a former teacher and a very dear friend and I am extremely excited to welcome him to Temple Emanuel for his talk “New Horizons: new civil society emerging in Israel”. I hope to see many of you there!
In the meantime, I wish ‘Yom huledet sameach’, a happy 65th birthday to my beloved Israel and I look forward to sharing this joy with all of you over the coming month!
Rabbi Farbman.