Author: Rabbi Michael Farbman

Some of us may remember the world BEFORE Israel came into being. Some of us remember when Israel became a fragile reality. Many, if not most of today’s Jews live in a world where Israel has always been there. What a powerful statement it is: for nearly two thousand years, for the first time Israel is not just a dream, but also a reality for the majority of Jews living today!

Sure, Israel continues to live in a complex reality and a tough neighborhood, and much as we would like it to be otherwise, its existence continues to be threatened by those seeking to destroy the Jewish state. While it has managed to make peace with most of its immediate neighbors, Iran continues to wage proxy war against Israel from afar. It is also true that Israel continues to struggle with internal complexities: secular vs. religious identity; multiple and varied communities, including Israeli Arabs and other minorities and how they fit into the picture of the Jewish State; pluralism of Jewish religious expression; growing income inequality; social justice, gender equality – these are just the tip of the iceberg, questions that most modern democratic societies need to tackle, as does Israel. And of course, the unresolved complexity of the Palestinian narrative, as well as Israel’s continued presence in the areas of the West Bank that everyone, including the majority of Israelis, would like to see as a peaceful and independent neighbor someday.

Talking about Israel is not easy. It evokes passion in all of us, and we have a variety of different opinions, formed by our personal history and our individual politics. I feel like this year we have made a huge leap forward at Temple Emanuel – with the help of iEngage curriculum we began to learn not just the facts, but also how to engage those facts in an honest way that acknowledges the complexity, while allowing all of us to have and share our personal opinions without insisting that only we know the ultimate truth. Our Scholar in Residence has allowed us to continue the conversations, and I know this is just a beginning. And of course, we look forward to this year’s TE trip to Israel, which will take our learning and our engagement with all of its complexity to a completely new level.

This year we also celebrated Israel at 70 with a wonderful Shabbat service, Israeli dinner, and Israeli dancing – what a wonderful way to round up the special year! Something tells me this will become an annual tradition 🙂

Happy birthday, Israel – chazak chazak, v’nitchazek!