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When I was a rabbinical student back in the 1990s, I missed out on one of the most important elements of rabbinic training. Due to circumstances completely beyond my control, I found myself without a valid passport and was forced to give up one of the key elements of my education – a year spent studying and living in Israel. Back then I promised myself that one day, soon, I would remedy this and come spend extended periods of time in Israel, improve my Hebrew and engage in learning, living, and being in Israel. Sadly, this dream of mine has so far remained just that – a dream, but I have been blessed with many opportunities to come to Israel for shorter periods of time over the years. I have sat on the beach with my kids when they were small; I have danced at weddings of friends; I have cried at the funeral of my aunt. I have walked the streets of Jerusalem, Jaffa and Tzfat with teenagers and with grownups over the years, sharing with them my love for this land and watching them ‘get it’ with every step they took. What a privilege it is to watch the land you love and to struggle with its challenges through the eyes of the people you love! What an honor it is to stand next to someone who sees the Kotel, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, for the first time… Over the years I have begun referring to my trips to Israel as a chance to ‘recharge my internal batteries.’ And so as I was approaching my sabbatical, I knew that one of the things I HAD to do was spend some time in Israel. An opportunity to visit Israel together with a group of young Jewish leaders this October sounded like an excellent chance. None of us could have known that the situation on the ground, or ‘matzav’ as Israelis call it, was going to become so tense just two weeks prior to the trip with a series of violent stabbings in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. Many lives have been lost in recent terrorist attacks, and the society is very much on edge, watching in disbelief as a possible third intifada unfolds in front of our eyes…
Adjustments had to be made to the program. Some of the planned activities (such as a trip to Hebron) were simply not going to be possible in this new reality, but the rest of the trip proceeded as planned. And so we spend our days talking to Israelis and learning of all the challenges, historic and present, big and small, that continue to face not just Israel, but the Jewish people at large. We talk of the vision of the founders of the state and of the courage and commitment of those who have worked hard to implement that vision into a reality and continue to do so. We ask questions of ourselves and those who come to share their wisdom with us as we continue to ponder what vision for the future we each hold and what work needs to be done to bring that future forward. The famous quote of Herzl looms large: ‘if you will it, it is not a dream…’
My dream of spending a longer period of time in Israel will come true one day – in the meantime, I am grateful to my TE family for this opportunity to be here as part of my sabbatical, and I am grateful to my wife Olga who has invited me to tag along on the trip she is leading. By the time you read these words, I will be back in my office at the Temple. For now, I sign off from my beloved Israel, praying for peace – Shalom Yerushalaim, peace for Jews and non-Jews who share this land and for all those who work hard to make this peace a reality.