Shabbat-O-Gram for June 1

Shabbat Shalom and Happy June, as we all look forward to this Sunday's Cantor's Concert.  It's especially gratifying to be able to pay tribute to Gary Lessen. Gary has made an enormous impact TBE helping to guide us through challenging times. 

This past week marked three watershed moments for the Conservative Movement.  In Washington, a group of Conservative leaders met with President Obama (read  JTS Chancellor Arnold Eisen's reactions to the meeting). In Israel, the government's decision to fund Reform, Conservative rabbis set a dramatic new precedent. Rabbi Julie Schoenfeld, head of the Rabbinical Assembly, called it "a historic day for Israelis and Jews around the world." She added that "In order for Judaism to grow and thrive in Israel, it is necessary that the government recognize its obligation to provide equal funding to various Jewish religious streams and expressions that flower in the Jewish state."

The third watershed event was the publication of, "The Observant Life," a massive yet practical one-volume explanation of the hows and whys of "doing Jewish" in these changing times.  It covers everything from Shabbat, Israel, kashrut, lifecycle and prayer to charitable giving, sibling relations, medical ethics, military service, animal rights and same-sex relationships.  In short, it's long.  And it covers everything you need to know about being a Jew, from a Conservative perspective.  The last time that was done was Isaac Klein's "Guide to Jewish Religious Practice," which came out so long ago that I was still in Rabbinical School!  This new book goes far beyond Klein and should become an indispensible addition to every bookshelf. I plan to feature it in my teaching over the coming year.

I'll also be reviewing this new book at services on Shabbat morning.  (BTW, we had a fabulous time at our camp-style service outdoors last Shabbat morning - see the study packet that I assembled for a discussion we held about Israel's emerging moral crisis involving large numbers of African refugees).  Join us and hear about the new book tomorrow.  And of course join us tonight for our always amazing Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7:30.

Wednesday night was TBE's Annual Meeting, a real feel-good evening, where we discussed lots of great things happening here. Below are some excerpts from my remarks:

What is it that takes a community and transforms it into a congregation? What separates us from other places people gather - workplaces, schools or clubs? There is something that makes it so special to be here, but what is it?

There are innovative programs, to be sure, and this year we've stretched ourselves even more to reach groups that traditionally have not flocked to suburban synagogues. Shabbat is cooking on all cylinders for all age groups and we want to do even more for next year.  This past fall, the cantor and I went to JTS to teach future rabbis and cantors how make age old prayers jump off the page, mixing them with lovely melodies and dousing them in contemporary meaning.  Services have been great, for all ages, but this year our greatest leap has been in Adult Education, which had its best year ever here, with more people participating in more vibrant classes taught by passionate teachers.  The ConTEXT series brought university level classes here and cemented our bond with JTS and our movement.  We took interfaith dialogue to new heights with our comparative religions series, the 9/11 Concert and the Interfaith Seder.  We've had great fundraising and social programs too, culminating in our Cantor's Concert this coming weekend.  

So we've had great programs.

But that's not what takes a community and transforms it into a holy congregation - or to use the Hebrew term that is now in vogue - a Kehilla Kedosha.

It's about the people.

It's about a group of lay leaders and professionals not afraid to roll up their sleeves and address any challenge. That goes for board members, committee chairs and everyone who builds community here. It goes for our superb staff as well, collectively the greatest group of people I've ever worked with - our dedicated office and maintenance staff, our superb teachers and tutors, Steve Lander, Ronnie Brockman, Al Treidel, Rabbi Michelle Dardashti and Cantor George Mordecai are the 1927 Yankees of synagogue staffs.

It's about people who look at potential budget deficits and see a challenge, not a crisis; people who are willing to take calculated risks, even to risk failure, knowing that stagnation is not an option.  People who give credit and accept responsibility, rather than the other way around.  People who truly love Israel and understand its centrality to our future.  People who understand that this is more than just a business - it is a sacred calling.  People who understand that it's less about serving our members then about helping our members to serve God.  And by doing the latter, we accomplish both.  Lay leaders passionate about being Jewish and wanting our children to be.  Leaders who feel a fiduciary responsibility to every child who walks through that door.  And that fiduciary responsibility also translates into love.  People who seek excellence.  People for whom the cup is always half full - but on its way to overflowing; people who are a glowing example of what a loving community can be.

People who care about the cost of being Jewish.  A few weeks ago, the board passed a new policy granting a year's free membership to day school families in grades K, 1 and 2 (we already have such an offer for Hebrew School families).  Today Rabbi Dardashti and I told a prospective member about that offer and it absolutely sealed the deal.  She and her husband had been deciding between us and another synagogue and when we said we understand how expensive it is and we want you so much to be part of our family, she could only say "wow."

Is that the Beth El you know?  The Beth El that is about people?  It is for most - it needs to be the Beth El that everyone knows.

Beth El is about people...

Shabbat Shalom!

Masorti Statement on the Israeli Social Justice Movement and Tisha B'Av

English Translation of Masorti's statement

The Masorti movement in Israel will designate Tisha B'Av as a day of solidarity with the “tent protest” movement. On the evening of the fast, and for the duration of the day, we will hold events connecting the destruction of the ancient Temple with this struggle for the future of our homeland; linking the “senseless hatred” in their time with the gaping economic disparity in Israel today.

The Masorti movement emphasizes that social justice is among the most basic principles of Judaism and that for thousands of years the Halachah has harkened to the cry of the weak. We see the emerging shift of national priorities and the renewed vitality of the people in its land as the fulfillment of Zionism. The Masorti movement, as a religious movement, calls upon the government of Israel to concern itself with the welfare of the weak and disempowered in the society - not from the perspective of charity, but from that of justice. We call upon Israel to repair the historic failures which have brought the middle class to the brink.

The continuing erosion of the middle class in the State of Israel in the last few years strikes at the heart of democracy. It requires the government of Israel to alter the national priorities in a profound and comprehensive manner; to be attentive to the cry of the people, and to make decisions which will enable young families, and all those who experience the challenges of Israeli life, to see their future in the land.

The State of Israel is the expression of the longing of the Jewish people through the generations. An engaged citizenry should be a point of pride for any democracy. As such we seek to strengthen the hands of the protestors and believe that change will surely come.

ACTION STILL NEEDED re: Conversion Bill

Recent Media Coverage of the Conversion Bill
Peres asks leading rabbi to compromise on conversion bill (JPOST 3/11/10)
'Don't open front against Diaspora Jews' (JPOST 3/10/10)
Gafni to Peres: UTJ told to resign due to conversion bill (YNET 3/10/10)
Why nobody's happy with conversion bill (JPOST 3/9/10)
A precedent for discrimination' (JPOST 3/9/10)

Statement from The Jewish Federations of North America

JEWISH FEDERATIONS URGE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL TO DIALOGUE WITH DIASPORA JEWRY ON PROPOSED LAW OF RETURN CHANGES
March 10, 2010

The Jewish Federations of North America, representing 157 Federations and 400 smaller Network communities, urges the Government of Israel to enter into dialogue with Diaspora Jews before making any proposed changes to the Law of Return, which allows Jews to migrate to Israel and become Israeli citizens.

Committees in Israel’s Knesset have begun debating a proposal to allow local municipal rabbis in Israel to perform conversions to Judaism. The proposed bill also includes a provision that could prevent a non-Jew who converts to Judaism, in Israel or in the Diaspora, from receiving Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. Although we commend the Knesset for its initial rejection of the proposed bill today, this issue remains unresolved and is of urgent importance to our communities.

We implore the Israeli government to seriously consider the concerns and sensitivities of Diaspora Jews before acting on such proposals. Changes to the Law of Return could adversely affect many members of our community by preventing them from making aliyah and becoming Israeli citizens. Any action of this type would be an affront to world Jewry.

Leaders of the Jewish Federations movement today hand-delivered a letter to the Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express our concerns. Representatives in JFNA’s Washington and Jerusalem offices have additionally communicated our concerns to Israeli officials in Washington, New York and Jerusalem.

Members of The Jewish Federations of North America’s Large City Executive Committee also convened today to discuss these developments. Natan Sharansky, Chair of the Executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, briefed the committee on the issue. Sharansky and the Jewish Agency stand in solidarity with The Jewish Federations of North America on this important issue.
Urgent Action Regarding Rotem Conversion Bill

We need your help on a matter of urgency concerning a bill that will come before the Knesset.

We have received word from our colleagues in Israel that a bill may be put forward for passage as soon as tomorrow which affects conversion and we need as many of us and our congregants to forward the following letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu and to your Israeli Ambassador.
The bill sponsored by MK David Rotem of Yisrael Beitenu, deals with both the authority of the Chief Rabbinate and matters of Conversion. The Rotem Bill concerns three matters:

1. It grants legal authority to the Chief Rabbinate for Conversions (while until now there was de facto recognition this gives legal recognition to the role of the Chief Rabbinate in this area) and would make it much more difficult for conversions to be performed by our Movement, by more “open-minded” Orthodox rabbis, and by Reform rabbis.

2. It provides for the ability of local rabbis in Israel to establish conversion courts. This is a good part of the bill of which we are supportive because it will potentially permit the establishment of more forward looking conversion courts. However, the first part of the bill passes, the Chief Rabbinate may declare these courts null and void, which would obviate any cause for our support.

3. Section 3 of this bill is highly problematic. Here is the summary of Section 3 by Reuven Hammer:

“Section 3 of the proposed conversion bill that we strongly oppose states that anyone that who entered Israel as a non-Jew and then converted to Judaism-either in Israel or the Diaspora would not be eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return. First of all this is exactly the case that we now have before the Supreme Court, asking that our conversions in Israel be recognized and citizenship rights granted to our converts. This is an attempt to go around the Supreme Court. Secondly, the wording is so vague that it could mean that if such a person had visited Israel at any time, no matter when, their conversion would not be recognized for citizenship in the future. Thirdly this would be the first time that Israel is officially making a distinction between one who is born a Jew and a righteous convert, something that we find deplorable and unsupportable in Jewish Law. Since our movement is the movement that is most involved in conversion in America and elsewhere, we and our congregants are the primary target of the bill. We urge everyone to make their protest known immediately to the Israeli government.”

WE STRONGLY URGE THAT YOU FORWARD THE FOLLOWING LETTER OR ITS EQUIVALENT TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND YOUR AMBASSADOR.

The Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister of IsraelOffice of the Prime Minister
Jerusalem, Israel

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,

We write to request your immediate intervention to prevent passage of the legislation being brought forward by MK David Rotem

Passage of this bill in its present form especially section 3, will have the effect of providing for a path to alter the Law of Return or, at the least, cause undue hardship to anyone in Israel who has come from Diaspora communities and seeks conversion in Israel.

Sadly, this is reminiscent of those attempts in 1997 to enact similar legislation which ultimately led to the establishment of the Ne'eman Commission.

While we are supportive of your efforts to create greater accessibility to conversion courts in Israel and have done all we can to aid in this effort, the overall impact of the Rotem Bill will set back these efforts. Moreover this legislation will adversely impact the work of our Masorti movement and its members in Israel. This we cannot abide.

Even more regrettably, should this bill be enacted, it will exacerbate a widening gap between Diaspora and Israel communities, which we are all working very hard to avoid.

Therefore, we believe it is imperative that you, Israel’s leader, who cares so deeply about the well-being of our people, intervene and urge withdrawal of this bill.

The email for Prime Minister Netanyahu is: PM_ENG2@pmo.gov.il
For Amb. Oren’s office: info@washington.mfa.gov.il
For a list of other Ambassadors click here

MLK, Heschel and the Women of the Wall

Dr. Martin Luther King, whose birthday we commemorate this week, had a close relationship with the Jewish community, as is shown in this link describing King's view of Zionism.

Last week was the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with King in Selma and commented later that he felt he was "praying with his feet."  Read this remembrance of that special relationship and historic march, written by Heschel's daughter, Susannah Heschel.  She mentions that the famous photo of the two spiritual giants marching together has become an icon of American Jewish life.

Heschel often spoke of the need for prayer to be “subversive." As he wrote in an essay entitled "On Prayer," found on pp. 257-267, of a superb collection of his essays entitled, "Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity,”  "The beginning of prayer is praise. The power of worship is song. To worship is to join the cosmos in praising God. . . . Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision."

I've always been moved and motivated by that passage.  And so I ask often, as we all must, is our prayer subversive? Does it overturn pyramids and move mountains?  This question is especially appropriate this week as we read the Exodus story in the Torah.  Does it move us to tears?  This is also appropriate in light of the horrible suffering of the people of Haiti.  Does our prayer move us to help them, to feel their pain?

These past few weeks we've watched in horror at the mistreatment of the Women of the Wall in Jerusalem. Ironically, they are fighting some of the same battles fought by Heschel and King - including the requirement that women ride in the back of the bus in Jerusalem.  But their prime fight has been to reclaim the Kotel for all Jews. As Anat Hoffman, a leader of the Women of the Wall, wrote in this week's Forward,

One recent afternoon, while I was riding on a gender-segregated bus in Jerusalem, an Orthodox woman told me she didn’t mind sitting in back and out of sight, because it helped the men “keep cleanliness of the eyes.” Her reasoning was familiar to me; it followed a logic similar to the rationale behind a men-only path at the Western Wall that was cleared just two years ago so that men would not have to look upon women as they make their way to the Kotel to pray. It’s no coincidence that Jerusalem’s first gender-segregated buses were for routes going to and from the Wall.


If you want a quick lesson on the growing gender segregation and discrimination in Israel, I suggest taking a look at the policies in place at the Western Wall, which are being constantly revised to deny women equal access at this sacred space.


The Conservative movement this week issued a joint statement of condemnation of that mistreatment and support for the women:
 
Conservative Jewish Leadership


On Supporting Freedom of Religious Practice in Israel

NEW YORK, NY - The recent detention and fingerprinting of Anat Hoffman, director of the Israel Religious Action Center, civil and consumer rights advocate, founding member of Women of the Wall and past member of the Jerusalem City Council, for her role in advocating a woman’s right to pray at the Kotel opens a new and troubling chapter in intra-Jewish relations in Israel.

The many groups of Conservative Judaism listed below, affirm that Hoffman’s detention, following the recent arrest at the Kotel of Nofrat Frankel for wearing a tallit and carrying a Sefer Torah during worship services on Rosh Hodesh, drives a wedge between our communities at a time when working for unity within Israel and enhancing the connection between Diaspora Jewish communities and Israel should be a primary concern. We urge the municipality of Jerusalem, the State of Israel and its ambassador to the United States to realize the gravity of this issue and take immediate steps to promote religious pluralism, provide equitable treatment to non-Orthodox streams of Jewish life and end the harassment of women seeking to pray with dignity at the Western Wall, Judaism’s most holy place.

We urge members of our congregations and all members of Conservative Judaism to write a letter to Ambassador Michael Oren expressing the above sentiments. Further, as Conservative Jews, we hope for a pluralistic Israeli society that welcomes all Jews who share a commitment to Jewish continuity, peoplehood and Zionism. When the government limits access at the Kotel, changes the status quo of “who is a Jew,” and refuses to grant Masorti rabbis equal rights in Israel, many in the Diaspora community, whose support of Israel is crucial if Israel is to continue to flourish, instead feel alienated.

By standing with the Women of the Wall, we affirm our unity as a single world-wide Jewish community. We affirm our connection with our sisters and brothers in the Land of Israel and we affirm the abiding holiness of the city of Jerusalem in our lives.

The following groups of Conservative Judaism support this statement:
Cantors Assembly
Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs
Jewish Educators Assembly
Jewish Theological Seminary
Masorti Foundation
Masorti Olami
MERCAZ Olami
MERCAZ USA
Rabbinical Assembly
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies

Download a Sample Letter to Ambassador Oren: http://rabbinicalassembly.org/living/social_action.html
Letters should be sent to:
Dr. Michael B. Oren, Ambassador of Israel to the United States
Embassy of Israel
3514 International Dr. N.W.
Washington DC 20008
info@washington.mfa.gov.il

You can read more backround on WOW here.

A few years ago, on its web site, the Women of the Wall justified its difficult undertaking in challenging the Israeli rabbinic authorities, in this audacious manner:



Jewish women who have created new rituals for themselves, like wearing women’s prayer shawls and donning teffilin, acts permitted by some of the greatest Jewish lawgivers, deserve the same benefit of the doubt as to their sincerity. In general, one cannot help but wonder at the fat-cat arrogance and lack of respect shown by these men, party functionaries in saintly guise, in the name of our holy Torah. After all, people with the extreme delicacy to cover the challah bread so as not to shame it when we bless the wine first, show a shocking disregard for the feelings not only of Women of the Wall, but of Jewish women in general.


Because I have a hot flash for you, fellows. The rules have changed. When you mock women for daring to have their own opinions, or trying to enrich their religious experience in ways that they find meaningful, look behind you: you’re not leading anyone in the Jewish world but men like yourselves. Certainly no one from the modern Orthodox world. In fact, we can’t even tell if your own wives agree with you, voicelessness being a quality nurtured in your women from early childhood through old age.


I understand you better than you realize, Rabbi Porush and Rabbi Gafni: it’s not the prayer shawls, or even the teffillin. It’s those women’s voices rising out of obscurity; those women’s voices speaking to Hashem without your permission.

The audacious voice of Heschel lives on.  May it continue to resound in our prayers!

Modi'in Continued...A Painful Exchange for the Three Weeks

I received a troubling e-mail response to my posting yesterday regarding the arson attack on a Masorti synagogue in Modi-in. Considering that today is the Fast of Tammuz and the beginning of the three weeks of mourning leading to the fast of the 9th of Av, it was especially timely.

One of the main thrusts of the rabbinic "take" on why the Second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 ha to do with what the Talmud calls "Sinat Hinam," causeless hatred. See some background here, including the famous story of how Jerusalem fell because of a simple cocktail party invitation snub.

I want to print the e-mail exchange verbatim, because I have no idea where the precise truth lies, but it illustrates just how dangerous infighting can be. I also recognize some of my own culpability here, in jumping to conclusions that may not be accurate.

It is important to state that there is never an excuse for destruction and vandalism, especially of a synagogue - just yesterday there was a report of swastikas spray-painted at a Chabad synagogue on Long Island, and that is also reprehensible. But it reminds me of the time when we found swastikas here (see My Dance with Amalek) and after months of firey rhetoric about the dangers of anti-Semitism, it turned out that the vandalism was perpetrated by someone who was Jewish. We are always so quick to condemn the Other, especially where it is politically expedient, when sometimes what we need to do most is look into the mirror.

So here is the exchange, with permission of the e-mailer, slightly edited for space and flow:

Hi, Rabbi Hammerman.

I'm writing because of the posting that you wrote about the Masorti synagogue in Modi'in. I live in Modi'in, and attend an independent, egalitarian minyan that broke off several years ago from Yedid Nefesh. Our two minyanim are often at odds with one another, so you're welcome to dismiss what I'm about to say. It pains me to have to write this, because I'm a former member of the board of the Masorti movement, and share many of the movement's goals. But in this particular case, I think that the movement has gone way overboard in its PR campaign, and has misled many people regarding what happened here.

I was horrified to hear about the fire at Yedid Nefesh several days ago, and joined in the condemnation against those who did this act. But the more that I have looked into the issue, the more obvious it becomes that this was not an act of religious or political violence against a Masorti synagogue, but rather the sort of (admittedly terrible) teenage vandalism that we have grown used to in Modi'in, and which happens to public buildings all of the time.

For example, my daughters' school has a wonderful nature program, with a greenhouse, large outdoor garden, and composting. I should say "had" a wonderful program, because about 2-3 months ago, someone climbed the 2-meter fence in the middle of the night, smashed the greenhouse and tore up the garden. My daughters were devastated, the school was horrified, and everyone who knew about the nature program was up at arms. Even though the perpetrators weren't caught, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that it was teenagers in Modi'in, because they are known to do this. From everything I understand, the police arrived at Yedid Nefesh, found that the welcome mat had been burned by some cigarettes, and that as a result of this fire, some plants had been damaged, as well. It was not arson in even the simplest of senses; there was neither kerosene nor lighter fluid, nor an attempt to enter, nor an attempt to break windows or doors, nor a note, nor anything that would be indicative of someone's malicious intent toward the synagogue. If I were personally interested in causing damage to the synagogue, I could think of dozens of ways to do it that would be more effective than what was done here.In other words, there is ample precedent for simple, random, teenage destruction of public property in Modi'in. And the fire at the synagogue building showed all of the signs of being another such incident. The local newspapers have refused to cover the story, because reporters examined the evidence along with the police, and found that there wasn't anything to report. This week's "Modi'in News" doesn't have a story about the Masorti fire, but it does have a full-page story about some destruction that teenagers did in the Reut section of Modi'in.

Now, the members of Yedid Nefesh claim that they are hated by the community, that there has been at least one problem in the past with haredim (which is true), and that a sign announcing the synagogue's affiliation with Masorti had just been put up. My experience is that almost no Israelis know what the Masorti movement is, let alone care about its symbol being displayed on a small building. My minyan (which again, broke off from Yedid Nefesh several years ago, and which is growing far faster than Yedid Nefesh, without any movement affiliation) has received nothing but the best of help from the municipality, including a building into which we'll be moving shortly. If there is hatred or animosity in the community, then I'm not aware of it; on the contrary, we have been treated in the same way as Orthodox minyanim by the people in charge of assigning buildings and rooms to minyanim in need of them.To lump this week's fire with the (very real) attacks in Ramot several years ago, or with Kristallnacht, would seem to be an extreme exaggeration. I am extremely upset to find Masorti jumping to conclusions, and sending out a letter asking for donations, when there are so many real problems for non-Orthodox Judaism in Israel that should be taken care of. I don't think that Masorti officials are purposely lying, but I do think that they tend to believe that the entire State of Israel is against them, when the fact is that the State of Israel generally ignores them, given their extremely small size and negligible influence.I'm quite worried that by crying "wolf!" in this case, the people at Yedid Nefesh and Masorti are ensuring that any real threats or problems in the future will be ignored.

I'm not asking you to lessen your support of Masorti in any way, although I have become quite critical of its strategies and tactics over the last few years, and remain quite skeptical of the movement's chances for success. And I'm certainly not trying to justify teenage violence; I think that the main outcome of this incident should be greater patrols near public buildings, including synagogues, by the police and the private security company that the municipality has hired. But I am asking you to give the police and other investigators more credit than they have received to date, and to express a bit of skepticism in the face of dire warnings and PR statements.Thanks for taking the time to read this. I'd be happy to chat and/or e-mail with you on this subject at greater length, if you're interested.

Reuven

MY RESPONSE IS IN BOLD, FOLLOWED BY HIS RESPONSES TO MY QUESTIONS

You make some interesting points, Reuven. In the interest of giving a fuller picture, I’d be happy to quote you in the blog. Let me know if you would want that, either directly or anonymously. In stating your case, however, what also comes through is that there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye between the two congregations, a lot of history and resentment which led to the split. That being the case, since I don’t know the first thing about that history, there is potential for a lot of sinat hinam here (nice timing, this being the 17th of Tammuz) – and the issues are too great, the stakes too high in terms of pluralism in Israel, for such important things to become sidetracked by internal squabbling.


Hi, Rabbi Hammerman. You wrote:

You make some interesting points, Reuven. In the interest of giving a fuller picture, I’d be happy to quote you in the blog. Let me know if you would want that, either directly or anonymously..

Feel free to quote me by name, since I don't believe it'll surprise anyone to hear what I (and many others in Achva) believe. I'm basically saying, "The police don't think that this was an attack, and we should believe them given the context, and thus not rush to make judgments," I don't feel that I have anything to hide.

In stating your case, however, what also comes through is that there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye between the two congregations, a lot of history and resentment which led to the split.


The split between YN and Achva happened several years ago, while I was in graduate school in Chicago. So in that sense, I'm a neutral party; I returned to find two congregations where there had once been one, and chose the one to which all of my close friends had migrated. The fact that I'm now a strong believer in independent, lay-led minyanim, and that Achva allowed me to join such a minyan, was icing on the cake. As I wrote before, I am quite skeptical that the Masorti movement's current strategy is a wise one, and lobbied strongly for Achva not to join Masorti when it came up for a vote several months ago. Three or four years after the split, there remains a great deal of resentment, anger, and animosity on both sides. I know that many Achva members completely distrust members of Yedid Nefesh, and are adamantly opposed to even forming an official non-profit organization for Achva, given their bad experiences with parliamentary procedure at Yedid Nefesh meetings. Yedid Nefesh members, by contrast, seem quite upset to have lost the majority of their active membership, and see us as petty and spiteful. I do know that on at least one occasion, a Yedid Nefesh member joined our (Achva) internal e-mail list under an assumed name, presumably in order to learn what we were saying -- which isn't all that interesting, I assure you!

From my perspective, I think that it's a great thing that Modi'in has multiple traditional-egalitarian minyanim, and would like to see many more such minyanim flourishing, here and in other cities, regardless of their official affiliation. I think that the only way religious pluralism will make inroads into Israeli society is by being ubiquitous, which requires a dramatic increase in the number of minyanim, as well as a reduction in the dependence on rabbis and foreign fund-raising.

That being the case, since I don’t know the first thing about that history, there is potential for a lot of sinat hinam here (nice timing, this being the 17th of Tammuz) – and the issues are too great, the stakes too high in terms of pluralism in Israel, for such important things to become sidetracked by internal squabbling.

I agree that such squabbling is silly at best, and hurtful at worst. But it really pains me to see people make accusations that strike me as baseless, that contradict the police inquiry, and which fly in the face of too many other logical possibilities. If the police determine that this was indeed a religiously motivated attack, then I'll be the first to protest it. But to claim that an attack occurred, when it is far from obvious that this is the case, will eventually hurt the cause of religious pluralism, rather than help it.

By the way, we just got another two weekly local newspapers delivered, of the three we get on our doorstep each week. Two ignored the story entirely, while the third ("Gal Gefen") made it the front-cover story, with extensive quotations from the police and fire department, as well as the municipality, all stating explicitly that they believe the fire was vandalism. In that story, the municipality's spokesman was quoted as saying, in part, that they "utterly reject the attempts of the Conservative movement to present the vandalism of the synagogue building on the corner of Levona and Almogan as if it were attempted arson." The local police chief, meanwhile, was quoted as saying, "The Conservative movement is trying to present things as if there were an attempt to set fire to the synagogue building, to advance internal movement goals, but the reality is quite different."

Reuven

Where does the truth lie? Who knows. But the end result in the year 70 was not a good one for the Jewish people. Let's hope we can all learn from the mistakes of the past.

Arson scorches Modi'in synagogue entrance

Read this Jerusalem Post article to see how a Masorti synagogue was attacked last week in Modi'in, a new bedroom community between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is a crushing irony that in the birthplace of the Maccabees, some vandal decided to attack the very idea of freedom of religious expression itself. Police did not suspect the attack was religiously motivated, which is very interesting, considering that the fire came 10 days after a sign identifying the synagogue as part of the Masorti movement was affixed to the building. Also, this happened fresh on the heels of major court rulings supporting the liberal streams and a year after Modi'in became the first municipality to allocate land for non-Orthodox synagogues.

As Hagalil.com reports, several years back, the windows of another Masorti synagogue in Beer Sheva were smashed. A little over a year before, the kindergarten of a Reform congregation in Meveseret Zion was destroyed. The fire at Kehillat Ya'ar Ramot was started when vandals threw burning rags through windows that they smashed. The fire destroyed several prayerbooks and Pentateuchs and caused extensive smoke and other damage. Fortunately however, the synagogue's three Torah scrolls were unharmed.

Rabbi Richard A. Block, President of The World Union for Progressive Judaism, stated back then that "The World Union condemns the cowardly and despicable act of arson committed last night against Kehillat Ya'ar Ramot.... Such a crime would be shocking and intolerable anywhere in the world. How much the more so in a Jewish state. Such attacks do not occur in a vacuum. As Israel's recent past demonstrates, to our boundless sorrow, vile and violent language, whether directed at individuals or at groups inevitably leads to vile and violent deeds. '

The Modi'in info blog says that the congregation will hold a pre-Shabbat solidarity vigil to affirm its commitment to tolerance and religious pluralism, and against violence, which some have construed as an indication that the synagogue administration does not believe the arson to be random.

Here is a communication sent by the Masorti leadership.

It is with great sorrow that we share with you that last night there was an arson attempt on the Masorti congregation, Yedid Nefesh, in Modiin. The unidentified perpetrators set fire to the entryway – causing its destruction. The metal doors prevented the fire from destroying the main structure. Congregation Yedid Nefesh, established over five years ago, moved into its own building just last year. It was one of the very few structures provided by the State for a non-Orthodox congregation. It was only ten days ago that a sign was erected identifying the congregation as part of the Masorti Movement. We join together in our support of Yedid Nefesh and its members. We shall provide for any resources they request. See http://www.masorti.org/congregations/jerusalem.html for contact information.

Yizhar Hess Mankal, Masorti Movement in Israel

Imagine - all the horrors of Kristallnacht, in our very own state! Who needs the KKK when we have Jews who hate other Jews every bit as much. When Herzl envisioned a Zionist state with Jewish street cleaners, thieves and prostitutes, I don't imagine he had this in mind: Jewish arsonists who hate other Jews so much that they would burn down their synagogues.

Maybe the police are right and this is not a hate crime. But more likely they are part of the cover up. Would they be so quick to do that if an Arab were suspected? If that would be called terrorism, why not this?

Those who perpetrated this act of cowardice and hatred - and ALL those who enable them through their apathy, enmity and political sleaziness - should be ashamed.

Our sympathies go out to our cousins in Modi'in.