By Rabbi Noam Raucher and Rabbi Jonathan Freirich
It is hard not to talk about Israel lately. Almost without a beat we see Israel in the headlines as top news stories or stories of interest. Pick your topic: Israel’s security, its relationship with the United States as an ally, Bibi and Obama’s relationship with each other, Jewish-U.S support for Israel (or lack thereof), Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), Iran as a nuclear power, the Palestinian question, or even questions about Israel’s internal climate – it is hard to recall a day lately that we did not hear about Israel. And that’s just the dramatic stuff.
Our community expresses its deep connection to Israel in beautiful ways. Attend any of our Yom Ha’atzma’ut (Independence Day) and/or Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) events and you will see what it means to love Israel. But when Israel is in the news we find ourselves talking more and more about it. As passions rise it is possible that you have found yourself in at least one conversation turned debate without even knowing it. Individual and small group conversations about Israel take place on a regular basis. But how often do we get together to talk about Israel on a community-wide level?
Rabbi Jonathan Freirich and Rabbi Noam Raucher share a vision of our community, the greater Charlotte Jewish community, in dialogue about one of Judaism’s most pressing topics. Imagine, late in a springtime evening, as Shabbat is dwindling into the night, a room full of your friends and family members listening to thought provoking conversations about Israel and Zionism. (Perhaps even with some nosh and coffee in hand). What an opportunity it would be to get to know one another through honest and respectful conversations. Imagine what you could learn about yourself, and our fellow community members. Imagine how much more we would understand about one another.
Saturday evening, May 23, brings with it Shavuot, and opportunity for us to talk about Israel with depth and honesty. Rabbinic legend teaches us that the newly liberated Israelites slept late on the day that God gave them the Ten Commandments and a covenant to enter – the moments that Shavuot celebrates and sanctifies. (This also came to be known as the very first instance of “Jewish Standard Time”). But in response, Rabbi Isaac Luria and the 16th century mystical Kabbalists instituted that on Shavuot we spend all night studying so we can receive the Torah while awake in the morning. Somewhat of a backwards approach considering most people would rather go right to sleep after spending the entire night awake. Jewish celebrations usually take a lot of energy. Sometimes the experience is worth the exhaustion.
Interestingly, most Jewish laws and customs focus on the individual’s responsibility to celebrate the holiday. Our synagogues make for great communal celebrations for all individuals to be included. But Shavuot asks us that we experience the holiday specifically with someone else. And that is done through study with one another. For this holiday we do not spend our time with our faces looking down at a siddur. For Shavuot we spend our time eye-to-eye with our neighbor, in conversation, as student and teacher.
Jewish study is not meant to be done in private. Texts, in whatever form, are meant to be torn apart (metaphorically speaking) by two individuals through a back and forth process that seeks to, respectfully and lovingly, challenge answers and assumptions; eventually yielding a deeper understanding of truth. Judaism affirms that there are no simple answers and in order to learn we must dig deeper.
What is Zionism, and Are Jews Obligated to Be Zionists?
Saturday – May 23rd – Lerner Hall, Levine JCC
8 PM – Panel Conversation with Rabbis Murray Ezring, Judy Schindler, and Barbara Thiede
