Next, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, talked to us at breakfast. He stood at the podium, and a young Israel security guard (he look to be about 12 but probably wasn’t) in a oversized black suit, stood close by, eyes constantly scanning the crowed. He warmed us up – and he is a charming man, smart, quick-witted, and direct – but telling us that he comes from New Jersey and grew up in USY. His region, Galil, held its kinnus in Washington, DC, every year, and in 1971, when he was 15, the speaker was Israel’s ambassador to the United States. “We stood up on our chairs and screamed and sang and clapped until our hands were raw, and I thought then that was what I wanted to do when I grew up,” he said, adding that the ambassador then was Yizhak Rabin. Oren was working for Rabin when he was assassinated.
He talked about his own religious faith, which he compared to Einstein’s; the great scientist wrote in 1936 that the eternal mystery of the world is that it is measurable, not random, in response to younger scientists who saw no evidence of anything except chaos. The speed of light is so precise, he said, that it is unlikely to be accidental, and therefore the God whose existence is proven by the speed of light is a God with time to spend on detail, and that also is a God of history. (No doubt his argument is more elaborate and persuasive than this; it was breakfast, after all.) And if there is a God of history that “leads us to assume that there is a reason why 3,000 years ago this obscure group of nomads came up with the extraordinary ideas of one God and universal morality. There is a reason to believe that these people were given a land, and why these people, bound by faith, longed to return to that land from exile… Although thoroughly assimilated and not connected to his Jewish roots, Einstein came down on the side of God of the Jews.” He became a Zionist.
Israel is now in a better situation than ever before, he said, although that seems counterintuitive. It is safer. But “in recent years the moral struggle has become much harder. Our enemies no longer wear uniforms. Instead they hide among civilians. Israel must defend itself but when it does so increasingly it finds itself condemned for crimes against humanity.” The terms of the debate are changing – increasingly it is over whether Israel has the right or even the need to defend itself; over whether a Jewish state should exist at all. This debate has seeded doubt about Israel’s legitimacy around the world, even among some Israelis, particularly young Israelis. The answer, he said, is to remind people of how many times over the last 80 years that Israel has accepted the idea of a two-state solution, only to have it rejected, often with violence. “We say that the Palestinians have the right to a homeland. We are looking for Palestinian leaders who say the Jews have the right to a homeland and we can’t find any.”
The other existential threat Israel faces, he said, echoing Dahlia Itzik, is from Iran, which funds and undergirds Hamas and Hezbollah.
What we can do, he said – and it is both all that we can do and what we must do – is support Israel, remember that we all are connected to each other and look out for each other, and that the God who has kept us together for 3,000 years in the end will continue to do so.
The first question he took was about the situation with Women of the Wall; as perhaps might be (but naively wasn’t – at least by me) expected it was party line. It was an unfortunate incident, he said, but over-reported and misunderstood. The women were not where they belonged, at Robinson’s Arch; if they hadn’t tried to something against the rules at the Kotel, which from time immemorial had been an Orthodox shul, nothing would have happened. We have to accommodate both tradition and pluralism, and it’s a work in progress. As he spoke, an audible sigh moved through the room. Something, something intangible, broke.
The next question was about J Street. A synagogue president reported that he was under great pressure from one faction in his shul to invite J Street, while another faction strongly opposed it. J Street is significantly out of the mainstream, Oren answered; it opposes all of Israel’s government policies, and Obama’s as well. “When it comes to the survival of the Jewish state, there should be no difference of opinion,” he said. “When you are fooling around with the lives of 7 million people it is no joke.” You can invite them, he said, but prepare well.
Joanne Palmer
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Rabbi Artson's D'var Torah
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles, gave the dvar Torah this morning.
He was blunt. It is necessary to hit bottom before you can rise, he said, as Joseph finds in this week’s Torah portion, Vayeshev, when his brothers throw him down into a pit before they sell him into slavery in Egypt. As a movement, we find ourselves at the bottom of a pit too. We are trying to scramble up its sides, back into daylight, using the methods that used to work for us, appealing to ethnicity, denominational loyalty, even the need for plain survival, but none of these appeals works because we have become too free to need them. Yes, we must survive, but why?
We must survive, as Jews but not only as Jews; if our questions and their answers are not universal they are not worth asking or answering.
But – and of course in divrai Torah there always is a but -- to be empty is to full of no thing. In the chasidic tradition, rak, emptiness, is a name for God, for God, after all, is no thing. When Joseph was at the bottom of the pit that was full of nothing, it was also filled with potential, which is nothing yet. We can see the emptiness not only as an overwhelming fact but as an invitation to walk, Rabbi Artson said.
Joanne Palmer
He was blunt. It is necessary to hit bottom before you can rise, he said, as Joseph finds in this week’s Torah portion, Vayeshev, when his brothers throw him down into a pit before they sell him into slavery in Egypt. As a movement, we find ourselves at the bottom of a pit too. We are trying to scramble up its sides, back into daylight, using the methods that used to work for us, appealing to ethnicity, denominational loyalty, even the need for plain survival, but none of these appeals works because we have become too free to need them. Yes, we must survive, but why?
We must survive, as Jews but not only as Jews; if our questions and their answers are not universal they are not worth asking or answering.
But – and of course in divrai Torah there always is a but -- to be empty is to full of no thing. In the chasidic tradition, rak, emptiness, is a name for God, for God, after all, is no thing. When Joseph was at the bottom of the pit that was full of nothing, it was also filled with potential, which is nothing yet. We can see the emptiness not only as an overwhelming fact but as an invitation to walk, Rabbi Artson said.
Joanne Palmer
Rabbi Steven Wernick
Last night, Rabbi Steven Wernick was installed as our new executive vice president and CEO. This was the first such installation in 23 years; there were a few people in the room who had been there for the last one but their memories of the event were hazy, so basically it was a new ritual for a new time.
Steve was introduced by Dr. Raymond Goldstein, our outgoing (in both senses of the word) international president, who also chaired the search committee that selected him. His mentor, Rabbi Steven Lindemann of Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill -- basically his professional father -- and Rabbi Eugene Wernick, another mentor and role model and also his actual father -- introduced him, both with emotion and pride, and Rabbi Lindemann draped him with a new United Synagogue tallit and blessed him as parents bless their children with the priestly blessing.
Then Rabbi Wernick, still in the finely woven tallit with the burgandy stripes and his name in silver on the atara, gave his talk (which will be up on our website in an hour or two). Weaving the theme of Chanukah, when the Maccabbees faced despair, saw an opportunity, took risks, and won, saving Judaism for all of us, their descendants, throughout, he talked about the risks we must take to remain relevant. As a firm believer in Conservative Judaism, with its unique ability to fuse tradition, ancient wisdom, and modern understandings of the world and we who live in it, he is working hard to devise new ways to convey that understanding to people less committed to it than he. He has been touring the United States and Canada, listening to synagogue professional and lay leaders, listening to their desires and their discontents, and he is using this information to plan for our future.
His talk earned him an ovation; the energy in the room -- which was packed, with overflow into the hall and people peering in from odd angles, all that were left -- pulsing. Afterward people went on for dessert and dancing, and talking talking talking. All that talking made people thirsty but the bar closed at 11, minutes after the program ended. What's the deal with that, Crowne Plaza Hotel?
Joanne Palmer
Steve was introduced by Dr. Raymond Goldstein, our outgoing (in both senses of the word) international president, who also chaired the search committee that selected him. His mentor, Rabbi Steven Lindemann of Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill -- basically his professional father -- and Rabbi Eugene Wernick, another mentor and role model and also his actual father -- introduced him, both with emotion and pride, and Rabbi Lindemann draped him with a new United Synagogue tallit and blessed him as parents bless their children with the priestly blessing.
Then Rabbi Wernick, still in the finely woven tallit with the burgandy stripes and his name in silver on the atara, gave his talk (which will be up on our website in an hour or two). Weaving the theme of Chanukah, when the Maccabbees faced despair, saw an opportunity, took risks, and won, saving Judaism for all of us, their descendants, throughout, he talked about the risks we must take to remain relevant. As a firm believer in Conservative Judaism, with its unique ability to fuse tradition, ancient wisdom, and modern understandings of the world and we who live in it, he is working hard to devise new ways to convey that understanding to people less committed to it than he. He has been touring the United States and Canada, listening to synagogue professional and lay leaders, listening to their desires and their discontents, and he is using this information to plan for our future.
His talk earned him an ovation; the energy in the room -- which was packed, with overflow into the hall and people peering in from odd angles, all that were left -- pulsing. Afterward people went on for dessert and dancing, and talking talking talking. All that talking made people thirsty but the bar closed at 11, minutes after the program ended. What's the deal with that, Crowne Plaza Hotel?
Joanne Palmer
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Itzik Speaks
This afternoon, MK Dalia Itzik, who was Israel's first female Knesset speaker, talked to us, a rich full voice in richly accented English. She praised the Conservative movement, including of course its Masorti branch in Israel, as a deeply necessary bridge over the chasm that separates haredim from secular Jews in Israel. She praised the movement in ways that were specific and therefore seemed entirely real. But, she said, neither we nor the Reform movement have political power in Israel, and therefore we will continue to be powerless.
"If Israel wants to remain a lighthouse and anchor for the Jewish world, we must find a way for all the major streams in Jewish life to be represented," she said. "I fully believe that we must find a way to mend the rift and unite the Jewish world, as we have done in the past."
The main threat to Israel's continued existence, she said, is Iran, which has been responsible for arming Israel's enemies and feeding its terrorists the poison on which they thrive. Israel must find moderates among the Palestinians, in Jordan and in Egypt, with whom they can make common cause against the danger Iran poses to everyone, in the region and outside it. "You must find a way to raise your voices against Iran," she said. "The biggest threat to us is Iran, Iran, and again Iran."
To add to the inherent gloom of her description was how closely it echoed what we were told by Sallai Meridor, then Israel's ambassador to the United States, at our 2007 convention.
Still, she said, "I remain optimistic. Israel is a true miracle, a Jewish democratic island in a sea of Arab lands, a country rich in achivement, in high tech, biotech, medicine, science, agriculture, industrial research, and so many other fields. All this has been built with your help and your support. Thank you so much for this, for all of us who created this amazing living Zionist dream."
Joanne Palmer
"If Israel wants to remain a lighthouse and anchor for the Jewish world, we must find a way for all the major streams in Jewish life to be represented," she said. "I fully believe that we must find a way to mend the rift and unite the Jewish world, as we have done in the past."
The main threat to Israel's continued existence, she said, is Iran, which has been responsible for arming Israel's enemies and feeding its terrorists the poison on which they thrive. Israel must find moderates among the Palestinians, in Jordan and in Egypt, with whom they can make common cause against the danger Iran poses to everyone, in the region and outside it. "You must find a way to raise your voices against Iran," she said. "The biggest threat to us is Iran, Iran, and again Iran."
To add to the inherent gloom of her description was how closely it echoed what we were told by Sallai Meridor, then Israel's ambassador to the United States, at our 2007 convention.
Still, she said, "I remain optimistic. Israel is a true miracle, a Jewish democratic island in a sea of Arab lands, a country rich in achivement, in high tech, biotech, medicine, science, agriculture, industrial research, and so many other fields. All this has been built with your help and your support. Thank you so much for this, for all of us who created this amazing living Zionist dream."
Joanne Palmer
Welcome to Cherry Hill
So here we are in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, getting ready for the convention. Yesterday it snowed here on the east coast, huge fat white snowflakes that fluttered down from a silver sky. But today it's dry and warm. It's a good day to travel.
Lots of people, it seems, have taken the opportunity to get here. I don't know how many people are here, but the lines snaking from the reception counter seem to go on for miles. No one seems to mind, though; people are standing there talking to each other. There's none of the fumes that generally steam off lines are there. Just lots and lots of talking.
The convention starts at four o'clock, and you will be able to read about it here, on this blog. We will be looking seriously at the issues that affect the Conservative movement in general and United Synagogue in particular. The convention will open with performances, many of them by children and teenagers; the first formal talk with by from Rabbi Steven Wernick as he is formally installed (and no, installation does not entail standing with your hands above your head as you are twisted into the socket in the ceiling). Instead, Steve, who is our new executive vice president and CEO, will talk about his dreams for the movement. He will not short-shrift the problems we face, either. That is not his style.
The hotel lobby is pulsing with kids now. They're ready to go.
Joanne Palmer
Lots of people, it seems, have taken the opportunity to get here. I don't know how many people are here, but the lines snaking from the reception counter seem to go on for miles. No one seems to mind, though; people are standing there talking to each other. There's none of the fumes that generally steam off lines are there. Just lots and lots of talking.
The convention starts at four o'clock, and you will be able to read about it here, on this blog. We will be looking seriously at the issues that affect the Conservative movement in general and United Synagogue in particular. The convention will open with performances, many of them by children and teenagers; the first formal talk with by from Rabbi Steven Wernick as he is formally installed (and no, installation does not entail standing with your hands above your head as you are twisted into the socket in the ceiling). Instead, Steve, who is our new executive vice president and CEO, will talk about his dreams for the movement. He will not short-shrift the problems we face, either. That is not his style.
The hotel lobby is pulsing with kids now. They're ready to go.
Joanne Palmer
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