TELL Magazine August - September 2019

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“Israel will foster the development
of the country for the benefit of
all its inhabitants; it will be based
on freedom, justice and peace as
envisaged by the prophets of Israel;
it will ensure complete equality of
social and political rights to all its
inhabitants irrespective of religion,
race or sex; it will guarantee
freedom of religion, conscience,
language, education and culture;
it will safeguard the Holy Places of
all religions; and it will be faithful
to the principles of the Charter
of the United Nations.” Notice
that it says The State of Israel will
ensure equality, it will be guarantee
freedom. It will, it will, it will.
Israel is far from perfect and yet so
many people celebrate it as if it is.
The founders of Israel wrote
about Israel in the future tense
because they knew that we must
always be in transition towards
this better future. Our nation
has made progress, but it is not
there yet. We know that we are
once again under threat, Israel
recently was being bombarded by
hundreds of rockets and while we
hope for peace and are regularly
challenged by tragedy, we do not
want to abandon our dreams of
an Israel that we can always be
proud of, a light unto the nations.
That’s the thing about Judaism
and transitions, we are always
transitioning towards something
better. We don’t believe that our
ancestors were freed from slavery so
our job is done or that we received
the Torah at Sinai so we are done
with reinventing ourselves. We
have a Seder, count the Omer and
celebrate Shavuot every year.
So, while we sit here in that
uncomfortable time of transition
between the Israel we have and
the Zion we dream of we are also
reminded by Pesach, The Omer
and Shavuot that revelation
is a process that we transition
towards constantly. The point
of the transition is for us to sit
with the anxiety, ambiguity
and the unknowability of our
what comes next. This is the
time to go down deep into
the deepest recesses of who we
are, to find the resources and
riches we didn’t know where
there. We must take hold
of this transitional time and
harness the spiritual power and
creativity it affords us to try new
ways of being in the world, so that
together, we can try to live up to
the hope of our Jewish Nation.
This article is inspired by the work
of Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg.
Kobi Bloom is an Emanuel school
teacher, who also helps guide youth
education at Emanuel Synagogue.
ISRAEL & WORLD JEWRY
TISHA B'AV - 10th/11th August, 2019
Erev Tisha B'Av - Saturday 10th August
6:15pm - Evening service including reading of Eicha and kinnot
Featuring international guest, world-renowned scholar and Rabbi Dr David Frankel. Rabbi Dr.
David Frankel did his Ph.D. at the Hebrew University and has been teaching Bible and Jewish
Studies for nearly twenty five years at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem.
Tisha B'Av - Sunday 11th August
9:00am - Morning service
11:00am - A chance to learn about meditation and mindfulness with a Jewish perspective.
What better time to meditate than Tisha B’Av, a day of reflection and going into the depths of the
soul?
With Rabbi Dr. Orna Triguboff, we will explore traditional techniques of meditation in the
Jewish tradition. This workshop is free and people of all backgrounds are welcome.
3:00pm - Mincha
4:00pm - A special presentation by Hand in Hand (see below for details).
6:15pm - Ma’ariv service folowed by light snacks to break the fast.
Hand in Hand is building a growing network of Jewish-Arab public schools and shared
communities. In six locations across the country, thousands of students, teachers, and families
come together every day in multicultural, bilingual classrooms, and integrated communities.
Living Together in a Divided Society?
The Temple was destroyed due to sinat chinam (baseless hatred). Hear an inspiring
story from Israel about how the Hand in Hand school network is today transforming
divided communities through Jewish-Arab integrated schools and communities.
Hand in Hand changemakers Shada Edress-Mansour and Noa Yammer will share both
their personal journeys to this work, as well as the dilemmas and successes that come
with building a shared and equal future for Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel.
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