Israel- Rosh HaShanah Speech Day 2

One Shabbat last May, Charlie and I attended services at a Temple in State College, Pennsylvania. We had been told that the Shabbat morning service was a “traditional” service, yet I noticed that the Xeroxed siddur had some changes to its format. No prayer mentioned the words Am Yisrael, the people of Israel, or Kol Yisrael, all of Israel. In fact there was no mention of Jewish peoplehood at all or of the State of Israel during the entire service. I wondered why the Rabbi who officiated at the service, chose to write a siddur that purposefully eliminated all mention of Israel? At first I thought that perhaps he wanted to appeal to a liberal congregation that questioned its support of Israel during troubling political times. Then I thought that perhaps it was an attempt to avoid any language in the siddur that was not just about humanity in general. But the lack of Israel in a siddur was very troubling to me. It is no accident that the entire focus of the Torah is on the fulfillment of G-d’s promise to Abraham to inherit the land of Canaan. It is no accident that the Torah tells us in Genesis that Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron to bury Sarah. It is also no accident that the Torah lets us know that the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt was not to serve G-d in Egypt but to serve G-d in the Promised Land. Judaism has always linked our religious life and spirituality with nationalism. Dreams about having a homeland in which to live out our duty to bring a message to the world have always been part of the Jewish view. Generations of Jews in the past lived only with the dream of having a Jewish homeland, but for us that dream is a reality. If you happen to remember Karl Shapiro who was editor of the Prairie Schooner from 1956-1966, he aptly described his reaction to the rebirth of Israel in The New Yorker magazine. He wrote, “When I think of the liberation of Zion, I hear the drop of chains….I feel the weight of prisons in my skull falling away…When I see the name of Israel high in print the fences crumble in my flesh…I say my name aloud for the first time unconsciously…Speak the name of the land, speak the name only of the living land.” For Jews since the late 40’s through the present, Israel has meant a place to which exiled Jews suffering in unfriendly lands can turn. Of course, as Americans many might not sense the continued need to support the Jewish state, but just ask any Jew who has recently immigrated from Venezuela or France or Ethiopia to Israel what their urgency was and you will find out that they all desired the ability to shape their own history as Jews. They all were tired of persecution or oppression. Their need still remains, it has not dissipated over time. As American Jews, we can take pride in a young Jewish State even if we do not always agree with its positions on domestic and foreign affairs. We can take pride there is a place in the world where it is actually possible to live an all-encompassing Jewish life…a place where the language of the Bible is the language of the street, a place where Jewish study and learning is available in many forms….a place where Jewish soldiers defend the Jewish nation. That is not to say that we should not also have worries about Israel’s ability to survive physically the hateful actions of its foes that have sworn to destroy her. Nor is it to say that we should not worry about laws being introduced to the Knesset about the acceptability of conversions done in the United States by Conservative and Reform rabbis. There are many things that we need to worry about as this young state figures out how it can preserve Jewish ethics and moral values as it relates to other nations and how it can be the center of Torah yet still remain open to the various philosophical and religious differences of the Jewish people. Worrying about the outcomes of these very important issues, however, should not preclude our ability to feel attached to Israel. One of the reasons I loved studying at the Pardes Institute this summer, a pluralistic yeshiva in Yerushalyim, was that it allowed me to see that the ancient texts of Judaism could be studied, wrestled with, and understood by multiple perspectives with Jews who love being Jewish, no matter whether they had Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform backgrounds. It represented the best of Israel under one roof. It stressed that the secret of Jewish survival is to see beyond our tortured history and for all Jews to continue working together to make our dreams a reality. As the very legitimacy of the Jewish state’s right to exist is challenged by its enemies, we need to never forget the phrase, Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh BaZeh…All of Israel is responsible for one another. Only by continuing to support the Jewish State can we help her establish a bright future that will enhance the lives of Jews in all parts of the globe.