Celebrating Partnership and Planting Seeds

It was the spring of 2002. I can still remember sitting in a cab with Sarale Shadmi, Chen Ben-Or Tsfoni, and Tlalit Shavit z”l on the way back from an Israel Women’s Rabbinic Network event in midtown. They were part of a weeklong delegation to BJ from HaMidrasha At Oranim. There had already been a couple of delegations to BJ before that one (Rabbi Rachel Cowan z”l had connected Roly and Marcelo with the heads of HaMidrasha, Sarale Shadmi and Moti Zeira in 1994), but as a new young rabbi at BJ I was just beginning to form a relationship with them. I had recently returned from BJ’s first women’s retreat, energized and excited about what we were building together. On a whim, I suggested to Chen, Sarale and Tlalit that they join us the following year. And they did. A group of 10 Israeli women from HaMidrasha–one Orthodox, the rest secular–came on the second women’s retreat. On Shabbat morning, I invited Chen to hold the Torah. Unbeknownst to me, she had never held a Torah before. Tears streamed down her face, just as they did on  many of ours. It had taken most of the Israeli women a trip across the ocean to a retreat center in New Paltz, NY, to experience the privilege of holding the Torah. Not only did the retreat create a Jewish spiritual space for all the women present—it also provided fertile soil for the budding of new friendships, and the opportunity for a lived experience of powerful connection between Israeli and American Jewish women. The delegation of women left the retreat determined to create their own women’s retreat in Israel the following year—and that’s exactly what they did. The following summer, I brought a delegation of BJ women to Kibbutz Poriya overlooking the Kinneret, to participate in their retreat. Secular and religious Israeli women joined together for the first time–away from their families for Shabbat (a big deal for them)–to build community, to search together for shared traditions, and to engage in conversation on the resonance and meaning of Jewishness in the State of Israel.

It’s been more than twenty years since then. The partnership between HaMidrasha and BJ is over 30 years old. The story of the women’s retreats is just one of many layers of this ongoing partnership. So much has changed in the landscape of liberal Jewish life in Israel. After a number of years, and several delegations to BJ, the core leadership of HaMidrasha realized they desired more than to be educators but to have a spiritual life as Israeli Jews, and to build it themselves. They had their first Kabbalat Shabbat in 2000 and created Nigun Halev, originally led by Chen, Shai Zarchi and Bini Talmi. In 2007, there was a BJ trip to Israel to bring and dedicate a Torah for Nigun Halev. That very same trip, Roly and I sat with Moti Zeira and Shai Zarchi, and they shared their hope to build a rabbinical program, which ultimately became the Rabbanut Yisraelit, a joint program of HaMidrasha and the Shalom Hartman Institute. Many of the women who had never held a Torah before all those years ago are now ordained rabbis—graduates of the Rabbanut Yisraelit or HUC-JIR in Jerusalem. Esteban Gottfried, who as a teenager used to help Roly lead Shabbat services in Argentina, made aliyah in his late teen years. He and Rani Jaeger founded Beit Tefilah Israeli with the support of Roly and their experiences at BJ among other influences. They had a desire to build a community of an inclusive, joyful, creative, and spiritual Israeli Judaism—and they have. Among many offerings, their Kabbalat Shabbat at the Northern Port of Tel Aviv regularly attracts hundreds of people. On October 6, 2023, the port was filled with people dancing with the Torot for Simhat Torah.

There are too many stories to share about the deep connections and the many visits over the years. Suffice it to say: These partnerships have transformed us as rabbis; the BJ community and its relationship with Israel has also been transformed; and BJ was a one of the influences and inspirations in building their own communities in Israel. At the core of this relationship is a shared tradition, a spiritual longing, a deep belief in the power of community, and an ongoing dream that the land and people of Israel’s aspirations have yet to be fully realized. There is significant reason to despair as a Jewish people with the ongoing war, the hostages that remain in Gaza, rising antisemitism in the world and its use for pernicious ends, and the external and internal threats to Israel. One of the reasons עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ (my hope is not lost), is because of these partnerships. Because of these individuals, whom we love. We are searching for a path forward together. In our ongoing hevruta, our differing perspectives and experiences enable us to continually challenge our thinking and push the conversation forward. And because of these relationships, our shared commitment and deeply-held belief that the Jewish people have a calling, there is no choice but to imagine together a future that is filled with more light, more justice, and more peace. There is no other way.

Finally, beyond inviting everyone to participate in the myriad of events and opportunities for connection and learning over Shabbat and the week to come, it is most important to honor one person at BJ, Steve Stulman, who has seeded, shepherded, and funded this work and these partnerships, and who has challenged all of us to dream big. His determination and vision is unmatched. Thank you Steve.

This Shabbat, may we celebrate the many years of our partnership so far—and plant seeds for the many years to come.

Shabbat shalom,

Felicia