Congregation Etz Chaim

So I ended the last message with our plans for our one year anniversary of Aliyah, to be greeters for the Nefesh b’Nefesh Aliyah flight arriving on that same day. This was a wonderful experience, seeing people just beginning the Israel leg of their adventure…… exhaustion and excitement all in one. We sat in the welcoming ceremony with their array of speakers from NBN, the Israeli government, religious notables and other people of note. And we were part for the first time when the entire event was broadcast live on the internet. For those of you who want to experience the process on this end, you can still see this year’s arrivals on the web

Speaking of our Prime Minister, anyone reading the news knows that he has resigned. A little introduction here to the structure of the Israeli government might help you understand what you hear about Israeli politics. Yes, we live in a democracy. No, it is not structured like the U.S. federal government. Here we have a parliamentary democracy. We do not vote for the chief executive of the government. We vote for one of the many parties or groups that are part of the Knesset (parliament) or that want to be part of it. Currently, I count 13 groups in the Knesset, although that may have changed with some recent re-structuring. Each party/group wins a number of the 120 seats in the Knesset depending on the percentage of the popular vote that they receive. Prior to the election, the group has set up a list of representatives and whatever number of seats they receive go to that number of people on the top of their list.

The leader of the group/party holding the largest number of seats then attempts to put together a coalition consisting of at least 61 (a majority) of the ministers (representatives) that have been elected by negotiating with each of their parties to help them achieve some of their goals. If the leader can put together a larger number of seats in the coalition, it reduces the ability of the smaller groups to demand concessions later based on their ability to take away the majority by dropping out of the coalition.

Upon Ehud Olmert’s resignation (which only goes into effect when his replacement has been chosen), Tzipi Livni (currently the Foreign Minister negotiating with the Palestinians) was elected to the party (Kadima) chairmanship through a party election in September. She was unable to get enough of the other parties to agree to a coalition (neither she nor they were willing to give up enough of their conflicting goals) so this requires us to have a general election which will change the number of seats that each party holds. Then the negotiating begins again with whichever party dominates trying for the leadership position. This happens in February, 2009.

For those of you who haven’t been here or haven’t been in recent years, the racial mix has gotten interesting. Firstly, many Ethiopian Jews have immigrated here since the early 1980’s. Some are still coming. They have had some difficulty becoming part of the society, not so much because of any color prejudice but rather because of culture shock. Their absorption process is considerably longer than for those coming from more modernized countries. But we don’t see any evidence of racial conflict in the way that we know it in the U.S. And the younger folks have grown up as Jewish Israelis and are really part of society, including service in the army. It is still somewhat striking to observe blacks conversing in Hebrew. I love it!

There are also people from other nations who come here as ‘foreign workers.’ The larger group that we see are Filippinos, who started coming here as the decline in available Palestinian workers occurred with the Intifada. These workers come here legally (at least initially) and provide services such as ‘metaplim’ (caretakers for the elderly or infirm). I understand that they are also involved in other low-level employment areas, but the metaplim are the ones that I see. They are able to make enough money here to live, to pay the fee of the ‘agents’ who arranged for their employment here, as well as send money back to their families. Another group of foreign workers that we see are those from India. These are not the Indian Jews that you may have read about (Bene Menashe), but rather non-Jewish workers who come for a few years to build up their nest-egg. We spoke with some neighbors who have spouses and children back in India and have plans for a better life after their years in Israel.

We continue to work at and improve our usage of Hebrew in our daily lives. Sometimes I just look around the city and realize how much more I understand of what is written on the buildings, the signs, the advertisements……. we have definitely come a long way. And then I try to formulate what I want to say in some situations and am still just missing parts of the vocabulary that I need. But at least I understand a great deal more of the structure and grammar that helps me to know what is going on. And as I listen to people on the street, especially the children, I am thrilled with the language that brings us together with Jews from all over the world as well as with our own heritage. When I want to feel less overwhelmed by the task at hand, I can go to this website to read some of the story of how the language of our distant past was brought back to life as a language capable of use in our modern world. And I recognize that I have (and will probably always have) a very noticeable Mivtah (accent) the moment I open my mouth.

There is another big difference in our lives here in Israel. Reform Judaism, as we see it, is a different creature here. Think about it. In the U.S., or probably anywhere else in the Diaspora, a major role of Reform Judaism is to provide people who are living within and participating in their local societies with a link to their Jewish communities. It offers an opportunity to participate in Jewish activities, get Jewish education, make Jewish friends and act as a community. I remember Rabbi Spanjer speaking about the reasons to come to services. We tend to come when we need to be part of our Jewish community, when we need support. She pointed out that we need to be at services to be that community when others need Jewish support. Here in Israel, our entire lives consist of being part of the Hebrew, Jewish community. I work at Rambam Hospital, Bobbie at Madatech, we’ve attended the Abba Hushi Ulpan and ride the Egged buses. We read the English version of the newspaper Haaretz (meaning ‘the land), the word which in common Hebrew conversation is used to refer to Israel. Children in public schools learn Jewish and Israeli history and celebrate the Jewish holidays. The entire nature of life around us changes when there is a special Jewish occasion. So why have a Reform Jewish community? As we see it practiced at Or Hadash, one of the major reasons is to participate in the wonderful Jewish tradition of Tikun Olam (fixing the world). You can click on the ‘Tikun Olam’ button at the Or Hadash web site to see some of what goes on here. The congregation also give a center for performance of life-cycle events for those who do not participate in the Orthodox community. There is some difference in the acceptance of those events for legal purposes (very long story) compared to those performed by the Orthodox rabbinate. So the congregation also gives us a forum for promoting changes to the current legal/religious system. We also serve as a welcoming community to visitors to our Jewish homeland, those of similar Reform background as well as others even including non-Jewish individual/s groups. We are continuing to learn about other aspects and roles of the Reform community here. Another difference in the Reform community here is that we are treated differently from the Orthodox community by the government. The Orthodox congregations and rabbinate receive their financial support from the government, the Reform congregations get nothing. There is some sign of change in that realm, but we are a long way from equality!!

Another thing that we did not expect that we have encountered here is some degree of proselytizing in our midst. There are some groups that are very careful NOT to do this. These include the Bahai (One of their major religious and pilgrimage centers is here in Haifa.) as well as some Christian groups like the Southern Baptists (who are very active in supporting Israel as a Jewish state). On the other hand, we have encountered Messianic Jews (Jews for Jesus) in personal situations as well as on the streets, much as they do in the U.S. We believe that it is not illegal to try to convert Jews here, but is strongly discouraged. It is certainly not a welcome activity. Not only is this annoying, but it is disturbing that these people, who in our view have accepted another religion even if they were born Jewish, take advantage of the Law of Return to come here. At least some then accept the extensive financial benefits which the government provides to help Jews to make their Aliyah successful. We also had one encounter with a proudly Christian woman who had made Aliyah from the Ukraine based on having had a Jewish grandfather. On first meeting, she seemed to be trying to convert Bobbie. That changed by the next time that we saw her.

On some occasions, we have encountered young people who are here on tours such as those run by Taglit-Birthright or by congregational trips. On the one hand, it seems to generally give them a life-changing experience by connecting them to Israel and the Jewish community. But on the other hand, it also gives us a great feeling. It contributes to the connection we feel with the world Jewish community which we don’t always see as we are occupied with our daily lives. It also give us a sense of hope for the supply of future support as well as future Olim (immigrants). Whether you contribute to the chances of your children coming to visit via the SKIP program at the synagogue, sending them on the congregational trips or connecting them with the Taglit-Birthright for their trips (which I believe are generally free), you do your children and us a great service. I hope that one of the times that I stop along Ben Gurion street to say hello to the groups that I see, that maybe one of the kids will tell me that they come from Congregation Etz Chaim.

So this year, we were here for the entire dry season from sometime back in April until October. During this entire time, we saw no rain. Not a day was there wet ground here in Haifa. Almost inconceivable to those of us who grew up in the northern part of the U.S. When the rain finally starts, it brings an appreciation both of the great gifts that G-d grants us as well the incredible job that those before us had in making this a fertile, productive land. Now that we are moving into winter, this is the rainy season (no snow at all in most parts of the country). But that does not mean endless days of rain. It simply means rain on some days. We hope that there will be enough to replenish Israel’s water supply, which currently is very low.

There is another type of support that we would appreciate here. That is the financial support that comes from using Israeli businesses and products. Yes, we are starting to see some of the effects of the world financial situation although probably nothing compared to what many of you see in the U.S. But if you have the choice of buying something Israeli vs. something not, please add that into your decision making. One thing that I have preferred in the times that we have traveled here in the past is to travel on El Al. Yes, there is a chance that you will find a cheaper fare on another airline if you look hard. But I must say that I have greatly enjoyed the fine service as well as the incredible sense of security that I have on El Al.

So this was an interesting election season for us. For the first time in our lives, we voted twice inside of one month. And it wasn’t even the Chicago version of ‘vote early, vote often!’ We submitted absentee ballots for the U.S. presidential election, getting to participate in that historic event. Yes, we are still citizens and have the right to vote through the election board of our last place of residence in the U.S. And then we voted in the municipal elections here in Haifa. It’s done a little differently here. We were handed two envelopes, one yellow and one white, when we walked into the voting office. We went into the voting booth where there were little piles of white and yellow paper with writing (in Hebrew, of course) on them. The white ones had the names of candidates for the Mayor of Haifa. The yellow ones had names of political parties on them. They were vying for seats on the equivalent of the City Council.

We both recently had some fun days through our workplaces, which are apparently a typical thing here. Both of our employers sponsored days for Tee-yul (touring). The Cardiology department from Rambam went north to the Galilee, the Lebanese border, bicycled around a nature preserve, a lovely large lunch in a fish restaurant, and a stop at a place that turns locally grown olives into olive oil. The department actually did this on two different days so that half of the department could go each time. And this counted as a day of work!! It is an example of the appreciation of quality of life that we find here.

So what is our perception of what goes on in the news here? What is all this activity with settlers in the territories, the House of Contention being evacuated in Hebron, etc. In summary, there are Meshugim (crazy people) on all sides of the issue. It is embarrassing and upsetting to us as Jews when other Jews assault Palestinian passers-by with rocks or verbal attacks or firearms. And it is upsetting to us when a rocket lands in a parking lot in Sderot, though it luckily did not kill anyone this week. Have we come up with solutions to all the problems? Not nearly. But we are beginning to get a handle on the complexity of the issues in both the short term and the long term. And as always, we begin to have the joy of knowledgeable disagreements over the breakfast table!!