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May 5, 2000/30 Nisan 5760, Vol. 52, No.35
Gift of IsraelEditorialAs Israel turns 52 next week, it faces an identity crisis. Just like American Jewry. Secular or religious, assimilated or separated. Both sides of the Jewish world are feeling midlife angst - and anger.In Israel, the fervently Orthodox haredi complain about desecration of the Sabbath and exalt Torah Judaism, a worldview that causes secular Jews to bristle. In the United States, the Orthodox establishment rails against the Reform movement's decision to perform same-sex commitment ceremonies, while liberal Jews assail the Orthodox for differential treatment of men and women. The disparities strain relations and threaten to rend the essential ties that bind Jews together. And yet, Judaism has existed for 4,000 years, its essential character defined by Talmudic discourse and dispute. Debate has inspired resilience, difference strengthened eternal truths. Surely as tough an entity as the Jewish state - and as brawny a people as American Jewry - can confront today's challenges and in the process learn from each other. There is no better proving ground than Israel. To visit the Jewish state is to make an immediate connection to history and heritage, from the first glimpse of the Judean Hills to the final goodbye to Jerusalem's ancient stone vistas. The shared religious and cultural tradition pervades the experience of praying at the kotel, Western Wall, and of strolling on Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Street. Where but in Israel do Jews feel so intensely Jewish, so intensely alive, so intensely different and the same, all at once? As the Jewish state marks its birthday on Wednesday, May 10, resolve to give yourself and those you love the gift of Israel. Opportunities abound, from summer high-school Israel experience trips, many with generous scholarships, to the Jewish Federation Community Mission to Israel on Oct. 23-Nov.1. A national Singles Mission, for young adults 22-40, departs July 2. Learn how Israel is growing and changing, and how the American Jewish community is, too. In the process, you might even learn something about yourself. |
