As the situation in Israel gets more complicated and spirals further out of control, we Jews in the United States ask ourselves more urgently what our responsibility is to and for the Jewish State. I'd like to take a step back and think about what it is that Israel means to us, what is its purpose in the evolution of the Jewish people, and whether we can consider ourselves Zionists when we live 6,000 miles from Israel and we see from afar how disappointing the culmination of the Zionist dream can appear from the dreams of the modern age Zionists a century ago.

As many of you know, I was most recently in Israel with my family during the 1997-

A full flowering of American Jewish culture is dependent, in part, on the full flowering of a vibrant Jewish civilization in the land of Israel.

98 academic year. Living there as an adult with a child was a totally different experience from being there as a college student in the 80s. I experienced much more closely what it is like to live in Israel day-to-day, making ends meet, fighting the traffic, and trying to maintain a "normal" life in spite of the daily tension in the region. I also connected more deeply with the religious and spiritual undercurrent that both the people and the land lives and breathes everyday.

On the surface, daily secular life in Israel is in many ways imperceptively different from any other modern Mediterranean country. With wood historically an expensive commodity, the streets are lined with concrete and stone structures, the streets are narrow, the cars are small and European looking, the food is earthy, the summer weather oppressive, and the economic status of the population is comfortably lower middle class. Sbarro Pizza restaurants, strip malls and multi-plex movie theaters dot most city landscapes, testifying to the rapid Americanization and modernization of this once exotic land.

Simultaneously, daily life in Israel is infused with an undeniably Jewish character. The common spoken and written language is Hebrew, offices shut down early on Fridays and people rush around preparing for Shabbat; store keepers wish their customers "Shabbat Shalom" on Friday afternoons. Street vendors sell Hamentaschen around Purim, and Sufganiot (jelly doughnuts) are sold on each corner for a month leading up to Chanukah, the streets shut down to traffic on Yom Kippur, and the history and beauty of the land and the people's connection to it is palpable.

The early Zionist thinkers believed in a Jewish state that could serve simultaneously as refuge, protector, cultural homeland, and spiritual rejuvenator. Through the first forty years of Israel's existence, the Diaspora Jewish community emphasized the first two of these purposes. Israel had to exist in order to protect the interests of Jews internationally and to serve as a definitive welcoming destination to Jews rejected by the lands of their birth.

Beginning in the late eighties, and through the nineties, as the State of Israel began to develop peaceful relations with its neighbors, Jews in oppressive exile were fewer in number, and Jews in western democracies began to feel more at home in their native countries, the focus on Israel became more cultural and spiritual. People began to visit Israel much more readily, spending significant amounts of time there and reconnecting with their Jewish heritage there in ways previously unimaginable.

Over the past two years, the situation has swung in a totally new direction. No longer do people readily see Israel as eternal refuge and protector for Jews around the globe, as the country is having such trouble protecting even its own citizens. For the most part Diaspora Jews are unwilling to travel there and those who had developed deep spiritual connections to the land are deeply pained more than rejuvenated by the daily discussion about Israel. Today, Diaspora Jews are most concerned about how to protect Israel against an enemy so close that it cannot be easily identified and about Israel's shift from embattled victim to a very strong and fierce occupier and (some would say) oppressor of others.

For many Jews in the Diaspora - especially those who grew up in safe, middle class homes, with little or no experience of anti-Semitism and those of us whose families include non-Jewish parents or spouses for whom Israel is peripheral or irrelevant - connections to Israel are tenuous, at best. When we no longer feel the pressing need to support Israel as a refuge and protector, it is not surprising to see many Diaspora Jews turn away or express ambivalence or even anger toward Israel.

For me personally, the experience of hearing the language of the Torah spoken on street corners and cafes, of walking in the footsteps of biblical personalities and great rabbinic sages, of living life in accord with a Jewish calendar, of experiencing, if only briefly, life as a member of a majority culture that is free to thrive and create new forms of authentic Jewish expression, gave me a deeper understanding of my heritage, my traditions and, ultimately, of myself. A full flowering of American Jewish culture is dependent, in part, on the full flowering of a vibrant Jewish civilization in the land of Israel.

Recognizing Israel's importance as a spiritual homeland and cultural center for all Jews, does not, however necessarily lead to any political conclusions and that is not the direction I want this discussion to take. Rather, I would like to invite you to join me in an exploration of these earlier questions - of the meaning and relevance of Israel to our lives today. I encourage you to begin this exploration this summer: take along a book about Israel on your summer vacation, add some Israeli authors to your summer fiction list, read Israeli poets or listen to Israeli music, learn some simple Hebrew phrases, check out an exhibit of Israeli artists, attend a program on the current political situation. Find some way to stay engaged, to foster a connection. I believe that it is not only your soul that will be enriched by it, but our entire community's as well.

With blessings for a peaceful summer.

Rabbi Elyse

Rabbi's Message Archive