Summer 2021 | Kayitz 5781
ISRAEL 2022 A Congregation Trip
In 1990, I spent the first year of my rabbinical training in Israel. It was the year that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. When I arrived at the airport after our winter break, I was handed a gas mask and a piece of paper with directions for making a sealed room. That evening, we woke to sirens at 3am as scud missiles landed in Tel Aviv or were intercepted by American Patriot Missiles as we huddled in our sealed bathroom. I clearly felt the resilience of the Israeli people as they went about their lives with serious vigor and humor throughout the time period of the Gulf War (which ended on Purim of that year—which was some party). I remember the nearly empty streets as we walked through Jerusalem that year, and the appreciation of local store owners to those brave tourists who made the trip from abroad. That same appreciation was shown to members of Temple Emanuel’s community when we participated in a mission to Israel in 2004 after an intifada in Israel the year before, and again on
our congregation trip in 2014. This year has been a difficult one for the Jewish State and the Jewish people. The recent war in Israel with Hamas in Gaza woke those sirens throughout the country once again, leading her citizens, who are for many of us, relatives and friends, to scurry into bomb shelters. Anti-Semitism in the United States is on the rise, and anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric is proliferated on the internet. It’s time to go back to Israel as a congregation. Time to show our solidarity with the Jewish people and the Jewish State. Time to kindle or rekindle our bond with the people and the land of Israel. Together, we can experience Israeli society from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, Haifa to Kiryat Shemonah in the North. Most
importantly, we will get to know those who live there, and feel the connection and pride Israelis have for their past and future. The first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion wrote, “This life as a simple citizen and laborer has its benefits not only for the person himself but perhaps also for his country. After all, there is room for only one Prime Minister, but for those who make the desert bloom there is room for hundreds, thousands and even millions. And the destiny of the state is in the hands of the many rather than of a single individual. There are times when an individual feels he should do those things which only can and should be done by the many.” In Summer of 2022, let us go together to see what was created by the many over the last 73 years. And, let us go to have a fantastic time bonding with other congregants in an experience that none of us will forget. This trip is open to congregants of any age. If you have any interest or you would like to hear more about our Israel 2022 experience, please email Events@tebh.org.
–Rabbi Jonathan Aaron Senior Rabbi