Israel as a Jewish and Democratic State
Israel's Declaration of Independence establishes the state to be of both a Jewish and Democratic character. It is a unique value among the world's nation-states, one that treads the tension of having a religious and democratic identity — most, if not all, countries elect only one of these core values to be the guiding basis for the government. Along with these values come inevitable questions — what does it mean to be a Jewish state? Any of the following combinations of values could be included in understanding the nuance of a Jewish state. It must have: Jewish character, Jewish majority, a home for Jewish refugees, halachic (Jewish legal) state, and more. Along with this question comes exploring the tension between the Jewish and democratic character of the state, a tension that does not exist in other countries.
Our week in Jerusalem is devoted to hearing from multiple perspectives both about the religious and political character of Israel. Today we began with an entertaining multi-media presentation from Israeli educator Neil Lazarus, who gave us background about the conflict, including some of the recent events regarding the assassinations in Iran and how they affect Israel. We headed from this presentation to a lookout point in Gilo, where we were able to see with our own eyes what we had only previously seen on a map.
Following a pizza lunch on the overlook, we headed to the Belz Great Synagogue, a magnificent architectural marvel that holds over 13,000 people year for Rosh HaShanah and regularly hosts up to 9,000 people for Shabbat. Our host spoke to us about the traditions of the Belz Chasidim and how the original rabbi in Jerusalem was saved by a righteous gentile family as a baby, ultimately making aliyah to Israel and building one of the largest Hassidic communities in Israel. The purpose of the visit was to hear about the lives of this community, one that is quite different than our own practice of Judaism and exists as part of the 10% of the Israeli population. Students asked insightful questions to distill some of these different perspectives, including the community's perspective of mandatory army conscription, the role of women in the community, and thoughts on less-religious Jews in Israel and throughout the world. The presentation was both challenging and beautifully respectful from both our host and our students.
We continued back at our home base where we then watched a powerful short film called "V'ahavta" (And thou shalt love), written and directed by Chaim Elbaum. The movie chronicles a modern Orthodox Yeshiva student's struggles as a closeted gay man and his attempts to suppress these feelings, a parallel to the filmmakers own upbringing. By the end of the movie, he is able to come out and be his full self, a painful process of self-discovery. Elbaum's perspectives about his own story as an Orthodox religious gay man was quite powerful and vulnerable, offering students a beautiful lens into this man's life and a window into some of the stories of Modern Orthodox gay individuals.
After a day filled with many different perspectives we took the time to process our day's events and students offered what inspired them and the questions that are lasting with them.
We concluded the day with a presentation by Zev Levi of "Israel Story," a radio show and podcast that exists both in Hebrew and English and was inspired by NPR's "This American Life. Zev explored how the show gathers stories of Israelis across society offering portraits of this unique and beautiful country. Be sure to add this remarkable podcast to your queue!
We look forward to another day of exploration tomorrow!
Our week in Jerusalem is devoted to hearing from multiple perspectives both about the religious and political character of Israel. Today we began with an entertaining multi-media presentation from Israeli educator Neil Lazarus, who gave us background about the conflict, including some of the recent events regarding the assassinations in Iran and how they affect Israel. We headed from this presentation to a lookout point in Gilo, where we were able to see with our own eyes what we had only previously seen on a map.
Following a pizza lunch on the overlook, we headed to the Belz Great Synagogue, a magnificent architectural marvel that holds over 13,000 people year for Rosh HaShanah and regularly hosts up to 9,000 people for Shabbat. Our host spoke to us about the traditions of the Belz Chasidim and how the original rabbi in Jerusalem was saved by a righteous gentile family as a baby, ultimately making aliyah to Israel and building one of the largest Hassidic communities in Israel. The purpose of the visit was to hear about the lives of this community, one that is quite different than our own practice of Judaism and exists as part of the 10% of the Israeli population. Students asked insightful questions to distill some of these different perspectives, including the community's perspective of mandatory army conscription, the role of women in the community, and thoughts on less-religious Jews in Israel and throughout the world. The presentation was both challenging and beautifully respectful from both our host and our students.
We continued back at our home base where we then watched a powerful short film called "V'ahavta" (And thou shalt love), written and directed by Chaim Elbaum. The movie chronicles a modern Orthodox Yeshiva student's struggles as a closeted gay man and his attempts to suppress these feelings, a parallel to the filmmakers own upbringing. By the end of the movie, he is able to come out and be his full self, a painful process of self-discovery. Elbaum's perspectives about his own story as an Orthodox religious gay man was quite powerful and vulnerable, offering students a beautiful lens into this man's life and a window into some of the stories of Modern Orthodox gay individuals.
After a day filled with many different perspectives we took the time to process our day's events and students offered what inspired them and the questions that are lasting with them.
We concluded the day with a presentation by Zev Levi of "Israel Story," a radio show and podcast that exists both in Hebrew and English and was inspired by NPR's "This American Life. Zev explored how the show gathers stories of Israelis across society offering portraits of this unique and beautiful country. Be sure to add this remarkable podcast to your queue!
We look forward to another day of exploration tomorrow!
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