March 06, 2008
I recently was privileged to lead 20 of my congregants in visits into Israel’s “hinterland,” connecting with Masorti — Conservative — congregations in locations beyond Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa.
Members of Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex conduct prayers at Robinson’s Arch in Jerusalem with teens from the Buenos Aires NOAM group. Photo courtesy Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex
We witnessed widespread vitality and growth, with Masorti synagogue buildings being built or expanded in Kfar Vradim near the Lebanese border, Carmiel in the Galilee, Kiryat Bialik in suburban Haifa, Zihron Ya’akov in the Carmel Mountains, Kfar Saba and Ra’anana on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Omer near Beersheva, Modi’in, and elsewhere throughout the country.
This spurt of success can be attributed to Masorti’s attractive religious vision. The movement affirms “both open and halachic Judaism” and promotes “traditional observance of mitzvot,” including kashrut, Shabbat, holidays, and prayer within a “framework of religious tolerance.” It opposes any trace of “religious coercion” and rejects an “all or nothing” view of ritual observance.
Masorti Judaism also enables family seating, men and women together in prayer, amid full ritual participation irrespective of gender.
It opposes the “intertwining of religious parties and Israeli politics,” and advocates “mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces” as a religious obligation.
Masorti expansion also can be traced to the role of its “kehillot.” A synagogue characteristically focuses internally upon prayer and education for its members or regulars. In contrast, kehillot are outward-directed, seeking to serve the educational and social service needs of the neighborhood or region in which they reside. Masorti kehillot are composed of activists who proactively provide a range of services. These include meeting unmet needs regarding “absorption” of new immigrants, single-parent households, and others living below the poverty line; outreach to “lone soldiers” who do not have family members to augment meager army rations; and learning experiences for children and families frustrated by the inadequate Jewish education within government-supported nonreligious schools.
Growth is a result of programmatic creativity as well. Rabbis in Masorti kehillot serve as the religious leaders inside TALI programs, which bring pluralistic Jewish study and prayer to the secular state school system. The NOAM youth movement and Ramah NOAM Summer Camps connect thousands of youngsters of diverse backgrounds in an atmosphere of religious Zionism. The MAROM Network engages 1,500-plus collegians and young adults in exploring their Jewish identity. The Special Needs Bar and Bat Mitzva Program has brought 3,000-plus cognitively challenged adolescents ceremonially into Jewish adulthood. In addition, thousands of “nonmember” bar and bat mitzva family education programs and ceremonies take place within Masorti kehillot, including marriage and funeral ceremonies for those seeking alternatives to those conducted by the Orthodox state rabbinate, as well as sensitive support for converts to Judaism.
Moreover, the Masorti movement and its kehillot are activists in responding to Israel’s security crises. During the 2006 war in Lebanon, Masorti rabbis in the North — such as Mauricio Balter in Kiryat Bialik — played a pivotal role in calming the anxieties of neighbors confined to bomb shelters.
Southern Masorti kehillot are spearheading outreach into Sderot and Ashkelon, two communities under siege from rocket fire. A MAROM chapter has become active in bonding young adults to one another within Sderot’s Sapir College. Sderot youngsters are brought out of harm’s way to summer day camps within the Masorti kehilla of nearby Omer. More than 175 nursery-age children are cared for at a facility provided by the Masorti kehilla in Ashkelon. Adults from Sderot periodically are brought to Jerusalem for emotional relief by the Masorti movement and the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel.
Our delegation felt blessed to interact firsthand with these inspiring “facts on the ground.” We are committed to sharing our findings; the maturation and growth of Masorti Judaism must no longer remain one of Israel’s best-kept secrets.
Rabbi Alan Silverstein is the religious leader of Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex in Caldwell. He served as president of the World Council of Conservative/Masorti Synagogues from 2000 to 2005.
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