By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
JERUSALEM — Having visited Jerusalem so many times, I did not think I would have anything new to share with you this week. But Israel is full of surprises. In the Holy City I saw something I have never seen before: Israeli pedestrians obeying the walk-don’t walk signals.Until now pedestrians crossed streets wherever and whenever they wanted. Crosswalks and walk-don’t walk signs were more appreciated as public art than traffic control.
That has changed. This week we saw people patiently waiting (well, almost patiently) on the corner until the light changed. I wish I could say it was because Israelis are becoming more domesticated. Rather, it is because the police have been enthusiastically issuing tickets with expensive fines to jay walkers. As in San Diego, every shekel for the city treasury helps.
My classes at the Shalom Hartman Institute began on Monday. They have been inspiring, insightful, and relevant. The theme this summer is “Jewish Peoplehood: The Meaning of the Collective in Modern Jewish Life.” We have been exploring our unique identities as Jews; we are both a religious group and a nationality. How individual Jews identify with each element is largely a reflection of their upbringing and where they live. American Jews tend to self identify more as a religious group and Israelis as a nationality. Both, however, have been historically integral to Jewish identity.
This afternoon Judy and I attended a barbecue at the Fuchsberg Center of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. This is an annual summer gathering hosted by the Center for Conservative rabbis visiting Israel. This year was the largest gathering ever. There were over 70 participants.
We got to see a lot of people we know, including Dr. David Golinkin, President of the Schechter Institute, who was the Abraham and Anne Ratner Scholar-in-Residence at Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego two years ago. The Center is beautiful, prospering, and houses teens participating in U.S.Y. Israel Pilgrimage during the summer.
We also ran into David Ogul, a member of Tifereth Israel Synagogue who is spending several weeks this summer studying atthe Conservative Yeshiva. He will be joining us for Shabbat dinner tonight. I am going to ask him to share his experiences with my congregation after he returns to San Diego. He was very enthusiastic about his studies, teachers, and fellow students.
We spent some time this evening with Rabbi Michael Gotlieb, who grew up in San Diego and whom I taught in Confirmation Class at Congregation Beth Tefilah many years ago. I also taught his wife Jill (Kramer). Rabbi Gotlieb is currently the rabbi at Kehillat Ma’arav in Santa Monica. He is also studying at the Shalom Hartman Institute this summer. A highlight of the evening was accompanying him as he indulged his passion for falafel.
There are no classes today, as everyone is preparing for Shabbat. Judy shopped in Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem’s open air market on Thursday, and we will pick up the rest of dinner today. One of the pleasures of living in Israel is that you can purchase Kosher take-out food almost everywhere. We plan to have a relaxed and easy Shabbat. We wish you all a Shabbat Shalom as well.
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Rabbi Rosenthal is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He may be contacted at leonard.rosenthal@sdjewishworld.com