In this month's edition

• From the editor's table
• Masorti Movement ratifies document of principles
• New Masorti Board elected
• Succat Shalom dedicates new bet knesset
• NOAM members enjoy annual Pesach vacation hike
• Pesach shorts
• New Marom chapter in Haifa
• Contact information
• Subscriptions and distribution

From the editor's table

"Until the last Jew...Until the last name" - This is the theme of this year's Yom Hazikaron Lashoah Ve'lagvurah - Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, which we are commemorating tonight and tomorrow. Sixty years ago, as the Third Reich began to crumble, the Nazis intensified their efforts to root out every Jew and exterminate us from the face of the earth.

As I left work this evening, the flags in Jerusalem were already flying at half mast. Yom Hashoah officially began with the Remembrance Ceremony at Yad Vashem, broadcast on all TV channels. The most moving part was the torch lighting ceremony, in which six survivors told their terrible tales of survival, and then each lit a beacon, accompanied by a young Israeli family member.

Even though I was born 20 years after the end of World War II, I still have my Holocaust story. My grandparents arrived from Hungary to the shores of England, with two very small children, in August 1939. If they would have waited but a few weeks, I would not be here. Most of their relatives lost their lives in Auschwitz. My great-grandfather survived, only to spend his latter years in an asylum, unable to cope with the sites and pains of the Shoah.

Tomorrow, the country will come to a standstill at 10 a.m., as the air-raid sirens wail out their mourning lament. All Israel will remember. And as President Moshe Katsav said this evening, "We, the living, are commanded to save the Holocaust victims from the abyss of oblivion."

Mikie Goldstein
Resource Development Director

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More than 100 delegates convened for the Masorti Movement’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), on April 18, at Kehillat Bet Israel, in Netanya. The day was filled with discussions, reports and the presentation of the 2004 budget, ending with elections for the Masorti Board.

Some six months ago, an ad hoc committee was established to redraft the Movement’s principles, after 25 years of activity. After deliberations in the kehillot, NOAM, Marom and other forums, a final draft was drawn up for ratification by the AGM. Delegates split into three groups to finalize the document’s articles, which are arranged under the headings of Judaism, Zionism and Democracy. The plenary ratified the document, including amendments by the three groups.

After the screening of Today’s Pioneers, the new Masorti image film funded by a kind donation to the Rabbinical Assembly, the delegates began the hard work of ratifying changes to the Movement bylaws. Outgoing vice-chair, Idit Lev, a student rabbi at the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, presided over a committee that reexamined the bylaws and presented changes to the AGM. This was followed by the presentation of the 2004 budget by the outgoing Chair of the Finance Committee, Peter Lawton, member of Kehillat Moriah in Haifa, and its endorsement by the AGM.

The conference ended with elections for the Masorti Board (see New Masorti Board elected).

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New Masorti Board elected

Delegates to the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held March 18, at Kehillat Bet Israel in Netanya, elected the new Masorti Board, which will serve for the next two years as the Movement’s governing body. Reelected for her second term as Chairperson was Dr. Irit Zmora, a native-Israeli economist and member of Kehillat Eshel Avraham in Beersheva.

The Board is made up of 28 members, some of whom were elected at the AGM and others who are appointed by various Movement bodies, such as the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel, the Kehillot Chairperson’s Forum, NOAM, Marom and the Schechter Rabbinical School.

It is interesting to note the origins of the Board members: 10 were born in Israel, 9 in North America, 5 in Latin America, 3 in Europe and 1 in Africa (Ethiopia). The Board is represented by members from all over the country: while 11 reside in the Jerusalem area and further 11 in the central region, the other 6 come from as far north as Kiriat Bialik (north of Haifa) and as far south as Eilat.

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Succat Shalom dedicates new bet knesset

Kehillat Succat Shalom, in the northern town of Ramat Yishai, dedicated its new bet knesset (synagogue) on March 17, in the presence of donors Gloria and Mark Bieler of Scarsdale, NY, and some 300 guests.

The Bielers, both Board members of the Masorti Foundation, originally made the donation for a synagogue to be built on land granted by the local municipality. However, due to pressure from the Orthodox establishment, this land grant was rescinded. About a year ago, a local entrepreneur purchased the building in which the kehillah had been holding prayers from the last few years and the kehillah accepted his offer to sell them the ground floor, which was completely refurbished to suit the congregation’s needs.

The dedication began with the fixing of mezuzot on the main entrance and on the doorpost of the sanctuary. Succat Shalom chairperson, Reuven Karni, greeted the many members and guests and thanked the Bielers, without whom the event would not have been possible. Masorti chairperson, Dr. Irit Zmora, delivered greetings from the Movement and Masorti president, Rabbi Ehud Bandel, recited a dedication prayer. The head of the Ramat Yishai local council, Nir Havkin, addressed the gathering, congratulating the kehillah on behalf of the town. Both Gloria and Mark Bieler gave moving speeches in celebration of the dedication.

Members of Masorti congregations from around the region, as well as Board and staff members, joined in the celebrations.

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NOAM members enjoy annual Pesach vacation hike

More than 300 NOAM members from all over Israel took part in a fun day of activities, during the week before Pesach. The youngsters began the day with a hike in the Bet Shemesh area, reaching the JNF’s British Park, where they enjoyed various attractions and sport activities. The day ended with the finals of the FestiNOAM, the movement’s annual inter-chapter talent competition. Each chapter runs its own local heat, sending the winners to represent them at the finals. This year’s FestiNOAM marked the culmination of a month of activities on the theme of the lema'an haklal – for the good of all. The celebrations included the screening of a new film about NOAM, its activities and its chapters.

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Pesach shorts

Yaltha – the organization of Masorti women rabbis and rabbinical students – organized three model seders for women, in Jerusalem, Kiriat Bialik and Beersheva. Each seder was attended by about 30 women, who came together to study rituals and texts connected to Pesach, from a feminist point of view. Liat Yarden, of Kiriat Bialik, spoke of the “positive and enriching atmosphere” at the seder. Becky Keshet, a modern-Orthodox woman from Beersheva said, “It was a wonderful experience. It made such a contrast to Pesach cleaning!”

Kol Yehudi (Jewish Voice), a cross-denominational coalition of Jewish organizations wishing to present a Jewish voice that seeks justice, tolerance and equality, organized for the second time the cleaning of racial graffiti from Jerusalem walls. Masorti president, Rabbi Ehud Bandel, alongside Orthodox Rabbi Michael Melchior, and Reform Rabbi Gilad Kariv, cleaned a wall on which appeared the slogan, “Death to the Arabs.” Speaking to the press, Rabbi Bandel quoted the Biblical verse: “… you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). “Pesach reminds us that as a people who have suffered throughout history from persecution, humiliation and xenophobia, we must be more sensitive than any other nation to the suffering of others,” concluded Rabbi Bandel.

Many Masorti kehillot collected food and money donations that were distributed to the less fortunate, enabling them to celebrate Pesach.

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New Marom chapter in Haifa

This month, Marom, Masorti’s young adults and students organization, opened a new chapter in Haifa, thanks to the foresight of Kehillat Moriah, in the city. With a view to developing the congregation and attracting younger members, the kehillah has decided to fund the position of a Marom coordinator. The opening event included presentations by Marom’s national coordinator, Rivka Rozenbaum, and Moriah’s Rabbi Ari Bursztein. Similar to other chapters, Marom Haifa will offer social, educational and religious activities to its members. Haifa is home to two universities: the Haifa University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

The new Haifa chapter joins activities already taking place in Jerusalem, Beersheva and at the Orthodox Bar-Ilan University, in Ramat Gan.

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Contact information

e-masorti is produced by the Development Department of the Masorti Movement in Israel.
13 Ben Yehuda Street, PO Box 7559, Jerusalem 91074 ISRAEL Web: www.masorti.org
Telephone: +972 (2) 624 6510 Fax: +972 (2) 624 6869 E-mail: development@masorti.org

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