• From the Editor's Desk
• Message from President of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel
• Masorti Prayer for Prime Minister's Safety
• NOAM Succot Hike - Joy and Sadness Intertwine
• Marom Opens Annual Activities
• Third Annual Succat Shalom Festival in Kfar Vradim
• Jewish Women of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp Symposium at Kehillat Moreshet Yisrael
• Contact information
• Subscriptions and distribution

From the Editor's Desk

One of the most oft-used phrases in Hebrew is "acharei hachagim" — after the holidays, hinting to the expected return to routine. Heshvan always marks the renewal of regular activities in the kehillot, the NOAM (Noar Masorti) youth movement and Marom, our student organization. In addition to NOAM's Succot trip and Marom's getting off to a good start, in 10 kehillot the Family Education project has started. This outreach project, an initiative run by Kehillot Coordinator Aviva Groen for the second year, serves local communities by providing families with the combined Jewish and Israeli content they cannot find in other family-based activities. In addition, with the regular school year taking off, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah for the Special Child program is in progress in some 30 schools across the country.

All in all, with the High Holidays over, it is full steam ahead for the Masorti Movement!

Joe Brown
Resource Development Director

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Message from President of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel

Talk of the disengagement plan dominates public discussion here in Israel. The stresses and strains that the government's planned withdrawal from settlements in Gaza and northern Samaria has placed on our society are real. Whatever one thinks of this move - and as a nonpolitical movement, we take no position, of course - we should recognize that some Jews will have to leave their homes, including some in historic Eretz Yisrael. Even with financial compensation, for many the adjustment will be difficult.

The political debate over this policy, and the debate over the means for deciding policy as well, are legitimate. As Masorti Jews, we are committed to democracy, but we recognize that our understanding of how best to structure our government is and will always be developing and changing.

We do have a clear position on one aspect of the present debate, though. The army, as an instrument of Israel's democratic regime, is obliged to carry out government policy, and each soldier, therefore, is obliged to obey any order that is not patently immoral. For us, democracy as a form of government is itself a mitzvah, a superb fulfillment of the people's biblical mandate to "place a king over yourselves" (Deut. 17:15). Our rabbis will not be heard among those calling on soldiers to refuse to obey any legal order. On this, as with many public issues, we strive to give voice in the public arena to the Torah as we understand it - a Torah of both truth and compassion, one that values Israel's democratic nature as well as its Jewish nature, since for us the two go hand in hand.

Rabbi Peretz Rodman
President of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel

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Masorti Prayer for Prime Minister's Safety

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in Cooperation with the Masorti Movement in Israel Call for Jews Worldwide to Pray for the Well-Being of PM Ariel Sharon

Disturbed by words of hatred directed toward and calls threatening the life of PM Sharon, the leadership of United Synagogue and the Masorti Movement, gathered in Jerusalem for the dedication of the United Synagogue Fuchsberg Center, asked their congregations throughout the world to include a prayer for the well-being of the democratically elected Prime Minister of Israel during Sabbath services. The suggested prayer was linked to the Torah reading, Parashat Lech Lecha (October 23, 2004). This request was particularly timely as during that week Israel recalled the ninth anniversary of the assassination of PM Yitzhak Rabin.

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NOAM Succot Hike - Joy and Sadness Intertwine

Around 400 youngsters participated in the NOAM (Noar Masorti) Succot Hike this year in the Judean Hills near Jerusalem. As always, the hike was an exhilarating and exciting event, which continues the success of the Ramah-NOAM summer camp. Unfortunately, this year's hike was cut short due to tragic news.

Padu'el Alford, a NOAM junior counselor who was not on the hike, drowned at a Tel Aviv beach. In order to allow the 20-odd junior counselors on the trip to participate in the funeral, it ended earlier than planned.

The Alfords, active members of Kehillat Shevet Achim in the Jerusalem neighborhood Gilo, underwent a Masorti conversion in Israel. Three years ago they lost their daughter Ketura, then a student at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. During the Shiva, NOAM staff and members frequented the house, and on the last day, NOAM Rabbi Claudia Kreiman taught a Shiur in Padu'el's memory.

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Marom Opens Annual Activities

Marom, the Masorti Movement’s organization for students and young adults, started this year's activities with a trip to the Judean Desert, including the Qumran caves and Ein Gedi. The trip, combining a hike and study in the ancient synagogue of Ein Gedi, was led by Rabbi Shlomo Fuchs of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary and Tamar Orr, the new coordinator of Marom in Beersheva. For many of the participants it was their first introduction to the Masorti Movement, and to egalitarian prayers.

In addition, Marom participated in the Hakhel Jewish Learning Festival in Succot, run by Panim for Jewish Renaissance in Israel. Rabbi Ehud Bandel, President of the Masorti Movement in Israel, led a study session on the link between the holiday of Succot and freedom of choice regarding marriage. The event was hailed a success, for many young couples, interested in alternative marriage ceremonies in Israel, participated in the discussion, and thus were exposed to Masorti Judaism in Israel.

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Third Annual Succat Shalom Festival in Kfar Vradim

The Succat Shalom Festival, held for is third year in Kfar Vradim over Hol Hamoed Succot, had the highest attendance ever, especially amongst Arab participants. The event, initiated by Rabbi Zvi Berger and HaMinyan HaMishpachti HaMasorti, and whose organizing committee includes Arab and Jewish residents from the region, received many positive reactions testifying to its success and importance for the residents of the Western Galilee.

At the ceremonial opening, religious leaders, including Father Elias Abed and Sheikh Zaki abu-Hashem, spoke of religion being the source of peace. This was followed by a writers' evening with Sami Michael, a prominent Jewish author born in Iraq and fluent in Arabic, and Samih al-Kasem, a Druze writer and poet from the Galilee, both of whom spoke not only about their desire for coexistence, but also about their work and how they as writers are influenced by the political situation. The variety of activities for all ages included a Jewish-Arab youth circus and a juggling workshop. Particularly significant was a meeting between Jewish women from Kfar Vradim and Druze women from the neighboring Yanukh, which will hopefully lead to joint women's activities for the coming year.

The closing event of the festival was a musical evening, with performances by an Arab female vocalist, Nawal Barakeh, with Taysir Haddad, director of the music center in Tarshicha, and the Jewish rock group Shimuna, who fired up the crowd with unique and lively renditions of Biblical verses and traditional passages. The evening concluded with a prayer for peace read by Rabbi Berger and Nimr Nimr, a Druze educator and scholar.

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The Jewish Women of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp Symposium at Kehillat Moreshet Yisrael

Kehillat Moreshet Yisrael in Jerusalem hosted a moving symposium on the newly published book, The Jewish Women of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp written by its member, Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel. This is the first book in English to focus on the fate of Jewish women imprisoned in this infamous Nazi camp. Located about 50 miles from Berlin, this camp was originally designed for 50,000 women, but eventually held six times this number. Between 1939 and 1945, some 132,000 women from 23 countries were imprisoned in Ravensbruck, and only an estimated 15,000 survived.

Drawing upon interviews with and unpublished testimonies from more than 60 survivors in the US, Israel, Europe, Brazil and Canada, as well as documents, oral histories, and photographs from private archives, this book provides vivid collective and individual portraits of this camp's prisoners and restores their lost voices. Dr. Saidel first visited Ravensbruck in 1980, and then worked for over 20 years to collect these poignant testimonies, and to tell the tragic stories of those who perished.

See also: Remember Women Institute website for additional information on the book.

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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

Donations

Israel and all other countries: to the offices in Jerusalem (above).

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