For all the well-meaning talk about promoting Jewish unity, the concept doesn’t always play out in real life. Late last month, it did in a big way with the Northern California Rabbis Mission to Israel.
Twenty-seven local rabbis, representing the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Renewal streams of Judaism, headed to the Jewish state for a week of fact-finding, study and interdenominational bonding. For the Bay Area, it was unprecedented in size, scope and ambition.
Thanks to the connections of our region’s very able Israeli consul general, Akiva Tor, the itinerary included meetings with Knesset members, Supreme Court justices, and top political observers, as well as several Torah study sessions all over the country.
The meetings and study opportunities certainly served a good purpose. In order to best represent to their congregants the ties between Bay Area Jewry and Israel, rabbis must keep abreast of Israeli politics and changes in civil society.
But more importantly, in a time when deteriorating civil discourse has become a pressing issue, this mission proved that theological and political differences need not prevent warm relations among our diverse clergy.
As our cover story attests, the rabbis, some of whom began the week as strangers to one another, ended up embracing and greatly respecting each other, despite some sharp disagreements here and there.
This notion was especially tested when the rabbis attended Torah study at a yeshiva in Gush Etzion, a large West Bank Jewish settlement. Some of the rabbis view Jewish settlements as a hindrance to peace, and felt uncomfortable with the visit. Two did not go at all.
Yet the group did not permit even this contentious issue to outweigh common ground and common bonds.
In post-trip assessments, participants asserted that they would strive to work together more closely in the future. This can only strengthen interdenominational understanding.
Organizers have not yet said if they will attempt another rabbis mission in the future, but we hope they do. A continuous high-profile presence such as this sends the message that the Bay Area Jewish community stands with Israel.
Congratulations to co-organizers Tor, Rabbi Allen Bennett and Rabbi Marvin Goodman on a job well done. And kol ha’kavod to all the rabbis who journeyed to Israel together. We expect this historic mission to bear fruit in the months ahead.