One People in the Land of Israel
We sat with friends and shared conversation across our living room while we drank coffee late one morning. The friends had not visited our new house yet, so they brought a welcome cake, which is too rich to devour–Not yet!
I think the major important topic we discussed, besides the war, was Jewish cliques. Sadly, it is a discussion that happens because of the reality of shul based prejudice which separates people. Of course, the four of us are not super observant as far as rabbinic standards go, and that may present some people with a problem. Simply put, we like to think for ourselves and make our own decisions on what our priorities in religion are. I refuse to do what I used to do, which was to pretend to be something just to impress people that I was in agreement with them. That was when Covid hit Israel, and we all locked down for a long year’s nap! And this meant some serious thinking time about who we are and what the purpose of being a Jew means in practical terms. Does it mean showing up at shul like clockwork for every function?–even if you don’t want to read prayers for two hours after walking to the shul on a 100 degree Shabbat morning? Could I pray at home even if no one knows about it? During Covid, we mostly did not go to shul anywhere. Sometimes the neighbors came over and sat on our balcony 6 feet apart to do evening prayers on Erev Shabbat, and yes that was meaningful, but now Covid is gone, and most people are back in the shul crowd. But the sad thing is the cliques. So your shul requires a head covering, and the other one doesn’t, so that makes one shul less acceptable than the other? Really? And where does that play into whether someone is a good person or not, especially when the women are separated from the men anyway? Why can’t we all just love each other and support the ongoing activities in the town, rather than narrow ourselves to one group of people? The divisions need to go away. And I pray that it can happen without more serious events in this country!
There are very kind people here, maybe they are secular Israelis, maybe they are immigrants from Russia or South America or somewhere else. Maybe they don’t understand the prayers, or maybe they are not inspired by them. Does that mean they are not acceptable citizens of this country? Does that mean we cannot be friends? Often when others are busy with their cultic devotion, a secular person will reach out to help a neighbor in need. Are these people doing it by the book? Or is their heart in the right place? Are they somehow more connected to Spirituality than others? I can’t judge that, but I can say that there is something very special about some of these people who were born and raised in Israel, who are not so shul-bound. And those who are refugees from another country, maybe they have suffered hardship and know what it means to need someone! Sometimes, you say to them, “Be safe and good luck!” And they raise their hands to Heaven as if to say, “all things come from God.” and we know they have a connection that maybe others have never felt. I love friends like that! They are real people. I want to somehow share that connection that they have.
I pray that Hashem will open the eyes of Jews here and those coming to Israel, that they will see the problem of the cliques that separate us. I would challenge all of us to put aside our differences and look to the golden rule of loving God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves. Furthermore, I hope we don’t have to get into an even more serious war for this to happen!
Yours for unity among our people!
Ariella
