Blog #2–23-24 February 2009
My plane ride only got more interesting because I sat in between some interesting people. To my left was Rabbi Jackie Ellenson, who is married to Rabbi David Ellenson. You may remember David invested me at Kol Haverim. Jackie heads the Women’s Rabbinic Network, who will also hold its convention in Jerusalem. It follows right after the CCAR meeting. There is nothing like a long journey to get to know someone you see around here and there but don’t know much about. And there is also nothing like some open space on the plane to stand around and chat, while you are stretching your legs. Reform Judaism, or Progressive Judaism as its often called outside the US, has made important strides in Israel. If memory serves, there are some 30 Reform/Progessive congregations in Israel, and many of them are led by women. That is a big deal in place where quite a few Israelis don’t yet relate well to female rabbis. There are some 25 women who are rabbis in Israel, and together with their colleagues from North American and elsewhere, they will get together for a few days to study and pray together. Their conference will connect them with all sorts of Israeli women making a difference in literature and the arts, law and politics, medicine and nutrition, and social justice and social change.
Sitting on my right was a lovely person named Lynn White, who was making her first trip to Israel. Lynn is a Christian woman, who proudly told me how hard she has been studying for trip. There is nothing like someone for whom their first Israel experience is like being a child in a candy store. I relished in the purity of her excitement to visit places she has read about in her Bible, which she reads for an hour a day. We even took a moment to talk about my favorite passage in the Christian Scriptures, Matthew 5, which is known as the “Sermon on the Mount.” This is a beautiful passage, written for a Jewish audience. Among other things, Jesus interprets the Aseret HaDibrot, the Ten Commandments. Also significant in our conversation was Lynn’s expression of strong support for Israel, especially during these difficult times. In her central Virginia drawl, Lynn proclaimed with a voice of abiding faith that the world just has to understand how important Israel is.
Lailah tov.
