By Ben de Toledo
I’ve been to Israel many times - thrilled by the country built upon Zionists’ dreams of a free people in a free land. Riding Egged busses throughout the country, I’ve marvelled at the connection I feel to Jews with physiognomies and native languages different from any I’ve ever known. I’ve been moved by that incommunicable tug of Jewish history omnipresent in the Old City, conjured by the sight of an Uzi-carrying Israeli soldier. But every time I walk down the beach in Tel Aviv on Shabbat afternoon, dine with a non-orthodox Israeli who doesn’t know the blessing of "Ha-Motzi", or talk with a newlywed Israeli couple about their Cyprus elopement, I look at the indifference, the infighting, the state-run religious dictatorship, and I think to myself this cannot be what Herzl, Ben Gurion, or Moses envisioned.
Given the current state of rabbinate-controlled Jewish life in Israel, I have the frightening suspicion that although very good at protecting Jews, ultimately, Israel will not protect Judaism - at least not a Judaism most Jews in the world would consider embracing. Personally, I do feel religiously and spiritually connected to Israel and her future. However, I am also a Jew who is committed to the idea that Jewish life is strengthened, not weakened, by the variety of diverse expressions that have emerged to address the challenges that modernity has presented to Jewish life. Therefore, despite feeling that Israel is the most important project of the Jewish people in our time, I must recognize that unless major changes are adopted by the Israeli Ministry of Religious Services (and Israeli society in general), Judaism's future might be written elsewhere.
Given these perspectives, I was thrilled to hear that part of the Opening Conference of the Nachshon Project would be dedicated to exploring modalities of counter cultural Israeli Jewish vision and innovation at Alma Home for Hebrew Culture in Tel Aviv.
Founded in 1996 by former Israeli MK Dr. Ruth Calderon, Alma is a liberal arts center for the study of Hebrew culture aimed at introducing secular Israelis to Jewish heritage and culture as a meaningful and vital element of their Jewish identity and of Israeli society. Over the last few years, Alma has become well known amongst secular Israelis for its popular Tikkun Leil Shavuot. In accordance with the traditional religious Jewish custom of studying all night on the holiday of Shavuot, Alma has created a secular evening in which subjects such as the poetry of Israeli poet Natan Alterman are studied alongside TaNaKH and Rabbinic literature. Excitingly expounding upon the programs success, Alma’s current President Shira Sivan explained how Alma is filling a critical role in secular Israelis lives by providing them with an opportunity to study, question, and celebrate their heritage in a way that doesn't require orthodox beliefs and practices. During our visit, Sivan stressed that their vision is not to critique religion, but rather to promote the idea that fundamental to Judaism is its culture, and while that culture includes religion, it is not only religion.
Weak Jewish literacy amongst secular Jews is perhaps the most challenging existential threat to both Israel and Diasporic Judaism today. Secular Jews lack opportunities to acquire deep knowledge of Jewish history, texts, culture or tradition, and therefore listening to Sivan explain Alma’s vision about how to make this knowledge more widely available was a source of great inspiration to our group. As the semester begins, it is vital that we all take these lessons to heart and continue grappling with different understandings of what living an active, engaged, and proud Jewish life can look like beyond the confines of traditional Jewish institutions.
