Our Israel Committee helps nurture our connection to Israel by fostering education and promoting meaningful engagement with the Jewish homeland through programs, activities, and fundraising.
If you have a question about Israel and our congregation, or if you’re interested in getting involved in the committee, please reach out to israel(at)societyhillsynagogue.org.
Israel Dialogue and Engagement Subcommittee Listening Circles
June 8 (4-6 pm) or June 9 (7:30-9:30 pm) or 10 (7-9 pm) pending respondents’ availability
Sign Up to Join a Listening Circle
Our Israel Dialogue and Engagement Subcommittee (IDEC) invites you to participate in a Listening Circle — a small-group gathering designed to foster respectful, compassionate dialogue about how recent events in Israel and Gaza have impacted our lives. These circles are not debates or lectures; they are spaces for deep listening and reflection.
Sessions will take place on June 8, 9, or 10, depending on respondents’ availability. Trained congregant facilitators will guide each group in creating a safe, caring space for sharing.
You can review the Code of Conduct for the listening circles and a Summary of our Israel Survey Results, which shaped this program.
Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzma’ut
Wednesday, April 30
We came together to observe Yom Hazikaron, Remembrance Day for Israel’s Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism, and to celebrate Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day.
Different from how most Americans experience Memorial Day and Independence Day, in Israel, Yom Hazikaron immediately precedes Yom Ha’atzma’ut — a profound, emotional acknowledgement that freedom isn’t free. The somber nature of Yom Hazikaron is juxtaposed with the joy and exhilaration of Yom Ha’atzma’ut.
As the State of Israel marks its 77th year of independence, we will sought to channel this unique blend of emotions with a 25-minute Yom Hazikaron ceremony, including letters, songs, and prayers in memory of the fallen, which concluded with the siren heard throughout Israel on Yom Hazikaron, as everything stops, and people stand at attention.
We then celebrated Yom Ha’atzma’ut with an Israeli dinner, backgammon, Israel bingo, and a giant Israel map puzzle, soundtracked by Israeli pop music. Am Yisrael Hai!
Shabbat Lunch ‘n’ Learn — Making a Difference: My Volunteer Experience in Israel
Saturday, Jan. 25
It was wonderful to be together with so many congregants and friends at our recent Shabbat Kiddush Lunch ‘n’ Learn, sponsored by the Israel Connections Subcommittee!
David Levine moderated an inspiring and moving conversation with panelists Holden and Felise Nagelberg, Val and Mike Yasner, Rob Einhorn, and Rafi Licht (pictured), who shared their experiences volunteering with various organizations in Israel before and since October 7, 2023.
Here are links to some of the organizations and volunteering portals discussed at the Lunch ‘n’ Learn:
Read some of Rabbi Kamesar's Divrei Torah (words of Torah) about Israel:
HaMakom Yenahem: Seeking Comfort, Seeking Peace
I woke up this morning to my wife sharing the news with me about the shooting and killing of two Israeli Embassy aides, Sarah Milgrim, 26, and Yaron Lischinsky, 30, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in downtown Washington DC last
The Secret History of Kabbalat Shabbat
I cannot imagine the experience of Edan Alexander, the 21-year-old hostage released this week from Hamas captivity, and his family and friends, upon their reunion. Barukh atah adonai matir asurim, a traditional Jewish blessing says: Blessed is the One through
Honoring Memory, Embracing Purpose
I write this on Yom Ha’atzma’ut, Israel’s Independence Day, which immediately follows Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. Israel’s commemoration of these two days is strikingly different from their equivalents here in the United States: for starters, by connecting them on
A Five-Year-Old’s Friend, Ukraine, and Our Extra Shabbat Souls
Dear friends, I’ve been sitting for a while with the events of the last week — the confirmation of the deaths of hostages: the Bibas children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, ages four years and nine months when kidnapped; and their
The Power of Community in Challenging Moments
I had hoped this week to simply share with you the D’var Torah I delivered this past Friday night to welcome our 61 new member households who joined over the past year, on the experience of entering a new community,
A Time for Wailing, A Time for Dancing
These verses from Ecclesiastes come to me in this moment that feels like both “a time for wailing and a time for dancing.”
A time for dancing because, after 15 months of war, hostages will be reunited with their families, rockets — at least between Israel and Hamas — will stop firing, families will return to their hometowns. Peace, albeit limited, tentative, and fragile, will reign.