Israel Supreme Court, Israel Museum, and a visit to French Hill Masorti Rabba Chaya Baker

Our guide Ronny explained an important reality in current Israeli political culture.  Arab and ultra orthodox families in Israel are poorer in general because they have more children and they seldom have more than one income. Families that have more than six children get a tax break. This creates a greater tax burden on the middle class.  In previous generations, life was harder but there was a greater feeling of solidarity.  

Our first stop on this sixth day of our trip, Thursday, December 8, 2011, was to Government Hill on the outskirts of Jerusalem for a visit to the new Supreme Court building.  The Minister of Foreign Affairs office is across the street.  Hebrew University is across the hill. 

The area of the court’s jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories.  The Court has ruled on numerous issues relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the rights of Arab citizens of Israel, and on discrimination between Jewish groups in Israel.  It is unique in that its rulings can intervene in Israel Defense Forces military operations.  The building was opened in 1992, designed by noted architect Ram Karmi and his wife Ada Karmi-Melamede.  It was donated to Israel by Dorothy de Rothschild.

The building is a blend of enclosed and open spaces, old and new, lines and circles.  Approaching the Supreme Court library, one enters the pyramid area, a large space that serves as a turning point before the entrance to the courtrooms. This serene space acts as the inner "gate house" of the Supreme Court building.  Natural light enters round windows at the apex of the pyramid, forming circles of sunlight on the inside walls and on the floor.  Circular shapes are featured in the design throughout the building.

In the afternoon, we visited the Israel Museum.  A quick stop at the museum café featured a surprisingly fresh and delicious salad that tasted like I was standing in a garden eating just-picked vegetables.  This standard of freshness is not at all unusual in Israeli food.  We spent a long time examining the model of Herodian Jerusalem in the courtyard of the museum, and the collection of Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts in the Shrine of the Book.   

I was disappointed that our time inside the museum was so short.  There was so much to see:   magnificent displays of every aspect of Judaica as well as impressive collections of art from every part of the world and every period.  When the group was ready to depart on the bus, Rabbi Weiner suggested that I stay a little longer and take a cab or bus back to the hotel.  It was my first time on the trip to venture out on my own, separate from the tour bus.  I took his advice and extended my stay long enough to visit the exhibit of synagogues from Surinam, India, Germany, and Italy that had donated their artifacts to the museum.  It was a memorable experience to step inside each one of these environments that had been so lovingly reconstructed to represent Jewish life in each community.  The beauty of each setting reflected the climate and culture of the region.

I found a cab waiting in front of the museum with a Russian cab driver who had lived for many years in Canada and spoke English easily.  On the short drive back to the hotel, he told me his opinions about various hotels and tourist attractions in the city and gave me a running description of the fashionable neighborhood of Rehavia we were driving through.  He gave me his card and said I should call him wherever I might be if I need a cab.  I was happy to have made this connection.

In the evening, our group went to the French Hill Masorti synagogue in northern Jerusalem to hear Rabba Chaya Baker speak about her experiences as spiritual leader in that community.  The French Hill congregation is one of the flagship congregations of the Masorti movement in Israel.    They endured many years with no rabbi; this is Chaya’s fifth year as rabbi there.  She is married with three daughters.  Her husband’s family was one of the founding families of the congregation, one important reason why she was able to get the job.  In witnessing her energy, wisdom, enthusiasm, and creativity, it is apparent why she still has the job and is serving a growing congregation.

Israel is in a tough situation vis a vis Jewish religious life.  There are secular and religious divisions in schools and in the army.  The official religion of Israel is orthodox, tending toward ultra orthodox, although many people who are members of orthodox congregations are affiliated in name only.  They want the shul they don’t go to to be an orthodox one.  In case they need a rabbi or a minyan for a life cycle event, they have an affiliation.  Otherwise, they are not observant, involved, or engaged by Jewish life and thought.

There are many social issues decided by the religious government that affect every citizen, such as “Who can marry?”  In Israel, the only marriage sanctioned by the government is a religious marriage.  In order to be married in Israel, you have to prove that you are Jewish enough to pass muster with the orthodox religious authorities.  Those who cannot or do not provide such proof are forced to marry elsewhere.  There is a thriving industry of weddings in nearby Cyprus for such couples.

Secular people are resentful about the political power of religious authorities who make decisions that affect them directly.  For example, many families consist of an orthodox father and a reform mother.  Chaya’s husband grew up in the Tali school system which is a quasi-religious school system that serves families who want some religious training in the school, but reject orthodox teachings.

For the last five years, Chaya has been developing programs that expose secular Jews in the French Hill commuinty to different ways to engage as a Jew.  In Israel, Jewish identity *is* in conflict with modern life.  She is searching for ways to build bridges between those who live a modern lifestyle and their desire for connection to Judaism.

For example, humane treatment of animals is a moral imperative taught in the Torah and Talmud.  Hospitality in the Jewish home is strongly connected to Jewish tradition, customs, and philsophy.  One reform Jewish mother reported to Chaya how her daughter had taught her about counting the Omer between Passover and Shavuot.

Chaya’s approach is very delicate, very gentle, reaching out in a way that keeps people from feeling embarrassed about what they know or don’t know.  She connects a Jewish value to a story or a skit in a program that includes children and their parents as much as possible. 

As with every congregation, she battles the concept of a drop-off mentality, pediatric Judaism that is appropriate only for children.  When she has program for children only, she always includes something for them to take home.  Before high holidays, for example, she teaches about the meaning and function of the shofar and gives children and their parents a chance to handle a shofar and try it out.

One program called Modern MIKI has 35 kids and their parents enrolled.  An average of 50 kids attend each function, including those who are visiting and shopping.  Mini MIKI, a program for younger children, has 20 kids.  She has Shabbat activities for children and their parents on Friday night and Shabbat morning, including Kabbalala Hashabbat .

She has created a parent training program to run programming for young children.  Parents who are participating in synagogue activities say, "I can't believe I'm in synagogue!”   Sixteen children are in the synagogue preschool. 

Chaya Baker chooses to use the title “rabba,” a designation of ordination for a woman rabbi.  Many people ask her, “What’s a rabba?”  She answers that it’s like a rav, but it’s a woman.

For one child in the synagogue’s programs Chaya was the only rabbi he had ever known.  When he heard someone mention a rabbi, he asked Chaya, “Mah hu rav? (What is a rabbi?)”  She answered that it's like a rabba, but it's a man.   Score one for Chaya who brought a secular family unfamiliar with Jewish religious life closer to feeling engaged.

Conservative synagogues, schools, and programming receive no government support, whereas orthodox synagogues are supported by government grants.  One conservative synagogue got the court to force the government to finance the building of their synagogue. 

The synagogue in French Hill is the victim of frequent vandalism.  It’s a border neighborhood adjacent to a hostile Arab village and hostile orthodox Jewish neighbors.  The conservative congregation is hated by both groups for different reasons.  It is not always clear who the perpetrators of the vandalism are or what their reasons are.

Many people in Israel identify as Jewish, but are not halachically Jewish.  There are 64 Masorti synagogues  in Israel, 11 in Jerusalem.  Chaya is the only woman rabbi among he 64 congregations.

The idea that “we are one Jewish people” is not helpful in practice.  American support has made life more difficult for the Masorti movement.  American Jews sometimes contribute to religious efforts in Israel that hurt Masorti congregations.  For example, absorption centers in Israel teach Judaism to newcomers.  In the past, reform and conservative congregations have participated in these efforts.  Recently reform and conservative participation was ended because funding for the project was threatened if they continued.

Chaya says, “What about pluralism, freedom of choice?”

Our group asks, “What can we do to help?”  She answers, “Care. Campaign to get people to come back to Israel.   Some financial contributions to programs in Israel are ill thought out.  Be careful to whom you give your money.”  She congratulated all of us for our efforts to travel to Israel and expose ourselves to lots of experiences while there.

Masorti congregations are forced to support themselves with dues paid by members, unlike orthodox synagogues that are supported by tax money. 

At the end of Chaya’s presentation, we chose to pass a hat and made a contribution to her efforts.  Many expressed an interest in addressing the issues mentioned with Arlene and the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires and with our congregations at home.