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Dear Shir Tikvah,
We write you as an intergenerational group of Shir Tikvah members with diverse political perspectives: we have a range of personal relationships to Israel and Palestine, levels of education around the history of the land, and relationships to terms like Zionist and Anti-Zionist. We have been meeting regularly since the fall to help our community meet the urgent and myriad needs arising over the past two and a half months.
Prior to October 7th, we hoped to support the Shir Tikvah community in engaging in more discussions about Israel/Palestine. In the aftermath of October 7th, we expanded our focus to try to meet the tremendous urgency of this moment. We know that Shir Tikvah members crave engagement with Israel/Palestine as a spiritual community and we, in partnership with our rabbis, have been working to create a plan of learning, connection and action.
We love our vibrant, strong, intergenerational community and our many shared principles. We recognize that as individuals, we have deep, passionate, and wide ranging commitments. As a group, we strive to hold open a space to bring our humanity, rooted in our belief in our common us. We desire to help our congregation connect through shared values to create a liberatory future for us all.
We offer the following core commitments to guide us in this engagement:
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B’tzelem - All human lives are equally sacred. We believe all human beings were created in the image of the Divine. We believe that all people have equal right to justice, freedom and security and that one person’s liberation cannot come at the expense of another’s.
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We cannot cross until we carry each other - We do not believe that any one of us knows the exact path to collective liberation, and we trust that each of us has something to learn from connecting authentically and humbly with each other. We seek to create scaffolding and support to help our community feel that we all belong.
We draw inspiration from poet Aurora Levins Morales’s poem Red Sea: This time we're tied at the ankles. / We cannot cross until we carry each other, / all of us refugees, all of us prophets./ No more taking turns on history's wheel, / trying to collect old debts no-one can pay. / The sea will not open that way. / This time that country / is what we promise each other, / our rage pressed cheek to cheek / until tears flood the space between, / until there are no enemies left, / because this time no one will be left to drown / and all of us must be chosen. / This time it's all of us or none.
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Open Dialogue, Open Hearts - We believe open dialogue is necessary for the health of our community. We recognize that we will not always agree with each other. We will strive to be open to learning from each other by listening and speaking with compassion, humility, and respect for one another’s dignity and belonging. We strive to turn towards each other, even in moments of pain or disagreement, with the desire to build a shared spiritual community.
We are in the process of creating regular chances to come together to learn, connect and act. We want to offer the following two gatherings as a start:
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Coming together through exploration of our diverse Jewish stories: Sunday, January 7 at 6pm in person and on Zoom
Let’s open up the conversation about who we are as Jews and how our stories inform our relationship to Israel/Palestine. Shir Tikvah members will share their unique stories—exploring their personal connections to Jewish identity, experiences with the Land of Israel, and emotions tied to events in Israel, Palestine, and Gaza since October 7th. These shared narratives, woven with diverse perspectives shaped by factors like age, family, education, and life experiences, aim to foster empathy and understanding.
Following this sharing, community members, both in person and on Zoom, will be invited to pair up and participate actively by sharing their own stories. Join us to come deeper into connection through stories that we hope will illuminate the diversity of our collective narrative.
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Btzelem Elohim…In the Image of God-Spirit-the Divine: a Teach-In on Israel-Gaza: Sunday, January 14 at 6pm in person and on Zoom; Register here.
How do Jews with contrasting political views understand the value that everyone is created in the image of God- Israeli, Palestinian, Jew, Arab? Come hear a panel of Shir Tikvah congregants with diverse perspectives reflect on this value in relation to the current conflict in Israel/Palestine. The panel will be followed by discussion groups, giving our community a chance to reflect on our values, backgrounds, and political orientations. Our hope is that this program helps us to clarify and complicate our personal commitments, to listen to views that diverge from our own, and to connect our perspectives to Jewish values and questions.
We seek to build connection and awareness both of our differences and our collective strength. We all belong in this process - this community needs all of our voices and perspectives. If you are unsure if you belong here, you are exactly who we want to join us. We hope you will bring your questions, your challenges, your broken heart, your commitments. Bring your certainty and bring your humility. We hope you’ll join us for this learning and connecting at this crucial time.
With wishes for peace,
Harry Adler
Ilona Brand
Tamar Ghidalia
Sophie Guterl
Kohennet Sharon Jaffe
Carin Mrotz
Ori Wasserburg
Rabbi Arielle
Rabbi Joey
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