Israel & Temple Beth El

My heart is in the East, while I am at the edge of the West.  -  Yehuda HaLevy

At Temple Beth El, we believe that a connection to the land of Israel is a central part of Jewish identity. Our Israel committee works to develop and further those relationships in a number of ways.

•    Israel trips - TBE travels to Israel EVERY summer. Alternating between congregational trips and youth trips, dozens of our members have traveled to the Jewish homeland in recent years. We hit all of the highlights, including Jerusalem, Masada, Tel Aviv, the Galilee, and much more. Adults and families who travel on our congregational trips come away having built a relationship with the Jewish state, and feeling connected to both its ancient and modern selves. Teens who come on our biennial teen Israel trips return home deeply committed to Israel, the Jewish community, and their own Jewish identity.
- Future teen Israel trips:  2011, 2013...
- Future congregational Israel trips: 2010, 2012, 2014...


Follow along with our Photo Itineraries
Congregational Family Trip Summer 2010
S.P.I.C.E. 2011 Spring Trip


•    Partnership with Israeli Reform - Beth El is a pioneer in its support for Reform Judaism in America. For several years now, we have had a ground-breaking and mutually beneficial relationship with an Israeli sister congregation. Kehillat Birkat Shalom is one of about 30 congregations that make up the tiny Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism. Although Reform Jews make up only a fraction of Israel’s population, our sister movement is working hard through its synagogues, preschools, educational and community centers, and youth movement to expose the Jewish state to liberal, egalitarian Judaism. We are proud to partner with Rabbi Miri Gold and Birkat Shalom in their important work.
- In recognition of our partnership with Birkat Shalom, Temple Beth El was awarded the Roland Gittelsohn Award for Israel programming by the Association of Reform Zionists of America in 2004.
- Please contact us to learn more about supporting/joining Birkat Shalom as an overseas member.

•    Israel Shabbat - The Shabbat before Yom Ha-atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) is designated as Israel Shabbat. We celebrate Israel through worship, music, interesting speakers, and (often) food

.• Other programs, speakers, and celebrations throughout the year.

Continue below for additional readings and links about our connection to Israel.

 
 
A Reading from Israel Shabbat 2009
by Susie Kurstin
 
A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to spend a week in the mountains of North Carolina at a writing workshop for teachers. We met with many authors who spoke with us about how to find your voice as a writer, the importance of place, and how to write from your heart. During one morning session, non-fiction writer Jan DeBlieu read to us from one of her essays, Mapping the Sacred Places.  Our assignment was to create our own maps, to draw the places of our lives that we were emotionally drawn to and connected with.  One of the first places my mind went was to Israel.

Last summer, my husband and I were fortunate enough to travel with Rabbi Schindler and other members of Temple Beth El to Israel. I love traveling, and although I knew that I was in for quite an adventure, I did not expect to fall so deeply in love with Israel that 11 days later I would find myself tearing up in the check in line at the Tel Aviv airport. My heart was not ready to check out, to leave behind the spiritual journey that we had experienced together for the past week and a half. My heart had found its home at last.

I am currently in the F.I.J.I. class here at Temple Beth El, studying towards conversion. I often tell people that when I decided to convert to Judaism, it felt like I was coming home to a home I never knew I had. That is exactly how I felt on our trip to Israel. It was a homecoming, but not just for me, for all of us.

When we first arrived in Israel we made our way to the Haas Promenade to say the traditional shehechiyanu blessing upon entering Jerusalem. The sun was setting and the walls surrounding the Old City seemed to glisten, to whisper to us the ancient secrets they had held. You could feel the history around you everywhere in Jerusalem and in Israel. It made you realize just how precious this land is, to have seen and experienced so much. For us to be a part of that now, thousands of years later, is just incredible.

Later in the week we attended Shabbat Services with Rabbi Miri Gold at Birkat Shalom. We were outside under a canopy of trees, blue feathered birds flying above our heads, and a feeling of peacefulness was within us all. After services we were treated to dinner right there under the stars. I felt like I was transported back in time. As the evening wore on, guitar camp songs began to play and we laughed, danced and sang together. It was a magical night for all of us.  Looking back on that night, it saddens me to know that Rabbi Miri Gold is still struggling to be recognized within Israel by the government as an equal rabbi.

Our last day left us in Tel Aviv and we toured Independence Hall. Standing together as a group it was hard not to be moved as we imagined what it must have been like just 60 years before in that room. We sang Hatikvah together. It was a beautiful and powerful way for us to end our trip.

To me, that is what I took away from our trip to Israel, hope. Hope for the future, for Rabbi Miri Gold and others like her within Israel today. Hope for Temple Beth El as it moves forward towards its future. Hope for myself and my fellow members in F.I.J.I., as we find ways to connect to Judaism on our individual paths. Our trip to Israel gave me the quiet confidence inside to know that I was on the right path, and this journey was for me. 


How Going to Israel Changed Me…
by Mindy Passe

When I read the newspaper and there is an article on Israel, I read it and understand what it is saying.
When I am in Temple and the words Jerusalem and Israel are a part of our prayers, the words are not just words, but places that I have been.
When I read a Torah portion, I am curious to see where the location is relative to my own journey.
When I put on my tallit, I know that my tzit-tzit touched a Torah at the Reform Temple in Jerusalem when I, and all of the first time visitors to Israel, were called for an aliyah.
When I hear about Miri Gold and our sister Temple, I feel proud to support the beautiful outdoor Temple where I prayed with visitors from Florida, Ohio and a growing community of Jews who have made aliyah recently from Peru.
When I hear an Israeli accent, I feel a kinship with that person and want to know about their connection to Israel.
When our sister city, Hadera, is mentioned, I think of the murals of the skylines of Hadera and Charlotte that we painted as we chatted with our new Israeli friends.
When I eat watermelon, I think of my conversation with Shlomo who befriended me at our home hospitality meal and explained that watermelon is the only melon with a specific name in Hebrew and all of the rest are melon (not cantaloupe, honeydew, casaba, etc.)
When I go to Temple, I enjoy the closeness that I feel when I see the 13 others in my group who have become a part of my Temple family.
When I think back to my time in Israel, my spirits soar and I revel in the memories of all that I learned and experienced and I think about going back next summer as a volunteer…
When I think about Israel, I count my blessings to be a part of a congregation that has a tradition of going to Israel; knowing that many kindred spirits have experienced what I have and even more will have the opportunity to do so in the future…
So if you have not been to Israel, mark your calendar for Summer 2010, and start saving your shekels!



 
The Journey of a Lifetime
by Randy Kurstin

For the fifteen kindred souls from Temple Beth El who recently visited Israel, the afterglow has yet to dim. Our journey to Eretz Yisrael was a pilgrimage replete with culture, history, and faith. It truly was, as our remarkable guide Doron put it as we arrived, “a welcome home.” Our nine day journey was a whirlwind of activity, excursion, reflection, and just plain “good times.” When it was time to fly home to Charlotte, each of us knew this was not an end, but rather a wonderful beginning, a rekindling of our connection to our history, our beliefs, and ourselves as Jews. While it would seem impossible to narrow down our most unforgettable moments to a “top ten” (as one member pointed out, we “might as well simply list our daily itinerary”) here is a collection (in no particular order) of our most memorable experiences. May we all have the chance to return and build wonderful new memories soon.

1) Achaht: Our Arrival. Ascending the Judean Hills to Jerusalem to the tender voice of Shuli Natan singing “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav”. It was nearly dusk and the city’s lights were aglow with brilliant warmth. As we rode up the path to get our first glimpses of the city, along the road we could see testaments to the courage and sacrifice of young Israelis in the forms of iron skeletons of burnt-out trucks used to caravan supplies during the War of Independence. As we arrived atop the Haas Promenade, overlooking the city, Rabbi Judy led us in the Shechechiyanu and we shared some wine to toast the beginning of our journey.

2) Sh’tayim: Massada. Eight of us, including our resilient Rabbi, decided to awake at 3:30 in the morning so that we could tackle the “Snake Path” at sunrise. Upon completing our ascension, we basked in the awe and spectacle of Herod’s mighty palace and the site of the Zealots fatal stand against the Roman Army. Our stay on Massada was completed with Rabbi Judy leading us in a very moving morning service while two B’nei Mitzvah were going on in the neighboring rooms of the ruins. The emotion of standing and praying at such a place as this, where nearly 2000 years ago, Jewish Zealots had chosen to die as Jews than live as slaves to the Romans, and still today is a symbol of Jewish struggle and perseverance cannot be described in words.

3) Shalosh: Racing Down The Jordan. We were able to kayak and raft down the Jordan River. That didn’t stop us from making some waves of our own as we splashed our way down river.

4) Arba: Renewal of Wedding Vows. Against the backdrop of the Western Wall, five of our couples (Janet Abel & Michael Martin, Jeffrey & Tamar Myers, Norman & Nikki Palin, Keith & Laurie Rosenthal, and Barry & Mary Ellen Ezarsky) renewed their wedding vows in a touching and poignant ceremony performed by Rabbi Schindler. For each couple, this renewal had a deeply special and personal meaning and for those of us fortunate enough to stand witness, it was an honor.

5) Chameish: Sharing Shabbat at Birkat Shalom. Shabbat services at Birkat Shalom, our sister congregation on Kibbutz Gezer, were lovely. An outdoor service under the trees and sky, conducted by Rabbi Miri Gold, welcomed us with the true sense of Shabbat Shalom. Cantor Bernard was with us in spirit as Jeffrey Myers and Randy Kurstin were privileged to lead the congregants in the Cantor’s version of V’sham’ru. However, the highlight of the evening was an after-dinner sing-along. Our very own Rabbi Judy Schindler let her hair down and displayed some snappy dance moves and even led our ladies in a chorus line “Israeli folk-style.”

6) Sheish: Ein Gedi. The beauty of this biblical oasis was only matched by the feeling of relief and relaxation we all felt bathing in the natural spring. Special kudos to Norman and Nikki Palin for truly showing their spirit by scaling the steep hills en route to the spring… absolute inspiration.

7) Sheva: Buoyancy in the Dead Sea. Like most things in this land, the Dead Sea is something that must be experienced first hand to truly understand the amazing sensation of being suspended in “salty Jell-O” as one of our members described it. After hiking through Massada, the Judean Desert most of the day, this was a welcome relaxation.

8) Sh’moneh: Ascending the Golan Heights. Ascending in Jeeps along the Golan Heights on a sliver of territory between Syria and Lebanon was a revelation of strategic importance and debate, sacrifice, and miracles in the dessert. One could not miss the bright signs stating “Warning! Mines!” and the abandoned bunkers left from the Six Day War. We could only imagine the bravery and willpower it took to take and hold this high-ground on the Syrian Border. The view of the landscape took our breath away but what was most striking was the Israeli border lined only in tracks of the greenest, most vibrant farmland you could imagine. It is truly a wonder to behold that the desert could bloom like that.

9) Teisha: The Old City and Western Wall. Walking through the Old City of Jerusalem is like entering a time warp. Beyond the understanding of walking through 2000 years of our history, it was marvelous to experience the myriad of cultures present at every turn and the spirituality in the air. Before completing our first full day in Jerusalem, we all paid a very special visit to the Western Wall. Those of us who could get close enough put our tiny prayers in cracks and stood there, some in prayer, some in silence. I can only describe it the way I did that day, that touching the Wall was electric, warm, and humbling.

10) Eser: Wine Check-ins. Probably one of the most memorable experiences from our trip were our nightly reflections over wine. It was during these “check-ins” that we expressed our thoughts and emotions of the days’ events but more so, we grew together as a group, laughed, cried, debated, built friendships, and allowed the magnanimity of our time in Israel to sink in. It was a time to reflect and come together as a family. It was wonderful to embrace how lucky we all were and how special our time together was.