Gateways to Israeli-Jewish Renaissance

If you're reading about the rejection of the Western Wall deal that would have created an expanded egalitarian prayer space for non-orthodox Jews, it may sound like the conflict is between Israeli Jews and diaspora Jews.

What you may not read in most articles is that there are more than 120 Reform, Conservative (Masorti), and other progressive Jewish communities across Israel, and that number is growing!

It makes no sense for the Western Wall to function like an orthodox synagogue: not for Israeli Jews, and not for diaspora Jews.

Israel's Western Wall crisis: Why Jews are fighting with each other over the Jewish holy site, explained A primer on the 50-year war that has divided Diaspora Jewry and Israel's religious hegemony

This past week was the fiftieth anniversary of the Six Day War of 1967. Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi wrote a beautiful prayer based on the text from Leviticus that calls for a fiftieth-year Jubilee, and referring to the tradition that the Torah was given to the Israelites on Shavuot, the holiday celebrated after counting 50 days from the beginning of Passover.

This uniquely Israeli prayer ends with a request:
"Grant us, Adonai our God,
The strength to be courageous and wise
And the blessing
Of living with compromise."

תחינה ליובל | A prayer on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War by Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi • the Open Siddur Project "A prayer on the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War" by Rabbi Ofer Sabath Beit Halachmi was first read on 11 Sivan 5777 (June 5th 2017) and published on his page. English translation: Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi, Rabbi Andrea Coustan London and Daniel London. . . .