Observant And Secular Israeli Neighbors Come Together For Shavuot
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli rabbinical group that works to bridge the religious-secular divide will hold Shavuot holiday learning programs in homes throughout the country.
The Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, which previously only held programs in community centers and public buildings to encourage the participation of the secular public, have opened a “Homework” program, in which dozens of Tzohar rabbis and community volunteers will open their homes and invite their neighbors to learn together, with individual families choosing the subject to be discussed.
One such high profile home is that of Brig. Gen. Eli Ben-Meir, Chief Intelligence Officer and Head of Intelligence, who has invited his neighbors in Modi’in to hold a discussion with Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni about Israel’s policy regarding the civil war in Syria, including such topics as should we intervene, and does Israel behave ethically?
Rabbi David Stav, Tzohar chairman, will also open his home in Shoham to the community, where they will talk about Judaism and Israeli society.
Tzohar has been coordinating community holiday programming for over 10 years, with the goal of making Jewish holiday traditions accessible to all.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
