| Dear Friends,
I write to you this month in the afterglow of our Temple
Jeremiah Family Trip to Israel. Over spring vacation, Cathy
and I traveled with our children as part of a 32 person strong
Jeremiah delegation. We were 16 adults and 16 children touring
the land of our ancestors. To say it was an amazing experience
would be a gross understatement. We, of course, made stops
at all the expected sites including: Tel Aviv's Independence
Hall and Rabin Square, Caesarea, Haifa, Tel Dan in the Golan,
the mystical city of Safed, Tiberias, Jerusalem, Masada, Qumran
and, of course, the Dead Sea, to name just a few. But this
is only part of the story. The founding of Israel is truly
"Reishit tzmichat g'ulateinu - the first of the budding
of our redemption." The modern State of Israel represents
for our people the opportunity to see Torah in action in a
unique way. The 32 of us were privileged to see and experience
things that are not a part of the regular Israel tour and
represent Torah in action.
I would like to highlight just two. We stopped briefly at
the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa. During the August
war with Hezbollah, Leo Baeck not only continued to function
but provided social services to a community bereft of them.
Meals were served, children were provided with a safe play
area in an underground garage and comfort was offered. We
raised more than $10,000 to bring in a psychologist for the
staff, children and families and sent a care package including
letters from our students as well as the world-famous Jeremiah
Moose. For its overwhelming success in so many divergent areas,
the Leo Baeck Education Center recently received the Israel
Education Prize, a certificate of merit from the Ministry
of Health for Health Promotion in the Workplace, the Haifa
Education Prize for Outstanding Parent-Teacher Organization,
the Jewish Agency Prize for Immigrant Absorption and the Haifa
Education Prize for Outstanding School. The largest Reform
Institution in Israel, Leo Baeck helps to share the powerful,
prophetic voice of Reform Judaism to those who are unaware
there is an alternative to Orthodoxy. For more information,
visit Leo Baeck Education
Center.
 Second,
we spent a transformative morning at Yad LaKashish (Lifeline
for the Old), a non-profit organization that offers the needy,
elderly and disabled of Jerusalem the opportunity to remain
an integral part of society. Founded in 1962, it provides
work opportunities, support services and intergenerational
programs to hundreds of elderly and disabled in Jerusalem,
most of whom are new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union,
Ethiopia and South America. Yad LaKashish provides the aging
population with a supportive professional and social environment
to utilize their skills and maintain a sense of self sufficiency.
The elderly workers are treated with sensitivity, understanding
and respect. The organization is not supported by government
funds. Approximately 40% of their annual budget is covered
by their gift shop sales. For the rest, they rely on the support
and donations of individuals and organizations in Israel and
abroad.
After touring many different workshops and speaking with
artists and craftsmen, we moved on to the gift shop where
we were able to fulfill the Rambam's (Moses Maimonides) message
concerning the eighth, or highest, degree of charity: "Helping
others to help themselves." As one 92 year old artist
so movingly said, "When I come here, I forget to die."
For more information, visit Yad
LaKashish.
Israel represents not only our spiritual homeland but the
limitless possibilities for us to bring redemption into the
world. May we merit the realization of this dream speedily
and in our day. Amen.
Shabbat Shalom,
- Rabbi Paul F. Cohen, D.Min.
- Re-printed from the May, 2007 Covenant
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