What does it mean to be a rabbi in a community established fifty years ago?
What does it mean to be a rabbi in a community established many years before I was born?
What does it mean to be a rabbi in a community with a history, stories, and a legacy?
To serve as a rabbi at Kehilat Moreshet Avraham means being surrounded by a diverse and resourceful congregation—encountering founders, long-time members, and newcomers alike, each gifted with unique talents and knowledge and possessing a fascinating life story. All these elements weave together into one grand, multifaceted narrative: the story of a Masorti (Conservative) community flourishing in Jerusalem and serving as a Jewish cultural hub for local residents. It is the story of a Judaism that fosters connection and bridges divides, while maintaining a commitment to Torah as a way of life—a community that serves as a house of prayer and a house of study, a social hub and a center for acts of loving-kindness.
An example story about a question that was addressed to us when we entered the position: In a case where there are no Levites in the synagogue to shake the hands of the priests, should the elders take the priests' hands in this case? We checked the sources and indeed discovered that the HIDA brings a solution of this kind. We excitedly told the questioner about the discovery, and in response he turns to us and asks, "I know the sources, but what do you think?" This is how it is to be part of a community that requires more than a shelf to hold all the books compiled by its members.
The past years have laid a solid foundation for growth and expansion. Kehilat Moreshet Avraham comes to the jubilee celebrations with momentum. In the past year, regular activities were held in the community: study evenings, music and content for the holidays, active midrash houses in Hebrew and English, seminar meetings with guest lecturers, tours of the neighborhood and Neve Tzedek. We also provided a local response following the situation: we opened the synagogue shelter, offered a rich educational program to the children of the neighborhood throughout the winter, assisted in distributing food, collecting supplies, and donating blood.
All of this was made possible thanks to the dedication of the entire community team: Martin (Office Coordinator), Jeremy and Phil (Maintenance), and Ya'ar (our Children's Program Leader). It was also made possible by the dedication and involvement of volunteers from the committee as well as individual volunteers. Thank you to everyone; without this personal involvement, we could not be so active.
This festive event is the first in a series of events marking the jubilee of Kehilat Moreshet Avraham.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join us for the rest of the celebrations.
I recommend everyone mark their calendars 😊
This coming Elul, we will be holding a community retreat to mark the community's fiftieth anniversary. It will take place over the weekend of the *Ki Tavo* Torah reading (September 20–21) at the Ein Gedi Youth Hostel. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the community and spend a Shabbat together featuring prayers, meals, workshops, and a great atmosphere. I invite everyone here to sign up and join us. We extend our thanks to the Masorti Movement, whose support is helping us organize this retreat.
In addition, we congratulate Rabbi Benji Segal on the publication of his commentary on the Book of Lamentations, which marks the completion of his series of commentaries on the Five Megillot. This work sheds new light on the texts and highlights the unique character of each of the Megillot. We congratulate you, Rabbi Benji, on the completion of this project and wish you continued success and growth. A launch event will be held at the synagogue in early July.
The project 'Generation to Generation: An Incubator for Young Judaism' at KMA' was dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Rabbi Arnold Goodman. In this project we address the young audience with educational content and activities in the community. Plays, stories, art and music workshops, all this and more are offered to the families of the community and the neighborhood, and the audience consisting of religious, secular, traditional and ultra-Orthodox, all join in the activity. As part of this project, we even renovated the Beit Midrash and designed it so that it would combine a library, a meeting room and a children's area in one space. We are currently working on organizing a community children's siddur, which will help us strengthen the children's prayer and invite them to get to know the prayers and parshas of the week. The launch event of the children's siddur will mark the jubilee celebrations for the community.
For fifty years, the Moreshet Avraham community has been putting down deep, far-reaching roots. Just as our forefather Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and built a center where the weary could come to refresh their souls, so too do we honor his legacy by building a community that addresses the needs of its members and the local public—raising a faithful voice of healing and connection in Jerusalem, in Israel, and throughout the Jewish world.
I wish for us to possess the same courage shown by the founders—who, in the shadow of the Yom Kippur War, pressed on to establish a new, vibrant community—so that we, too, may continue to grow and build even amidst disaster, while our hearts are heavy with grief. May we find the strength to support and uplift one another during these difficult times; and just as we held hands during those days of dread, may we soon—in our own time—hold hands in celebration and joy.