Dear JCOGS Family,
I’ve been moving through the days with a heaviness in my chest—thinking of the hostages, the loss of innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives, rising antisemitism at home and abroad, and of friends and family in harm's way. I have also been thinking of our JCOGS community. I have spoken with many of you grieving the losses of October 7th and beyond, as well those deeply frightened by our present moment and uncertain future. I invite you to continue to reach out to me and one another in this time of need.
I have also heard from JCOGS members a diversity of views and relationships to Israel and the current choices it is facing. Inspired by JCOG’s commitment to pluralism, I see our range of experiences and connections—to Israel, and to all aspects of Jewish life—as a collective strength. The JCOGS’s mission statement adopted last summer lists “Eilu V’Eilu: Diversity as Vitality”* as one of its four core values:
As a pluralistic, egalitarian community welcoming wide-ranging beliefs, identities, and practices, we value human diversity as the source of our collective vitality. We actively listen to and value each other’s perspectives in an environment of mutual respect. We seek to understand differing and even challenging points of view, while celebrating the dignity and unique gifts of each individual.
At the same time, there are important things we share. United in our concern for one another and our Israeli friends and families, we are a community of North American Jews—including Israeli-Americans, Israeli-Canadians, and non-Jewish family members. How do we, “over here,” relate to Israel and the challenges it faces “over there?” What wisdom from Jewish history, texts, and ideas might guide our way as a North American Jewish community?
To reflect on these questions and more, I invite you to join me this Wednesday, November 29th at 7pm to hear from educator and scholar Rabbi Dr. Joshua Ladon as he leads our community in a session entitled "Relating to Israel’s Trauma as North American Jews." Rabbi Dr. Ladon is the Director of Education for the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, a center for Jewish thought and education on Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism, and a past partner of JCOGS programs. JCOGS is grateful to Adult Education Committee Co-Chair Barbara Segal for connecting our community to the Hartman Institute and supporting this program.
Our gathering will be held over Zoom, from 7:00pm-8:30pm. Registration is required, so please click here for an event description and to register and receive a Zoom link.
I recently heard back from an Israeli friend who had been called up in reserves. “I am doing okay,” my former roommate wrote. “But what about you? I imagine that being Jewish in America right now is no simple thing.”
No simple thing indeed. I invite you to join us this Wednesday, as we hold the pain and complexity of this moment together.
With prayers for peace and safety, and for a shabbat shalom,
Emmanuel Cantor
Rabbinic Intern
* “Eilu V’Eilu” is a reference to a Talmudic passage in which a debate between the School of Hillel and the School of Shammai is resolved by a heavenly voice declaring “Both these and these (Eilu V’Eilu) are the words of the Living God.”
