Israel Education

שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה תוֹרָתְךָ קֶבַע. אֱמֹר מְעַט וַעֲשֵׂה הַרְבֵּה, וֶהֱוֵי מְקַבֵּל אֶת כָּל הָאָדָם בְּסֵבֶר פָּנִים יָפוֹת: 

Shammai says, "Make your Torah [study] fixed, say little and do much, and receive every person with a pleasant countenance." Pirke Avot 1.15

Our tradition teaches that life is a series of events that test our grounding. When the storms come, what do you hold on to? when fear and anger sweep reason aside, how do you choose your acts? 

The Jewish tradition is always to seek learning, in community with others. Shir Tikvah offered three opportunities recently to learn about Israel and Palestine from the perspectives of history, culture, and halakha. 

You can benefit from the learning in these sessions even if you missed them.

The material shared is here: Forum 1  Forum 2 Forum 3 

The second and third sessions were recorded and can be accessed here: I/P Forum 2 I/P Forum 3

For more learning, visit this curated website:
The Torah of Israel and Palestine: Learn Before You Think

A prayer for the hostages

אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנְּתוּנִים בַּצָּרָה וּבַשִּׁבְיָה הָעוֹמְדִים בֵּין בַּיָּם וּבֵין בַּיַּבָּשָׁה הַמָּקוֹם יְרַחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם וְיוֹצִיאֵם מִצָּרָה לִרְוָחָה  וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָה וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה הָשָׁתָא בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן

Our siblings of the house of Israel who are given over to suffering and captivity whether at sea or on land HaMakom be compassion upon them and bring them out from darkness to light from bondage to redemption now, quickly and soon in our day and let us say Amen

A prayer for Palestinians

In the name of Elohim, of Allah, of G*d most merciful: we pray for the people of Palestine. May our Muslim and Christian Arab cousins be granted safety, success, love, security, and hope. May they enjoy the fruits of freedom and equality long denied them.

As Jews, we pray for their well-being in accordance with our Torah’s command: “you shall not stand by as your neighbor bleeds” (VaYikra  19.16). May we live to see the day when Jews and Arabs will live in the land we call holy, together, and in peace.

Our freedom is bound up with the freedom of all others. May we work toward a day of tikkun that frees Palestinians from the darkness of oppression.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִ֣י א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר - Elohim said Let There Be Light, and there was light.

May we create light that brings hope to the descendants of Hagar, and so to our ancestral home, and may we live to see peace over all Israel. Amen.

• Adapted by Rabbi Ariel Stone from a prayer created by Matah Adler, on ritualwell.org

It's Complicated - learn from a zoom webinar presenting Rabbi Ariel Stone's experiences and insights from a week-long mission to Israel and Palestine in March 2024 to meet with peace activists, politicians, educators, and intellectuals:

 https://vimeo.com/928652977/af16637b0f?share=copy
You are welcome to share it

You might choose to include the following supplemental links:

1. Revenge a poem written by a Palestinian, read by an Israeli after October 7 2023

2. Bethlehem on a Ramadan market day

3. useful resources for learning more:

Hamas:  www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/21/what-is-the-real-hamas

the film Israelism: https://kinema.com/films/israelism-jvor8l

the newspaper HaAretz: https://www.haaretz.com/

news magazine 972: https://www.972mag.com/

Gershon Baskin’s blog: https://gershonbaskin.org/

Congregation Shir Tikvah is proud to support the following organizations that work courageously together for peaceful co-existence in Israel and Palestine. You are invited to join us in the mitzvah of supporting them in any way you can.

Hand in Hand 

Standing Together

Combatants for Peace

Women Wage Peace

House of Hope Vision School

Parents Circle