I grew up singing the song, “Am Yisrael Chai!”- the people of Israel lives. At camp, and then youth group, we would sing it loud and proud, our fists pounding with pride: Am Yisrael, Am Yisrael, Am Yisrael . . Od Avinu, Od Avinu Chai. We would yell, chant and sing these words, as if declaring to ourselves that we would ensure that the People Israel would Live.
What does it mean to be part of Am Yisrael?
Each of us is part of a larger whole-from our San Antonio Jewish community, to the United States Jewish community, to the world-we are all one community. Am Yisrael: The People of Israel. Not the peoples of Israel, but the people. One unified whole. We connect with our Jewish family throughout the world, and throughout the ages. I know that I am not alone in a game that is played quite often. We call it, with a laugh: Jewish geography. What is Jewish geography? When you meet someone from another part of the country-or even the world-you say, “Hey, I know someone from Baltimore. Do you know Shmuel Cohen?” And they say, “No, but is he related to Esther Cohen?” and you say, “I think that's his aunt!” and then the game continues. For some, it can continue for quite some time. By the way, this game often trumps the popular game of six degrees of separation, because we can usually make the connection in about two moves, rather than six.
Jewish geography is Am Yisrael. It's knowing, and being proud of, the fact that we are part of a larger community of faith.
When I work with younger children and teach the Sh'ma, I tell them that Jews all over the world say this, and that while we say it in Hebrew and English, they may say it Hebrew and Italian, or Hebrew and Spanish. They often giggle. But it helps them to understand that being Jewish means that we are connected, by our stories and by our faith, to Jews all over the world. And they begin to feel that they are a part of something. And they are proud. This is how we begin building their Jewish identity. This is how we create Jews who are excited to sing and yell, “Am Yisrael Chai!” Being Am Yisrael-playing Jewish geography-acknowledges the connections that we have.
We are Am Yisrael. The spiritual and emotional connections we have are intangible, and difficult to explain. The tangible manifestation of our bond is rooted in our biblical story-our journey through the desert and into the land, Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. Eretz Yisrael, the land, is a vital part of what connects and unites us. We read, every year, in the book of Exodus and Numbers, the narrative of the people in desert. We wait and journey with our biblical relatives as they come closer and closer to what has been promised to the children of Israel: The land. And we weep as Moses and his generation dies, but rejoice as the next crosses into their inherited land. Our spiritually bond is manifested physically through Eretz Yisrael.
Whether or not one understands or follows the difficult contemporary politcs of the state of Israel, to be part of Am Yisrael is to be connected to Eretz Yisrael. From the time of the destruction of the First Temple-since 586 BCE-- Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel, was for many the object of our focus. It was a hope of return that gave us strength. In Psalm 137, we lamented: “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. . . . how can we sing God's song on alien soil? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue adhere to palate, if I fail to recall you.” Our theology connects us to the land of Israel, the land that God promised to Moses and to the people. The land, then, is a physical reminder of God's nearness and our faith.
In 1997, the CCAR, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, wrote this in the centenary platform: “The restoration of Am Yisrael to its ancestral homeland after nearly two thousand years of statelessness and powerlessness represents an historic triumph of the Jewish people, providing a physical refuge, the possibility of religious and cultural renewal on its own soil, and the realization of God's promise to Abraham: 'to your offspring I assign this land.' From that distant moment until today, the intense love between Am Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael has not subsided.”
That love is impossible to explain. One can only understand through experience. Every year, a number of students from this congregation travel to Israel for the summer. These students are all very different-some our star pupils, some ma'aseh, teachers aides, some active youth group members, and some none of the above. But, after traveling together, they will tell you that their lives are changed. They are indelibly connected to the land, and to the people, in a way that is indescribable. Our faith-our Am Yisrael-ness, as it were-becomes tangibly manifested when traveling to Eretz Yisrael. And it becomes terribly important, wonderful, and extraordinary. The memories of standing together at Masada, the laughter as one floats in the Dead Sea, or standing awestruck at the Western Wall-these physical reminders of our history-cement our connection to one another.
I recently had a conversation with a young man who tried to explain what his trip to Israel meant to him. In essence, he said, “I never even thought about Israel before. I took the trip because my friends were going. I never thought about what it meant. But now that I've been there, now not only do I think about Israel, I also think about what it means for me to be part of the Jewish people. That's really different.” Being in Israel made his faith, real. It connected him to Jews around the world. Their story of faith became part of his story.
Being a Jew means being Am Yisrael. It means being part of Eretz Yisrael. They are intricately woven together. Our faith demands that we connect with Israel, even as we connect with each other.
Now, you may be thinking at this point: here we go again. Another sermon to convince me to travel to Israel. It's true: nothing would make me happier than for all of us to visit Israel, as the brother of our bar mitzvah, Ethan, did last summer, and as Jacob, our Bar mitzvah celebrant hopes to do in a few years. So yes, this is a sermon about traveling to Israel.
But it is also a sermon about being One People-Am Yisrael. As my conversation with the young man demonstrated, connection with Eretz Yisrael only allows us deeper insight into the depth of our Am Yisrael-ness. Our Jewishness, as it were. He felt connected to all Jews, in a way he never had before. He had a new understanding of what it meant to be part of a larger whole.
In truth, it often feels that we are not Am Yisrael - one people of Israel- but Amey Yisrael, the peoples of Israel. I don't have much in common with a Jew who lives in Meah Sha'arim, the ultra orthodox enclave in Jerusalem. I have a hard time relating to them at all. There are deep theological differences between the Reform Movement and the Orthodox movement. In fact, in looking how a Jew at Temple Beth-El celebrates Judaism compared to how a Jew in Me'ah Sha'arim celebrates Judaism, you could think that we were different religions entirely!
So how do we retain our pride in being Am Yisrael? Joseph Aaron, editor of the Chicago Jewish News, writes “Unity is not being the same. Unity is accepting that we are all different, see Judaism differently, bring different things to Judaism, live Jewish lives differently, find meaning in Judaism in different ways.”
The San Antonio Jewish community provides one working example. It is a unique model of one larger Jewish community, with diverse expressions of Judaism, yet joined together in unity. I know of no other community where all the rabbis sit together at the table when there are issues to discuss. I know of no other community where I would be so graciously welcomed on the bimah of the Conservative congregation to celebrate a dear friend's bat mitzvah. This community is unique in its understanding of Am Yisrael: of one people.
We are not perfect. But we do one thing right: we try. We do not give up. We stay at the table, and work things out. We work hard to respect each other's translation of Judaism as valid, even if we don't always understand it.
Again, Joseph Aaron: “Jews have always fought, always disagreed, always seen things differently . . . The philosophic and Talmudic battles between the houses of Hillel and Shammai are, in fact, held up as examples of the best of Jewish life, learning, caring, commitment. . . . . Disagreeing has been good for us. It's kept us stimulated, brought out the kind of creativity and innovation that only being challenged does . .. .” Let us become like Hillel and Shammai, debating and battling out the issues, demonstrating our care and commitment to Am Yisrael-to one people Israel. Am Yisrael Chai!
E-mail Rabbi Bergman Vann
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