The weekly Torah portion, Emor (Leviticus 21:1-24:23), describes festival holidays and the Eternal Light (Ner Tamid). One of its other important but often overlooked verses is Leviticus 23:10, “When you enter the land…” Though this verse appears elsewhere in Torah, the repetition is meant for emphasis. What follows it are commandments, prescriptions, and penalties that Israelites will observe in the land that God is giving them.

Since October 7th, the verse “when you enter the land” is a model for us. It’s not just about arriving to do what Torah commands. It’s also about arriving in the land where nothing ever stays the same. Especially for Jews in America who don’t experience Israel on a daily basis, Israel is never the same experience twice. The land is transformed, the people are moved by events, issues churn, and challenges emerge and linger. The good news is that many changes in Israel are signs of extraordinary ingenuity and brilliance. Draining age-old swamps and transforming them into thriving orchards and fields is amazing. Israelis, and not just Sabras, are resilient against waves of struggle. While challenges will always face Israel, and not just from its enemies, “Never Again!” has been renewed as a watchword of our people’s future. The bad news is that Israel’s greatest potential is usually held back by all the challenges it faces within and without its borders.

The narrow passage between what is good and bad is still possible for Israel to find. It’s still found in the words of this week’s Torah portion. In Emor, Israel’s obligations, both ritual and ethical, are explained. How they’re fulfilled mattered in ancient days. It was the difference between God’s blessings or God’s curses. Today, the variety of ways that these mitzvot are fulfilled can still represent our best effort to seek holiness in our times. Holiness, not just religious piety, is a means of living above the fray in all that we do and say, for us and our neighbors, including strangers.

Unfortunately, the conflict that rages between Jews (!) in Israel is a sign of potential future defeat. History has born it out in the past. Recently, when the Reform synagogue in Ra’anana held a gathering to observe Yom HaZikaron with Israelis and Palestinians to honor those who had fallen in the name of peace, Haredi Jews stormed the synagogue. They came in with the intent to disrupt the gathering, and to bring harm to those who were there. When attendees finally made their way to their cars, Haredi men and boys threw stones and injured synagogue-goers, including their rabbi and other leaders.

Two weeks ago, their rabbi and Reform Jewish leaders in Israel joined me by Zoom to talk with the CCAR Board of Trustees. They described their fear when fellow Jews stormed their program, threatened their lives, and found insufficient response from local police and authorities. The real damage done by Haredi mobs proves that they can also be a real threat to Israel. Today over 100 Israeli Reform rabbis, trained by HUC in Jerusalem, are serving dozens of Reform communities and municipalities in Israel. An increasing percentage of the population seek Reform rabbis, even among families who must bury their dead from the war in Gaza. In that tragic time, Reform rabbis met their needs with sacred duty and contemporary meaning.

The ”reasonable middle” where Jews keep the same Torah, even if some do and understand it differently, brings us closer to experiencing the hope that God promised us in the land. The best examples of the reasonable middle are found in groups that make efforts to listen and hear their neighbors. Real threats to Judaism are messianic Jews, antisemites, and Jews who fight other Jews. Reform synagogues are not threats to Judaism anywhere.

There’s only one Torah with many commentaries, which are the richest contributions of our people to the land of Israel. Haredi, Masorti, and Reform share this common Book and share the privilege to study and live by it. But what happened in Ra’anana is a disgrace. It’s the last thing that our people need today or should ever witness again.

The Eternal Light (Ner Tamid) is our shared responsibility to light every day. May we all come to Torah, to learn and to teach. It is our life and the length of our days, but only if we cherish it and each other.

L’Shalom,