“If you will it, it is no dream,” said Theodor Herzl about his vision of a Jewish state; but before any such a dream can be willed into reality, one must first have the dream.
In this way, Herzl Spiro, M.D., Milwaukee psychiatrist and Jewish activist, introduced a panel discussion of varying visions for the Jewish state entitled “Israel Beyond the Conflict” that formed the climax of the fifth annual A Day of Discovery held last Saturday night and Sunday at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
An audience of about 175 heard four local Jewish community leaders present their visions for Israel in its relationship with the world and Jewish communities.
Israeli Guy Lerner, president of the North American office of the Israel-based technology company HomeFree Inc., expressed a concrete vision, supported by some precise data, focusing on economics. He said Israel’s economy:
• Has a gross domestic product per person of about $16,000 a year, putting it in the mid-range of European economies.
• Trades 120 companies on the NASDAQ exchange, more than any other countries except the United States and Canada.
• Spends more on research and development than the U.S. and has more engineers per 10,000 people (135) than the U.S. has (70).
• Exports more than twice as much in monetary value as Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon combined.
Therefore, should the Arab/Muslim world ever fully accept Israel’s existence, it could “be a local force [that would] move the Middle East to new [economic] horizons,” Lerner said.
Other panelists focused on more cultural-spiritual-emotional visions. Sherry Blumberg, Ph.D., director of education at Congregation Shalom, said she envisioned Israel as an exemplar in education, artistic expression and embodiment of values.
In education, Blumberg said Israel could return to the root meaning of the word “education” (Latin: “to draw or lead out”) and teach to “draw out of each child” skills and talents and the values of “tolerance and respect.”
In artistic expression, Israel could produce art “filled with God’s presence” and containing “truth and beauty mixed,” she said. She cited as an example an Israeli artist she knows who “is struggling with the meaning of the Israeli flag” by painting it and sculpting it in “all kinds of ways.”
In values, Israel could be a “model of the ‘fear of heaven,’” but “not just one definition” of that Jewish phrase, she said. It should involve recognition that “God and life are mysteries”; that “there are as many paths to God as there are people” and that “none of us understands what God wants,” she said.
Milwaukee Jewish activist Moshe Katz lamented that in the past Israel had been “educational and experiential” in Jews’ lives; but that is no longer the case. His vision, he said, is “that we can be there” and make Israel “part of our being and essence.”
Finally, Rabbi Benzion Twerski, assistant rabbi at Congregation Beth Jehudah, recounted Rashi’s commentary on the first verses of Genesis in the Torah. According to Rashi, the Torah opens with creation precisely in order to stake the Jewish people’s claim to the land of Israel on grounds that as God created the world, so could God give part of it to the Jews.
Twerski contended that the rest of the world will never find this rationale convincing until Jews believe it themselves and “stop being selective” in what else they believe from the Torah.
The Day of Discovery began Saturday night with a family Havdalah service with local cantors and an evening of “hands-on discovery of Israeli culture.” Participants chose from sessions that included Israeli cooking, drama, art, dance and the poetry of Yehuda Amichai, Israel’s poet laureate.
Evening events were capped by an Israeli sing-along and reception with community musicians.
According to JCC public relations and marketing director Kipp Friedman, about 200 people attended the Day of Discovery’s opening events on Saturday night and about 400 participated in the almost 50 classes and workshops held on Sunday prior to the panel discussion.
Day of Discovery co-chairs were Rena Safer and Bonnie Shafrin. The event was sponsored by, in addition to the JCC: the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the education program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation; and the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis, represented by Rabbi Steven Adams; and was supported in part by the Jewish Community Foundation, the endowment development program of the federation.
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