6
Concerned about the elderly and
those struggling with disabilities
who could not reach the shelters
with each alarm, as well as those
who, paralyzed by fear, would not
leave their homes for weeks, Kedem
organized programs in which con-
gregants would visit one another.
Rabbi Myra Hovav’s Kehillat Yuval
in Gedera, a very young community
with many babies, toddlers, and
children, faced numerous challenges:
schools and preschools intermit-
tently closed; day care facilities
no longer tenable because those
situated in private homes lacked
sufficiently quick access to a shelter
for groups of very young children;
and parents called to military service
or obliged to work who suffered
anxiety about young families left at
home. Nonetheless, her community
gathered for Shabbat in people’s
homes, children baked challah
together, and studies for
b’nei
mitzvah
students continued. A
psychologist volunteered for story
time and craft activities to help
the children deal with stress, and
Myra’s Yuval Stork initiative for
new mothers gave crucial support
to those with newborn infants.
Hoping to give a respite to her
community, she took eighty adults
and children on a day trip to Haifa
for a visit to the zoo, relaxation at
the Leo Baeck Center, and a warm
welcome by Rabbis Gabby Dagan
and Naama Dafni-Keln and members
of Ohel Avraham congregation.
At the same time, HUC-JIR’s 36
first-year rabbinical, cantorial, and
education students and 11 Cantorial
Certification students began their
Orientation in Jerusalem just as the
Gaza rocket offensive was launched.
Their blogs, reflecting on their
experiences and commitment to
Israel, expressed their emulation
of the mindset of the Israeli
people: life must go on.
[
See
huc.edu/news/context
and
huc.edu/news/reflections]
Rabbinical student Robert Friedman
summed up their perspective, writing,
“
While the rockets can indeed do
physical damage, it is the potential
mental and psychological damage
that they can do which can be most
effective. Israelis know this, and in
the face of all this danger, to spite
the terrorists they continue with
their daily lives. They do not let
fear take over and they will not let
it stop them from doing that which
is necessary in life. This is the
resilience of Israel and this is why,
over centuries of adversity, Jews
have always survived and persevered.”
Facing Mt. Zion, Year-In-Israel and
Cantorial Certification students
participate in a moving opening
ceremony as part of their Orientation
program at the outset of the Israel-
Gaza conflict.
Israeli rabbinical
alumni with President
Shimon Peres:
(
from right) Rabbi
Myra Hovav, Rabbi
Gabi Dagan, and
Rabbi Haim Shalom.