Letter from Rabbi Zemel, 8/14/06

Who among us can tear ourselves away from our preoccupation with Israel’s war in Lebanon? Who is not heartbroken over the suffering? Who does not recoil at the hatred of Fundamentalist Islam and its arsenal of terror? Every moment of every day for the past month I have lived with Judah Ha-Levi’s inspirational words from 11th century Spain searing through my soul: "Libi ba-mizrach, v’ani b’sof ha-maarav."–"My heart is in the East, even as I am at the end of the West."

Our community has been wonderful and I wish to thank you for your incredible outpouring of generosity on behalf of our emergency campaign for the Temple Micah Israel Fund to assist our sister congregation Or Hadash of Haifa. Rabbi Edgar Nof and his entire community are extraordinarily grateful for what we have done. We can be proud that Temple Micah has thus far sent $35,000 to our friends in Haifa. The needs remain enormous. It is not too late to give. Later in the year we will be considering a special fundraiser to continue our critical support. Additionally, we can be proud that several Micah members have chosen to go to Israel to do volunteer work at this time of great need.

I would like to take this opportunity to call your attention to the weekend of September 8-10 when Temple Micah will be participating in the national program of the Union for Reform Judaism "Our Israel: A Reform Response." Please try to make a point to join us for services that weekend. I will speak Friday evening, September 8. Michael Feuer, a member of the congregation who will have just returned from Israel, will speak Saturday morning, September 9. Religious School, which begins on September 10 will have special age-appropriate lessons for the students on the current crisis that morning. Additionally, Bob Dorfman, another Micah member who will have just returned from Israel, will speak at services Friday evening, September 15, as we continue to engage in a community effort to stay informed on events in Israel.

Finally– please do your personal best to stay informed. There are many wonderful websites that offer a clear picture of events as they unfold– usually much more reliably than the American media. I am particularly drawn to Haaretz, The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli Embassy, and Americans For Peace Now. Each of these offers many excellent links.

I look forward to discussing these important issues with you in the weeks ahead.