Faces of Masorti Judaism

by Jane Calem Rosen

Even after 30 years in Israel, Hilary Levy still speaks perfect English, not surprising for someone whose roots are in South Africa and London. Orthodox- affiliated in Great Britain, today Hilary is the chairperson of the Hakrayot Masorti Congregation in Kiryat Bialik.

Spanish-speaking Yehudit Hammerschlag is now more fluent in Hebrew than she was five years ago, when she and her husband, Sergio, came straight to Kiryat Bialik from Buenos Aires.

Michal Farago, whose native tongue is Hebrew, tells another story. “My parents’ generation built this country, but they put religion aside to do it. When I was a child, the highlight of Yom Kippur was riding a bike on the empty streets.”

Michal’s husband, Andres, made aliyah from South America in 1978. His family had escaped the Holocaust, leaving religious practice behind. When the two met as university students, they agreed that it would be nice to reconnect with their Jewish heritage.

These are just a few of the faces of Masorti in Kiryat Bialik, a municipality of approximately 45,000 east of Haifa. Kiryat Bialik is one of a string of cities known as the Krayot.

At the center of this dynamic community is Hakrayot, a model Masorti kehilla. Much more than a house of worship, Hakrayot reaches out to the entire region, offering spiritual support, economic assistance, social services, educational instruction, and cultural inspiration, living up to the Conservative/ Masorti understanding of Judaism as a way of life and tikkun olam as an integral part of that life. The congregation, established in 1981 by Ashkenazi olim, has become indispensable to a local population struggling with economic and social challenges.

Rabbi Mauricio Balter, who made aliyah from Latin America in 1995, became the congregation’s spiritual leader a dozen years ago. Since then, it has grown to include 250 member-families, both sabras and olim from 29 different nations. With members from Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Panama, South Africa, the UK, Morocco, India, Syria, Germany, and Russia, Hakrayot is a true ingathering of the diaspora. Each year, as many as 800 people attend High Holy Day services and about 40 b’nai and b’not mitzvah are celebrated.

Hakrayot has been meeting in a local music conservatory; it marked a milestone earlier this year when it signed an agreement with municipal officials, allocating a site for a permanent facility that will house a sanctuary, classrooms, social hall, and offices. Rabbi Balter called the agreement, which was years in the making, “an important acknowledgement of the pluralistic, egalitarian and Zionist values Hakrayot has been promoting and a significant step toward the establishment of a Masorti home to serve all residents of the Krayot.”

Much of the kehilla’s impact can be attributed to the charismatic Rabbi Balter. During the summer of 2006, as rockets landed in Israel’s northern cities, Rabbi Balter and the kehilla were instrumental in Kiryat Bialik’s survival and recuperation. Members gave financial, social, psychological, and spiritual support to people throughout the area. Those who lost jobs or were left homeless could count on cash to pay for food and other immediate necessities. Interest-free loans enabled families to begin to get back on their feet.

Once hostilities abated, Rabbi Balter used grant money from the Masorti Foundation, the United Jewish Communities, and the American Jewish Committee to create a psychological counseling service and a series of healing workshops in Hebrew and Spanish to help people coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and such challenges as unemployment, divorce, and illness.

“We are very proud that we have changed Jewish life throughout the Krayot, that we have introduced a different way to approach Judaism,” Rabbi Balter said. “Doors are now open everywhere.”

Thanks to Rabbi Balter, the Krayot has become a model of Tali education for districts seeking to inject instruction in Jewish history, Bible, and culture into their public schools. Recalling his early efforts to gain acceptance, Rabbi Balter said, “In the beginning, municipal officials said ‘no rabbi in the public schools.’” But once he managed to convince the principal of one school to let him lead a program, “slowly, slowly” others followed suit. This spring, he led a Shabbaton on nearby Masorti Kibbutz Hanaton with local teachers, something that does not usually happen in Israel. Hakrayot is the only Masorti synagogue/center for some 3,500 school children, providing courses and activities, as well as professional development for faculty.

Children aren’t the only focus of Rabbi Balter’s educational vision. A rosh hodesh study group offers bilingual sessions in Hebrew and Spanish for women and he leads hevruta (partnership) study for public school principals. He has facilitated the opening of learning centers in Kiryat Bialik and neighboring Kiryat Motzkin in collaboration with Midreshet Yerushalayim, the Schechter Institute’s nationwide program for Russian olim.

Rabbi Balter takes pride in the growing number of b’nai mitzvah at Hakrayot, and he is particularly proud of the number of girls called to the Torah. Encouraging young women in both their Jewish education and ritual practice, he makes it a point to teach both girls and boys to put on tefillin and wear a tallit. As Michal Farago, whose two daughters were both b’not mitzvah, said, “It’s not very common among Israeli girls.”

When Yehudit Hammerschlag and Sergio Grynbaum first arrived from Buenos Aires in 2002 they felt overwhelmed. There were so many details to handle, from enrolling their daughter in kindergarten to setting up a bank account. “Our second day in Israel, a guy from the kehilla took me everywhere,” marveled Sergio. The Grynbaums also have been able to maintain ties to their Latin American heritage with Spanish-language classes in Jewish and Israeli culture and a Spanish literature section of the local library staffed by volunteers from the kehilla.

With Yehudit working as Rabbi Balter’s secretary and the couple’s social circle comprised of those with whom they participate in kehilla activities, Yehudit said, “All my life is the kehilla. We are very happy.”

Olim not as materially well off or educated are given even more of a hand, without any compromise of their dignity. For as little as one dollar, they can buy clothing and appliances from a kehilla-run second-hand shop. The community uses the money to buy medications not covered by health insurance. Volunteers help with resume-writing, setting up email accounts, navigating the Internet, and applying for jobs. They also accompany newcomers to the supermarket and to meetings with officials.

Beyond the logistics, olim are emotionallyand spiritually embraced by members of the congregation with Shabbat dinner invitations, outreach to children serving in the Israel Defense Forces, family education workshops, stipends for the local day camp and the Masorti-run Ramah-Noam sleepaway camp, and financial assistance for single-parent families. “It isn’t easy to integrate into a new society,” Rabbi Balter said. “It takes a major effort by the whole community.”

A teacher of the deaf, Micky Avigur has learned a lot about communication between people who often cannot hear each other, not only in her classroom but in an intergenerational dialogue group of Jewish and Arab women. A project of Hakrayot and the Acre Women Association, a Muslim/Christian organization for Israeli Arabs, An Alternative Dialogue works to bridge religious and cultural gaps in order to promote tolerance, mutual understanding and peace among neighbors.

It has not always been easy. Feelings of anger, resentment, and fear have surfaced, as well as expressions of support, as the women navigate sensitive emotional terrain in bimonthly meetings “As Jews, we share the view that Israel is a Jewish state, but this experience is raising our awareness of the minorities living here,” Micky observed.

The Jewish participants in the dialogue group all belong to the kehilla. The youngest of the group is 30; the oldest is a 70-yearold Israeli Arab, most of whose family fled in 1948. She longs for the establishment of open, peaceful borders so she can see her family again. “Her story made a big impression,” said Micky. “We’re trying to create an environment in which we can all live together, despite the unknowns of the future. I’m not sure it’s possible, but I am sure we have to try.”

With all it has going on, it’s not surprising that Hakrayot has become a popular stop for families, missions, and congregational groups traveling to Israel from around the world. Rabbi Balter is always eager to welcome visitors, as is Hilary Levy, the kehilla’s chair, who loves to spend time showing people around Kiryat Bialik and describing the work of Hakrayot.

Hakrayot and the approximately 50 other Masorti communities in Israel depend on friends in North America for support. Contributions should be sent to the Masorti Foundation, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 832, New York, NY 10115. Contributions can also be made via the website, www.masorti.org.