Page 40 - Jewish News_September-2020

P. 40

40 September 2020 COMMENTARY

Monumentally speaking

By Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz, Community Chaplain
s many rabbis can attest, while whose land purchase in 1929 enabled Though we may not agree regard- markable heritage and legacy. There-
Jews may possess significant Jewish laborers to cultivate citrus or- ing beliefs about God and elements of fore, it is not so much a question of
Apride in their identity, they chards that later became the town of ritual observance, we nonetheless share whether we have to agree, but recog-
also can show no hesitation in declar- Tel Mond, Israel (one of Sarasota’s Sis- a strong sense of collective Yiddishkeit nize, that by virtue of our unique histo-
ing that its character is decidedly more ter Cities), stands at the entrance to the and the perspectives that flow from it. ry, nature and circumstance, the extent
secular than reli- community. But this statue is distinc- No matter which Jewish identity camp to which we are still bound up with one
gious. tive beyond Mond’s outsized depic- we claim to belong to, a passion for another.
This divide tion. Why? Because, of Israel’s 2,900 justice, learning, and the cultivation of Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz serves as a
is found both in official monuments, few memorialize the unique potential implanted in ev- Community Chaplain and Director of
the diaspora and notables or, for that matter, people in ery human being, are characteristic of JFCS’s Jewish Healing Program. His
Israel. general. both. position is underwritten by The Jewish
Nevertheless, “Israelis tend to be uncomfort- Additionally, all Jews share a re- Federation of Sarasota-Manatee.
such a line of able with statues of their leaders,” ex-
distinction may plains Maoz Azaryahu, a researcher at An open letter to
Rabbi Jonathan R. Katz not be drawn as the University of Haifa, who studies
strictly as assumed. For instance, even monuments. “They see them as golden
the most chiloni (secular) Jew will still calves.” According to him, the bust of our Jewish community
celebrate, in some fashion, Rosh Ha- David Ben-Gurion at the airport which
shanah, Purim, Passover and Hanuk- bears his name, and that of Yitzhak By Dr. Bart Levenson and Toby Halpern
kah, and hew to religious mandates Rabin near the site of his assassination, n the age of social distancing, a hotels and, most importantly, people.
such as holding a bris on the eighth day as well as Mond’s abstract representa- trip to the local supermarket or And for those seasoned travelers
and burying the dead as soon as pos- tion and a replica of Raoul Wallenberg Ipark feels like a postcard-worthy to Israel who know more about where
sible. in Tel Aviv are exceptions to a rule trip. Yet, despite the current limita- to find the best falafel in Jerusalem’s
As another example, look at the grounded in the Torah’s prohibition of tions on movement, there will come a Machane Yehuda than the average Je-
photo below. This sculpture of Sir idolatry. time when we will vacation beyond our rusalemite, I ask of you, on behalf of
Alfred Mond, the British aristocrat David Stav, a prominent Orthodox shores once more. As we think about the communities that Jewish National
rabbi, told the Baltimore Jewish Times our next travel destination, I call on our Fund-USA (JNF-USA) supports in Is-
that Israelis are “very, very smart” community to first come home and join rael’s north and south, to spend more
about their leaders. “Jewish tradition me in committing to visit our home- time outside of Israel’s big cities and
does not encourage admiring individu- land, Israel, at jnf.org/commit. immerse yourself in the beauty and se-
als, but rather admiring ideals,” he said It’s impossible to measure the long- renity of the Negev and Galilee. Why
in emphasizing the Torah’s conspicu- term effects that the 100% downturn not visit the historic city of Akko and
ous silence regarding the location of in international tourism and 80,000 the JNF Western Galilee Visitors Cen-
Moses’ grave. “Directly and indirectly, tourism-related job losses has had on ter and let our friend and the Center’s
this affects Israeli society, and it makes Israel’s economy, however, you can be CEO, Michal Shiloah Gal-Nor, show
us scared of raising people up and mak- certain that Israel’s recovery will de- you how the Galilee is becoming the
ing statues of them.” pend on all of us to show our support “foodie capital” of the world? In the
That the likenesses of leaders just as we have done in previous cri- Negev, why not consider taking your
should not be expressed in chiseled im- ses to help our homeland bounce back family and walking in the footsteps
agery appears to be ingrained in Jewish stronger than ever. of King Solomon while surrounding
character regardless of which side one For many of us, Israel always has yourself in the colorful sands of Timna
finds himself or herself on the secular- been, and always will be on the top Park?
religious mehitza. In other words, cer- of our list of travel destinations. Yet, It doesn’t matter if you travel to Is-
tain values can be so embedded in the 59% of American Jewry have never rael with JNF-USA, your temple, syna-
overall Jewish mindset that they tran- been to Israel. It’s hard to believe that gogue or community group, as long as
scend this perceived dichotomy. almost two-thirds of our community you join us in committing to travel to
have never experienced the magic and Israel when it’s time to fly again.
spirituality of Jerusalem’s Old City, the P.S. While we’re grounded, why
feeling of rejuvenation from floating not join the thousands of “travelers”
in the Dead Sea or the cosmopolitan who are visiting Israel every week on a
buzz of Tel Aviv. Now, more than ever, JNF-USA virtual tour? For more infor-
we must find the positive in these un- mation, visit jnf.org/virtualtours.
precedented times and encourage our
Dr. Bart Levenson and Toby Halpern
Hunger
Hunger ples to join us in committing to support Jewish National Fund-USA in Sara-
friends, families, synagogues and tem-
are President and Vice President of
Israel’s tour guides, small businesses,
sota.
Stay connected at www.jfedsrq.org

Crisis in Sarasota
and Israel What do you think?

The Jewish News
Innovations in the Face of Unprecedented Need

Thursday wants to know!

September 3 • 4:00pm Send an email to jewishnews18@gmail.com.
Letters Policy
Via Zoom FREE EVENT Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words, must be typed, and include the

FEATURING: writer’s name, mailing address and phone number. Letters can be submitted via USPS
or email (jewishnews18@gmail.com). Not all letters will be published. Letters may be
Sandra Frank, CEO of All Faiths Food Bank edited for length and content.
Lauren Yoked, Executive Director of American
Friends of Leket Israel

MODERATED BY: THINKING OF SELLING OR TRADING
Rabbi Brenner Glickman THAT CAR, BOAT, OR RV?
JOIN US for an urgent webinar on • Our online form makes it easy.

the crisis of hunger. As unemployment has • Support a worthwhile cause.
skyrocketed, hundreds of thousands of people in
Sarasota and in Israel have become food insecure, • Receive tax benefits.
many for the first time in their lives. Two organizations
are meeting this challenge with overwhelming effort
and innovation. We are honored to hear first-hand
from the leaders of All Faiths Food Bank and Leket:
Israel’s National Food Bank.

RSVP: jfedsrq.org/events