Well, the first week of classes for our 2nd semester has come to an end. I haven't found out my grades/results from last semester yet, but I feel pretty good about it. For the first 3 days of this week, we had a colloquium. Professors from the 3 North American campuses came to lead us in discussion about many interesting issues currently facing the Reform Movement. Mark Kligman, from the New York campus, is a Professor of Jewish Musicology. Sara Lee, from the Los Angeles campus, is a Professor of Jewish Education. Richard Sarason, from the Cincinnati campus is a Professor of Rabbinic Literature and Thought. Dean Rabbi Michael Marmur, from the Jerusalem campus was also involved in much of the colloquium. We focused on three themes: America and the American Jewish Context, Reform Judaism and Reform Jews, and Jewish Peoplehood. We discussed the growing diversity of Jews and the implications for our institutions of Jewish life, embracing inclusivity and pluralism in our communities while coming together around core values, as well as the perspectives on Judaism as a religion and as an ethnicity that shape the self-understanding of Jews. Although I was jet-lagged, the this we learned and the discussions were definitely worthwhile.
On Wednesday, we continued in our series of classes called "Israel Seminar." Every week, we discuss different topics that relate to Israeli society and culture. This week, we learned about women in Israeli society. A fantastic speaker, named Anat Hoffman, explained one specific issue relating to women and religion in this country. She is the Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and a former Jerusalem councilor. She is also a part of "Women at the Wall," a group of religious women (from all different observances of Judaism) who like to hold Rosh Chodesh services at the Western Wall 11 months out of the year. Their group has been in existence for about the last 20 years. She explained all of the MAJOR difficulties her group faced against the super-religious facet of the government. They were opposed to women holding the services they were holding, and it's been an ongoing battle for many years between these women and the government. I found it very interesting to hear how much more difficult it is here in Israel for women simply because of the religious influence on the government even though the Orthodox/Haredi population only makes up less than 15 % of the whole Israeli population.
And today, Thursday, we're back to a regular class schedule. I've added two new classes this semester: Bible and Israeli Art Songs. Both of which, I'm very excited about! It's good to be back and in a routine again. It was also really great to be home for a little while. It was so nice to see so many of you, even if it was only for a short amount of time! I can't believe I only have four months left before I come back home again! My goal is to make the most of my remaining time here. I hope to report back to you on how that's going soon!
Thanks for reading!
Amanda
