Returning to a New Israel

השיבנו יי ונשובה
חדיש ימינו כקדם

“Bring us back, God, and we will return to You.
Renew our days as they once were.”  (Lamentations 5:21)

I’m on my way to the 39th World Zionist Congress, where I’m honored to represent Women of Reform Judaism, the Reform Movement, ARZA, and ARZENU as a delegate. I look forward to spending time with our Reform Movement in Israel and our global community as the World Union for Progressive Judaism gathers in Jerusalem during these weeks.

Today, I return to a very different Israel. This is not the same place I grew to love as a teenager and young adult, nor is it the war-torn country I visited since October 7, 2023. With the ceasefire and return of the living hostages, a new chapter in the complex, epic history of Israel and our people can begin.

Bring us back, oh God. Bring them back. Bring them home.
Bring back the hostages to their families, their loved ones, their homes.
We have prayed, we have protested, and we have rejoiced at the return of the 20 living hostages this month. We continue to demand that every hostage come back, to be buried and mourned by their families.

Bring us back, oh God, and we will return to You.
Israel and the Jewish people are eternally changed by the murder and violence of October 7, by the ensuing two years of war and suffering. Now, we can begin to talk about return, healing, and what wholeness and repair might look like in the days and years ahead.

Bring us back, oh God, to you - to the Israel we love. This week and next, so many of us are coming home. Bring us back to the democratic, pluralistic, values-driven state we know we can have - if we will it. If we stay in it. If we work for it.

Renew our days. We can never truly return, to how we כקדם, once were. Some even connect this Hebrew word to the Garden of Eden, an idyllic time before conflict and striving and progress. Instead, we קדימה, go forward.

Renew our resolve to build the future we want to see.
We go forward, toward a more inclusive, vibrant Israel.

אל נא תעקר נטוע

אל תשכח את התקווה

השיבני ואשובה אל הארץ הטובה

“Do not uproot what has been planted
Do not forget the hope 
Bring me back, and I will return to the good Land.” (Naomi Shemer)

Thank you for voting your values and bringing us to represent you in Jerusalem.