Our Israel Committee helps nurture our connection to Israel by fostering education and promoting meaningful engagement with the Jewish homeland through programs, activities, and fundraising.
Upcoming Event:
Shabbat Lunch ‘n’ Learn — Making a Difference: My Volunteer Experience in Israel
Saturday, Jan. 25 following Shabbat Morning Services
Volunteering in Israel can be a deeply rewarding experience for many reasons — cultural exchange, adventure and exploration, personal growth, contribution to peace and understanding. Above all, it’s about making a difference.
Hear a panel discussion featuring Society Hill Synagogue members Val and Michael Yasner, Felise and Holden Nagelberg, Rob Einhorn, and Rafi Licht as they speak about their recent volunteering experiences at this Lunch ‘n’ Learn following Shabbat morning services.
This program is generously sponsored by the Israel Connections Subcommittee.
Read some of Rabbi Kamesar's Divrei Torah (words of Torah) about Israel:
A Time for Wailing, A Time for Dancing
These verses from Ecclesiastes come to me in this moment that feels like both “a time for wailing and a time for dancing.”
A time for dancing because, after 15 months of war, hostages will be reunited with their families, rockets — at least between Israel and Hamas — will stop firing, families will return to their hometowns. Peace, albeit limited, tentative, and fragile, will reign.
The Jewish Story: Resounding Through the Shofar
Rosh Hashanah 5785 This year has changed my relationship to what it means to be Jewish. Every year, during the High Holidays, I give a sermon, in one version or another, making the case for getting more deeply connected to
Bearing Witness to Heartbreak — Reflections on the War’s Toll
This has been a brutal week for the Jewish people. Six hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi, and Alexander Lobanov, individuals whom we had gotten to know through accounts by their loved ones, were murdered by
Chosenness, Conflict, and a Path Forward
This past Shabbat we began the final book of the Torah, Sefer Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy. The word “Deuteronomy” comes from a Greek translation of the phrase “Repetition of the Torah”, which is in a sense a fitting name for
Journeys of the Past and Present — Insights from Parashat Masei
This past Shabbat we studied Parashat Masei, which means something like “travels” or “stages”. It is the last portion in the Sefer Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers, the fourth of five books of the Torah. In it, the “travels” being
Jewish Wisdom on Character and Leadership Amid Political Change
Yet again, I write in response to unfolding developments in one of the most eventful months in electoral politics in modern American history, with reverberations for the Jewish community, for Israel, and for the world. Never in modern history has