Last night in Modi’in there was an Azkarah for Marc (Weinberg) Z’L, to mark his third Yahrzeit. Dr Yael Ziegler gave a shiur about King Yoshiyahu and different approaches and explanations of Chazal, to his tragic young death. I often think about what us Olim can contribute to Israeli society. There are three ways in which I think we can, and Marc exemplified all three of them, both as a community builder and leader in London and when he made Aliyah to Modi’in, even though he would not live to see his plans for Modi’in come into fruition. 1) Sense of community- Marc was a community builder- he believed in the value and importance of community. He understood people and how communities need to respond to peoples wants and needs if they are to function effectively. Judaism is based around the concept of community. I am not just referring to the Halachik requirement of a minyan, but rather the more conceptual one-that Jewish life is predicated upon the idea of the community and without being part of a community a Jew is lost and unable to grow and develop. In the Diaspora, this is taking for granted. However, in Israel, as the state provides many of the religious functions, this intermediary level of the community between the individual and the state, does not play such a role. Yet, it is crucial. So much so, that often when Israelis return to Israel after being abroad, they feel the lack of sense of community here, that they had abroad. 2) Pluralism/ Inclusivism- Those of us who grew up abroad, are used to living in a more mixed and varied environment and culture. We are used to tolerating and accepting different views, even if they are different to our own. The communities we grew up in abroad, contained a mixture of people, of varying levels of observance. Abroad where we are a minority, we are used to getting on with and living with a large variety of Jews. Whilst there is some interaction between different strands of society here, it would be nice if the polarization between religious and secular and within the religious communities themselves, was less and they were able to focus more on their similarities, than differences. I remember Marc saying that the reason he moved to Modi’in was because it was a mixed city that tried to bring together different sectors within Judaism- trying to bridge the gap between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv-not just geographically. 3) Marc was a leader, but at the same time, he was a tremendous Baal Chessed. He was always trying to help people in many aspects of their lives and used his popularity and networking skills to empower people. He was able to make people feel valued and that they belonged. So, three things we can learn from Marc and if we focus on them too, we can hopefully make Israel an even better place to live. Benjy (BS) #40days4Israel.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 07:38:43 +0000