Just as each of us goes through a process of self-examination during the Days of Repentence in Tishrei, this week is an opportunity to do so on a collective and national level.

I am always struck when Israelis, especially Jerusalemites, say “Next year in Jerusalem” with the same intention as their Diaspora brethren. Jerusalem surely cannot only represent a physical destination. It must represent more: an ideal, a hope, a possibility.

I’ve highlighted some poets and poems that speak to me for the moment we are in, but I encourage you, too, to poke around on your own from among Israeli writers and find what resonates with you.

With all of the stress, anxiety, and potential panic that this moment in time brings, may new of these political developments offer us a small silver lining with which to find and grasp a glimmer of hope.

With Netanyahu still in power, issues of religious pluralism, equality, and civil marriage will likely take a backseat, leaving the power of the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate firmly in place and leaving little hope for progressive change.

The election for the 2020 World Zionist Congress is open for another two weeks, and a strong showing by the “Vote Reform” slate is critical. 

We all have the right to study Torah, to interpret it, and to make ourselves heard in the never-ending Jewish conversation about what our treasured texts mean.

The irony is stark. For once, your vote as a non-Israeli living outside of Israel may have more lasting impact than my vote as an Israeli living in Israel. That’s because regardless of what happens in Israeli elections – whether we get a new government or not – the WZC will meet in Jerusalem later this year.

Every vote for the Reform Movement in World Zionist Congress elections will strengthen our ability to fight for an Israel that reflects our Jewish values and recognizes our way of being Jewish. Every Reform vote will ensure that our voice in Israel will be heard that much louder and clearer.