While Shabbat is supposed to be a day of rest, the Rubinites had spiritual missions to fulfill, so it was another bustling morning. We met with social historian and former longtime Tel Aviv University Professor Paul Liptz who gave us a rundown on the general denominational divisions within Israeli Judaism. He explained that various degrees of what he considers “Ultra Orthodoxy” comprise about ten percent of the Jewish population; another ten percent make up “Modern Orthodoxy;” around 45 percent are within the “Tradional” (Conservative/Reform) category, and roughly 35 percent consider themselves Secular Jews. This latter class of Jews consider themselves culturally Jewish but not especially religious, if religious at all. In Israel, Professor Liptz explained,you don’t have to go to synagogue to feel Jewish.
Following his presentation, Professor Liptz had us split off into a handful of groups and sent us into a variety of synagogues throughout Jerusalem. One group visited a Modern Orthodox synagogue, or should we say “minyan.” It was explained by one of the minyan’s directors that they do not consider themselves a synagogue (they worship in the local Jewish Community Center) and they do not embrace any sort of denominational label. While services followed a fairly Orthodox minhag, women handled and read from the Torah and the mechitza (curtain separating the men’s seats from the women’s) was periodically drawn back during various points in the service. Another group attended a Reform service at nearby Hebrew Union College. Yet another group visited a Sephardic temple. Rob Beattie was part of a group that attended services at a Conservative synagogue and he was elated to report it was just like attending his home conservative congregation, right down to the same tunes of the prayers. And then there was our Li Zou’s temple trek. Her intention was to sit in on Orthodox Shabbat services at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue. By virtue of its huge size (hence the name), Li managed to sit in on two different services of vastly different flavors before realizing she had not yet made it to the synagogue’s main sanctuary. Once there, she was still able to catch enough of the service to take in the feel of the worship experience and report back to her fellow Rubinites.
Following our lunchtime debriefing with Professor Liptz, we welcomed Amir Cheshin, former Arab policy advisor to legendary former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek. Mr. Cheshin walked us through the Christian and Muslim Quarters of the Old City before treating us to midday refreshments in the Austrian Hospice. The hospice’s rooftop features a stunning panoramic view of the Old City and its peaceful outdoor garden area provided a lovely backdrop for a not-so-lovely discussion about the state of Arab-Israeli relations within Jerusalem. He recounted a number of stories from his days serving as Mayor Kollek’s advisor for Arab affairs.
A Havdalah service led by our tour guide Dovev was followed by dinner at Beit Ticho (former home of one of Jerusalem’s prominent artists and her locally-well-known ophthalmologist husband.) our dinner guest was communications consultant and Arab-Israeli conflict expert Ari Applbaum. Ari presented a detailed speech and statistics about public perceptions of Israel in the context of its struggle to deal peacefully with its Arabic neighbors.
An intense afternoon and early evening of heavy, sobering subjects yielded to the joy and esprit de corps that our group of Rubinites has been privileged to share throughout this trip and it was off to the late-night energy of Ben Yehuda Street. While the ladies spent some time perusing the shops of Ben Yehuda, the gents rounded the corner and found a sports bar willing to find and show the St. Louis Cardinals baseball playoff game. The ladies joined the watch party soon thereafter and, thanks to the Redbirds’ thrilling win and another exhilarating day absorbing Jerusalem, we were all able to end the day exclaiming “that’s a winner!”
