Connecting Israel to Jewish Life
Lisa D. Grant

For centuries, Israel has been embedded in the hearts and minds of Jews as a spiritual homeland, an idealized place where dreams are fulfilled. The language of prayer is saturated with references to the ingathering of the exiles from the four corners of the earth, the realization of a “rebuilt” Jerusalem to herald the Messianic age and, more recently, the actualization of statehood as the “first flowering of our redemption.” Yet, the powerful spiritual and symbolic force of this idealized Israel has lost a great deal of its resonance for many American Jews in light of the complex political, social, cultural, and religious realities of Israel today. As a result, Israel does not figure greatly into the way American Jews make personal meaning from being Jewish today.

Teaching Israel is certainly one of the greatest challenges of Jewish education in American communities. Indeed, for decades educational researchers and thinkers have observed that few Jewish educators are truly reflective about why, what, or how they teach Israel. Even among those individuals and institutions at the forefront of Jewish educational innovation, few are able to articulate a clear vision or their reason for teaching Israel that extends beyond vague and implicit expressions of Israel being a core component of Jewish identity formation.

At least in part, our inability to develop a compelling vision for Israel education lies in our inability to define why Israel should matter to American Jews comfortably at home in American society. We also are ambivalent about which Israel to teach. Is it a political narrative about the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Is it a romantic portrait of a land flowing with milk and honey? Is it a story about rescue and refuge for Jews in danger around the world? Is it about a society of modern miracles and technological marvels, or a society of corruption, dysfunction, and tension among rich and poor, religious and secular, Arabs and Jews? Or is it all of the above?

Basically, the content and experiences of Israel through formal and informal educational experiences (including trips) remain largely on a symbolic or even “mythic” level for most American Jews. And we seem comfortable with this approach. Anything more would conflict with the not-so-hidden curriculum of American Jewish education, which is how to function as an American Jew. Inasmuch as Israel education can be used as a way to reinforce American Jewish identity, it is viewed as a positive. We avoid over-complicating matters in order to ensure a “love” of Israel. Yet unless and until we dive into the complications, I believe we will remain at best with a symbolic understanding of why Israel is or should be significant in American Jewish life.

One of the core ideas I teach my students is that you cannot teach anything well until you know its meaning for yourself. My own lifelong reflection on why Israel matters has shaped how I negotiate between my American life and my Jewish self; how I live my life as a Jew; and how I teach not just Israel but Jewish education as a whole. Just as I navigate between the many other dualisms that are part of Jewish existence — the tensions between universal and particular values, religion and peoplehood, the individual and the community, the sacred and the profane, tradition and change — so, too, do I navigate the dualisms inherent in Israel in all of its manifestations, symbolic and real. To me, Israel “engagement” means the continuing participation in this unresolved discourse. It is what keeps my relationship to Judaism and to Israel dynamic and alive. This relationship, like most, takes work. I see this work as a form of tikkun — working toward repairing and improving an imperfect world. I also understand it as a partnership, a brit l’olam, a covenant for all time.

This philosophy recasts Israel education, shifting the symbols of what could be described as a “dead past” into a usable past that is integrated into Jewish living. Though our ultimate goal may still be “love of Israel,” we should cultivate a mature love rather than a naïve one. We should neither whitewash nor ignore the complexities of contemporary Israel. While teaching the old “myths” as ideals, we must do so in a way that makes them usable in tension with current realities.

It seems that the most powerful way to foster a deep sense of connection with and commitment to Israel is to foster a deep sense of connection with and commitment to Jewish life. This means integrating Israel as an essential element of Judaism wherever one lives. This is not so much about Israel being central to Jewish life, but about Israel being an integral/inseparable piece of a larger whole.

To do this, we must begin with aspects of Jewish life that people already connect with and know something about. Three significant domains include prayer, social and cultural interactions, and social justice. Each of these experiences can be enriched through conversations, texts, and images of Israel.

We also need to build connections with people and place, with the visions and realities that encompass Israel both as a sacred symbol and as a dynamic, modern state. We need the myth, but we also need the reality. We must explore the plurality of voices in Israeli society.

Ultimately, Israel education should be about strengthening bonds of connection that cut across time and space, the sacred and the profane, personal and collective, particular and universal, Jew and other. And this multilayered approach is not solely a one-way engagement with Israel. Rather, Israel education should be built on a sense of reciprocity. We are enriched by Israel and enrich it in turn through our active relationships with am, Torah, medinah, and Eretz Yisrael.

Lisa D. Grant is Associate Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, NY. Her research and teaching interests include adult Jewish learning, the professional development of Jewish educators, and the role Israel plays in American Jewish life.