Lee Diamond – Apikorsim and Amharatzim
“We came to this land hoping to create
a new apopicirsik (athiest) Jew
Instead we created a generation
of Amherattzim (Ignorant) Jews.”
I often love Golda’s quips about Israel
But I’m not so sure about this one.
Has there ever been a generation of Jews as Jewishly aware as in Israel today?
When, since the beginning of the diaspora, have Jews spoken
the language Bible and of the prophets and of the Mishnah?
When since the diaspora have Jews known
and lived their own calendar as they do In Israel of today ?
When was the last time in our history
that secular Jews had to pass examinations
In Hebrew and Hebrew grammar and Jewish history and Hebrew literature
as they are required to do in contemporary Israel?
Our heroes are Jewish heroes
Our holidays celebrate Jewish events and values
Our music is steeped in Jewish values
Our traditional foods connect our past to our “kishkas.”
Our kids go to the IDF and devote themselves to the Jewish State
And give us ‘nachas’ to the core of our Jewish souls
Our museums are connected to our past
Our art and our graffiti relate to Jewish/Israeli life
Our animals all have biblical names.
Our street names are steeped in Judaism.
Everybody attends a Seder
Doesn’t drive on Yom Kippur
As a wise man once said
“Washes his/her car on Shabbat, because it’s Shabbat.
99% of our kids marry Jews
Most of us hate our official rabbinate
And almost all boys have a Brit!
Which remains. Forever !
I’ve discovered that my secular 10 year old grandchild
Knows gematria
Another 6 year old grandchild asked me about the Shoah:
Did all the Jews die? Saba
And when I answered, NO,
she smiled and said GOOD.
Our Kindergartens are very Jewish
We all speak different languages
Just walk down the street and you’ll hear every
Imaginable language spoken
Yet we meet in
Hebrew always .
I’m told that there are more yeshiva students in Israel
Than ever before in Jewish history
Synagogues flourish here
New synagogues are forming
And a New Judaism is emerging before our very eyes
Our kids have bnai mitzvah.
We all have Chanukah
And most celebrate Purim in school
And attend a Bon fire on
lag Ba Omer
And mezuzahs abound and they are regularly kissed
Cheese cakes galore on Shavuot
And blintzes too
Sufganiot are not like donuts
But Latkes are liivivot
And not potato pancakes
We say shalom as hello
We say shalom as goodbye
We say Chag Sameach
We say ShanaTova
We say Shabbat Shalom
We say Shavuah Tov
We say gmar hatima Tova
We say amen
We worry about the diaspora
As we should
So Golda
We are a lot more than you thought we were
We are the most amazing of all Jewish communities
EVER
Lee Diamond, rabbi
