This Saturday evening, we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot, commemorating the receipt of the Torah by the 12 tribes of Israel. Rashi, the famous 11th century Biblical commentator, noted that the tribes received the Torah “k’ish echad b’lev echad” — as one person with one heart.
Today, the 12 tribes of Israel are long dispersed. Instead, our community has multitudes of “tribes” and sub-tribes — and they often disagree and hardly ever come together.
But with some prompting, sometimes they do.
This past Shabbat, UJA partnered with Gesher, an Israeli organization committed to bridging diverse segments of society, in bringing together cross-denominational synagogues in both White Plains and Riverdale. Hundreds gathered at each location. In White Plains, it was the very first time these synagogues had ever held a joint program on Shabbat. As one synagogue organizer commented: “The turnout was beyond my wildest expectations,” and “clearly this is something our community…has been looking for.”
Earlier this week, I experienced an even more audacious undertaking here at UJA. It was a presentation of Co.Lab, short for “Collaborative Laboratory,” a first-of-its-kind initiative developed by UJA with partners in Israel. Our shared goal: to heal the rifts among diverse communities in Israel.
To bring Co.Lab to life, we identified and assembled 18 change-makers representing the diversity of Israeli society — including Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox), Arab, LGBTQ, modern Orthodox, and Ethiopian. They are CEOs of nonprofits, high-level educators, and politicians, each one a major influencer with the ability to impact their respective communities.
These 18 Co.Lab fellows have been meeting over the course of 180 days, learning about their communities and tackling the challenges they face on a daily basis. Stereotypes are being shattered, ideas are being exchanged, and leaders that would otherwise have zero interaction are discovering they might have something in common after all.
At Wednesday’s program, the fellows introduced the product of their Co.Lab experience — collaborative projects they hope to initiate that can bring about social cohesion in Israel. One team — which included the first female Ethiopian member of Knesset, a leader of the Masorti (Conservative) movement, and the CEO of an association for the intellectually disabled — conceived a joint Human Dignity Task Force to fight discrimination. Another team pitched a Jewish-Arab co-housing project.
Participants spoke emotionally about the personal risk they faced in reaching out across social divides. Riki, a Haredi fellow, was publicly attacked in the Haredi press for her work with those outside her community. Laila, an Arab Israeli, shared her apprehension at joining a Jewish-run initiative, but also her commitment to make things better for her people and all of Israel. Their courage and conviction was palpable, as was the intense loyalty that has been forged among these 18 unlikely colleagues.
All this takes place in a week that has brought terror to the heart of Tel Aviv, a city that, in so many ways, mirrors our own. New York deeply shares Israel’s grief for the lives lost and prays for the injured. And we are reminded yet again how we naturally coalesce in the aftermath of tragedy and in the face of external threats.
Our hope — with programs like those in White Plains and Riverdale, and Co.Lab — is that we can find common ground that truly lasts long after the sense of loss and crisis abates.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach