דע לפני מי אתה עומד

For the first time ever, the Israeli government is funding the building of a Reform synagogue. It may be a difficult thing for Americans firmly convinced of the sanctity of separation between Church and State to grasp, but this is actually a step towards religious equality.

The Religious Affairs Ministry controls funding for the building of synagogues. In the past, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, an orthodox institution, has not acknowledged the validity of liberal Judaism. Jews in Israel who were not comfortable with orthodoxy generally had nowhere else to go, and drifted away from religion entirely. Though it’s common knowledge that secular Israelis often know Tanach better than dedicated Diasporic Jews.

The current schism between religious and nonreligious Jews has deep roots. Modern Israel was built by secular Zionists who established socialist communities called kibbutzim. At the time of the creation of the State, many religious Jews worldwide protested its creation because they wanted to wait for mashiach (messiah) and thought a secular government had no place in eretz hakadosh. Patriotic secular Israelis hated religious Israelis who refused to do army service and protested that they did their share for Israel by sitting and learning all day. During the hitnatkut, the schism widened as some secular Israelis saw nothing wrong with giving away land (besides the obvious military imbecility of it) and religious Israelis saw their homes destroyed by a secular government. Just recently over Passover, an intense debate raged about whether or not to legally allow the public sale of leavened food during the holiday.

Nowadays there is a mass exodus of secular Israelis from Israel. America is the dreamland that they flee to. In any city in the States one can find a cynical community of expat Israelis living the good life. In Israel, the religious Zionists are putting their all into the country. They compete to get into the most elite units in the army. Religious Zionism holds the future of Israel.

The divide between religious and secular Israelis is more pronounced to a visitor from the United States. Last year, I noticed how towns and neighborhoods were divided by religious observance, effectively segregating the religious and nonreligious. Some Israelis are making efforts to merge the two worlds- programs like Gesher and Tzohar, and individual dati leumi couples who live in secular neighborhoods, attempt to bridge the gap. But it’s difficult when the mindset of one group is to try to become as American as possible, and the other believes “higiya zmah hageeulah” –the time of the redemption is arriving.

The government’s decision to fund a Reform synagogue shows a new willingness to embrace alternative paths of Judaism. Although certain things must remain under the control of the orthodox rabbinate if they are to have any credibility for the orthodox population (eg: marriage), spiritual outlet for secular Jews is an absolute must if Israel is to have any future of reconciliation between chilonim and datiim. We may be as different as apples and oranges, but in the end we’re all juice.