Cantor Moses Reflects on Her Israel Trip

As many of you may know, I have the honor to serve as a Vice President of the American Conference of Cantors, the professional organization that supports Reform Cantors around the globe. As part of my role with the ACC I am tasked with helping to organize our yearly conferences. I love this part of my job and while the planning can be stressful it is beyond fulfilling to watch as Cantors from all corners of the world come together to sing, pray, learn, and make connections.

This year, however, was a little different as our conference took place in Israel. We first started planning this trip in 2018 as the conference was supposed to take place in 2021. That was necessarily rescheduled to 2024 thanks to Covid. So another several years worth of work was put into the planning and then Oct 7 happened. One of the most beautiful parts of the planning experience was the unwavering commitment of our leadership and our membership to continue the mission. I am also beyond grateful to you, my TSTI family, for also never wavering in your support and commitment of both this mission and my work with the ACC.

I haven’t said much about my experiences there yet. In many ways, I haven’t fully processed my time there. I was there for ten days and it felt like both ten months and ten minutes! It was a packed schedule. We were out of our hotels most mornings before 8 and we poured ourselves into our beds sometime around midnight. So what did we do? Here’s a small taste:

We had the opportunity to collaborate and pray with reform congregations from Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem. We read Torah and welcomed Rosh Chodesh Tamuz with Women of the Wall albeit with some vocal dissent heard from both the men’s side of the plaza and from the orthodox women and girls. We helped lead Shabbat services with Beit Tefila Israeli while the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea!

Left Photo: Signage makes the trip official!
Right Photo: Cantor Moses and a few of her classmates 20 years after they met to study in Israel for the first time. Pictured L to R: Cantors Rebecca Moses, Zoe Jacobs, Jason Kaufman, Katie Oringel, and Lisa Arbisser.

We learned from and made music with the incredible faculty and students at the Rimon School of Music (one of the leading conservatories in the country), Polyphony, an orchestra and music program based in Nazareth built to bridge the divide between Jewish and Arab communities through classical music.

We learned about the incredible work of places such as Molet helping to build for those who are not able to be in their homes at this time due to the war, and Havat Marpe, the Healing Space. The Healing Space is a wonder. It is a holistic space for healing offering yoga, art, sound, and clinical therapy for those affected by the war. They have seen 30,000 people since they opened their doors on October 8th.

Left Photo: At the Anu Museum where the winners of the My Family Story are displayed including our latest winner Henry Frankel!
Right Photo: The Sassoon Codex, the oldest written version of the Tanach. It went on display at the museum on Oct. 5th.

We met with so many who shared their personal stories. We heard from children who had lost their parents, parents who had lost children, Lee Siegel whose brother Keith is still a hostage, residents of kibbutzim who survived that day, a woman who was abroad that day but who, with the help of WhatsApp and her computer, helped guide soldiers to save those who needed help. We listened, we cried, we took it all in. We attended both the weekly havdalah in Hostage Square and the protests after to demand the return of the hostages.

We spoke with leaders of both the country and our movement. We met with MK Gilad Kariv and the entire leadership team of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the URJ at the Knesset. There we heard what both MK Kariv and our movement partners are doing to support our communities in Israel and to help bring a swift, peaceful solution to the current crisis. We also heard from Mohammed Darwashe, a leader in the Palestinian peace movement and Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy who is leading the collection of testimonies regarding crimes against women and families. Both of their work is of vital importance and the past ten months have been both the busiest and most painful of their careers.

We studied for a day at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion where we learned with beloved professors and had the chance to honor Cantor Eli Schlieffer on the release of his book of music. Eli has taught generations of Cantors. I would not be here today without his gentle push and his passion for Jewish music.

Art has become an important way for Israelis to process their feelings around the current crisis.

We also spent a day in the Gaza envelope. We visited Sderot where you can still see bullet holes on every wall and where the playgrounds have to double as bomb shelters. The heavy cement bunkers are painted to look like friendly playhouses or, in one case, a giant caterpillar, but there is no mistaking their serious nature. We visited the site of the Nova Music Festival. While there we officiated a small memorial service. Towards the end a group of IDF soldiers joined us. They, like we, were overwhelmed with emotions and were crying. When we finished they asked if they could speak to us. They wanted to thank us for coming to Israel. They had always thought we lived in a magical world but they had learned this year that we too, as Jews in America, were in danger. They were beyond grateful that we were going to go home and tell people what we saw. From there we went to K’far Aza. One of the hard hit kibbutzim just a mile from the Gaza border. This was possibly one of the hardest parts of the visit. We were ushered around by one of the first residents to return after Oct. 7. The Kibbutz is exactly as it was on that day. Exactly. The broken glass, bullets, shoes, clothing, bicycles, everything is exactly as it was. The destruction was complete. Hearing his story of survival and then his homecoming was heart wrenching. We ended that day by going to the Urim Base, a communications hub for the army that was decimated, where we served dinner to the soldiers who were either coming back from Gaza or about to go to Gaza. They were delightful and it was healing to be able to give back after such a deeply painful day.

So, what did I bring back from Israel? I brought back a lot. I brought back a head full of music and learning. I brought back a heart filled with love for the 60 Cantors and synagogue musicians that accompanied me and a heart filled with the stories and testimonies of those I spoke with: both those on the itinerary and those I spoke with in restaurants and shops. I brought back the knowledge that Israel is complicated and beautiful all at the same time. I also brought back the knowledge that our support of the people of Israel is felt there and that they support us. I brought back hope that even as dire as the situation is now, the spirit of the people who live there is alive and thriving. The people we spoke with are determined to keep moving forward, to keep growing, to keep building, to keep working for peace. May we all be filled with such perseverance and hope on the path ahead.