Mevasseret Tziyon
About Mevasseret Tziyon - By Terry Pullan
Three years ago Temple Isaiah partnered with Kehilat Mevazzet Zion, a Reform congregation located in the Judean hills just outside of Jerusalem. In 2005, when I was president of our temple I visited Mevazzet Zion on my first trip to Israel. Shabbat services were held in a junior high school while they were raising the money to complete construction of a new synagogue. At that service I presented Rabbi Maya Leibovich and her congregants with a check from funds given by us at our high holy days service.
We are actually creating, supporting and sustaining progressive Judaism in Israel - work that is incredibly challenging and undeniably critical to the future of the Jewish state.
Until I visited Israel three years ago I was unaware that there is little to no middle ground for Israelis: You are either Orthodox or secular. The Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist movements are tiny, a handful of synagogues in a country of 6 million Jews. Moreover, the Orthodox movement is funded by the government. The reform movement gets no such help. The reform movement, which happens to be the fastest growing movement in Israel, is on its own and relies on us and our fellow reform Jews to support progressive Judaism.
Over the past 3 years through the generosity of members of Temple Isaiah we have been donated over $100,000 to help build this new reform congregation.
Last year during our Temple Isaiah family mission to Israel 40 of us spent a Shabbat evening at Mevazzet Zion but this time it was inside their nearly completed and beautiful synagogue that we helped build. If you visit Mevazzet, which we hope you will, you will see the name Temple Isaiah inscribed on one of its windows overlooking Jerusalem.