This week includes both Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s memorial day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. It is a good time to appreciate the Israelis in our lives – members of our families, our congregational community, and our other circles of friends and community, as well as the role that Israel has played in many of our lives. Personally, the three years I spent living in Israel were formative times for me in many ways, including the chance to learn Jewish text and tradition, connect with the places and the land that are central to Jewish origins and to Judaism, to live in a culture where the Jewish calendar and rhythms of communal life were shared and celebrated by so many, and to begin lifelong friendships with Israelis and also with a Palestinian family. It is remarkable how central to many of our lives a place so far away can be.
This connection, which brings so much joy and richness to many of our lives, can also make the distress of that place especially painful for us (no matter what our political perspectives). And on top of feeling the pain, we – the Jewish people as a whole – are often held responsible for it. This is similar for Palestinians, and similarly irrational. It can be helpful to connect with Israelis and Palestinians who are doing the courageous work of bridging divides and envisioning a shared future of equality, peace, mutual recognition and cooperation. So this time of both celebration and pain is an especially fitting time for our community to host the leaders of Roots/Shorashim/Judur who will share their personal stories of transformation and their work bringing Israeli Jews and Palestinians together on the West Bank, where this is particularly rare and challenging.
Our event is co-sponsored and hosted at Easter Hill Methodist this Sunday from 5-7pm and also sponsored by The Good Table UCC, so we will have the chance to renew and make new connections. Please come and bring your friends!
Shabbat shalom to everyone in the meantime,
Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller
Achrei Mot-Kedoshim (Leviticus -16:1-20:27) Torah Reading April. 25, 2026
April 28, 2026 by Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller • D'var Torah
This week includes both Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s memorial day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. It is a good time to appreciate the Israelis in our lives – members of our families, our congregational community, and our other circles of friends and community, as well as the role that Israel has played in many of our lives. Personally, the three years I spent living in Israel were formative times for me in many ways, including the chance to learn Jewish text and tradition, connect with the places and the land that are central to Jewish origins and to Judaism, to live in a culture where the Jewish calendar and rhythms of communal life were shared and celebrated by so many, and to begin lifelong friendships with Israelis and also with a Palestinian family. It is remarkable how central to many of our lives a place so far away can be.
This connection, which brings so much joy and richness to many of our lives, can also make the distress of that place especially painful for us (no matter what our political perspectives). And on top of feeling the pain, we – the Jewish people as a whole – are often held responsible for it. This is similar for Palestinians, and similarly irrational. It can be helpful to connect with Israelis and Palestinians who are doing the courageous work of bridging divides and envisioning a shared future of equality, peace, mutual recognition and cooperation. So this time of both celebration and pain is an especially fitting time for our community to host the leaders of Roots/Shorashim/Judur who will share their personal stories of transformation and their work bringing Israeli Jews and Palestinians together on the West Bank, where this is particularly rare and challenging.
Our event is co-sponsored and hosted at Easter Hill Methodist this Sunday from 5-7pm and also sponsored by The Good Table UCC, so we will have the chance to renew and make new connections. Please come and bring your friends!
Shabbat shalom to everyone in the meantime,
Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller