Thought of the Week: 1 December 2016 (Rabbi Maurice Michaels)

Written by Writings & Sermons by others — 30 November 2016

I’ve just returned from Israel and as always when I’m there, I find some strange things happening!  Some funny, some curious, some bizarre, some dangerous!

I took my younger grand-daughter to see a movie.  It had been made in America, but dubbed in Hebrew and had subtitles – in Hebrew!  In Tel Aviv, as we walked out of a store, we were nearly knocked down by a guy on skates waving a mashiach banner!

The Israeli Rabbinate, which spends much of its time decrying the judgements of the secular Supreme Court has asked it for help!  Apparently, in its attempts to help those affected by the ancients rules of the agunah, the chained woman resulting from a recalcitrant husband refusing to give his wife a get, the traditional divorce certificate, the Rabbinical courts have been applying harsh decrees against the husbands, but they have no way of enforcing them.  So they have asked that the secular courts enforce them on their behalf!  However, we mustn’t get carried away by what appears to be an apparent leniency by the Rabbinate.  At the same time, a get issued by a lower rabbinical court some 18 months ago is being contested by the Rabbinical High Court on behalf of a third party – neither the husband nor the wife!  This could mean that any get isn’t worth the paper it’s written on!

The Knesset, the Israeli Parliament has just passed a bill to establish an annual Aliyah Day, to honour all those who have become part of the State of Israel to begin in 2017.  The celebrations, according to the parliamentary committee that developed the bill, should particularly involve schoolchildren.  Yet the date set for the special Day is after the schools have broken up for the summer holidays!

While there I was asking people I met what Israelis think about the American elections and in particular the impact of a President Trump.  What is interesting to me is that the response is fairly muted, but generally favourable.  It seems that President Obama and John Kerry are so disliked that anyone following them has got it relatively easy.  The fact of a Jewish daughter and son-in-law, who are obviously very much part of his close entourage and advisors, has given Mr Trump an advantage and Israelis are very much in the wait and see mode, but if anything rather confident.  Certainly Prime Minister Netanyahu cannot possibly have a more difficult relationship with the new President than with the last!

Of much greater concern however, werere the fires that had been raging in many towns around the country.  Haifa has been the scene of the worst outbreaks with hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed.  Fortunately, there have been no major casualties, just people having inhaled fumes, but some have had to be hospitalised.  In the Modi’in region where I was staying there have been fires that necessitated the closure of the main road in the area one morning and the train tracks were closed for several hours that day.  There is speculation that the windy conditions have been used as a weapon by arsonists, deliberately starting fires and least one Government Minister has blamed Palestinians, but the Police have been fairly quiet about this, although reports claim that at least 20 people have been questioned in Jerusalem, where the first fires started, and elsewhere.  The economic hardships that this has caused many ordinary Israelis is huge and there are people volunteering to help others with their repairs and refurbishments, which is a good cause for supporting them with money for materials.  Nefesh b’nefesh UK is assisting that effort, while other charities have campaigns also to provide financial support, one of which is linked to this email.  On a positive note there has been help and assistance from many countries, including Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, and even the PA has sent fire fighters and engines to Haifa!