Message from Rabbi Vernon Kurtz
President of MERCAZ Olami

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to greet you on the eve of the New Year 5768 as I offer my best wishes for a healthy, happy and peaceful year for the entire people of Israel throughout the world.

On the Eve of Rosh Hashanah it is important to take stock and look back. This past year has been an eventful year for MERCAZ OLAMI as we moved from the World Zionist Congress to our daily work on behalf of Conservative / Masorti Judaism throughout the world. Working together with our coalition partners Kadima, Gil and HaNoar HaZioni we have made progress on our agenda of promoting Jewish Zionist education, Aliyah, and pluralistic Jewish services in Israel and throughout the Diaspora. In partnership with Masorti Olami and its president Alan Silberman we have created opportunities throughout the world to promote a tolerant Judaism based on the values of our tradition and the needs of the modern world. At the very same time, we have worked to create a Zionist vision with our chapters all over the globe. There have been a number of accomplishments and at the same time a number of frustrations but we should be pleased with our work throughout the course of this past year.

Rosh Hashanah also bids us to look towards the next year with hope and renewed energy to accomplish our agenda and to impact our values in Israel and in the Diaspora. Together with our chapters, our Israeli counterparts, and our professionals we intend to work in Israel in the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel and KKL stressing our goals to make a difference in the Jewish State. At the very same time, we must enlist the support of all of those in the Diaspora who envision Conservative / Masorti communities in their cities and towns to realize their vision. We have a great deal yet to do in the year ahead. With your help and partnership, with increased membership in MERCAZ Chapters, with devotion to the values of our Movement and the vision of a Jewish Zionist agenda in the State of Israel we will move from strength to strength in the coming year.

On behalf MERCAZ OLAMI I wish you and yours the very best of years and may there be peace in the State of Israel and throughout the world.

RABBI VERNON KURTZ

The View from Jerusalem

The traditional Hebrew adage "lo l'arbev simcha b'simcha" enjoins us from muddling the joy of one event with that of another. But this year, the people of Israel appear ready to make an exception. Still in the midst of festivities marking 40 years of the reunification of Jerusalem, we have already begun gearing up to celebrate 60 years of Israel's independence. The anniversaries of these two momentous events in our history give tangible expression to the reward our generation has been privileged to collect as recompense for our ancestors' steadfast loyalty to the Land of Israel throughout centuries of galut.

Now, at the beginning of a New Year in which these two occasions overlap, it is appropriate for every member of MERCAZ Olami to take stock of what little bit more he or she might be doing to live a life a trifle truer to the sentiment expressed by our psalmist, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem . . .".

Following is a list of 10 concrete actions to choose from to make certain that even in lives lived by the rivers of Babylon, however soothing they may be, no joy shall take precedent over our yearning for the eternal capital of the Jewish people, now returned unto its ancient land.

1. Begin planning your next trip to Israel. If you've already got one scheduled, suggest to a friend or relative to plan one as well. Or get involved in organizing a trip for your synagogue or children's school.
2. Make one of Israel's on-line newspapers your internet homepage. (Some options: www.ynetnews.com, www.jpost.com, www.haaretz.com, www.ynet.co.il www.haaretz.co.il.)
3. Read Israel: An Echo of Eternity, Abraham Joshua's ode on the meaning of a Jewish state on an ancient land in modern times. Almost 40 years old, but still inspiring.
4. At the end of the Yom Kippur liturgy, after a full day of fasting and against the background of the blast of the shofar, ask yourself what you really mean when uttering the words, "Next year in Jerusalem."
5. Connect to contemporary Israeli culture. Go out and get an Israeli DVD, CD, or novel.
6. Pick up a siddur and spend some quality time with the prayers for the State of Israel and the Welfare of Israel's Soldiers, considering the emotions they evoke.
7. At the next wedding you attend, after the wine goblet is broken in commemoration of the destruction of the Temple, take a pause and a deep breath before joining in with the clapping and dancing.
8. Increase your contribution to one of the institutions promoting Masorti Judaism in Israel, and inquire as to how else you might become involved in promoting its agenda. Contact your local chapter of MERCAZ (for details: http://www.masortiworld.org/about/contacts.htm.)
9. Find an excuse to plant a tree in Israel - preferably in person, alternatively via the internet (www.jnf.org or www.kkl.org.il).
10. Improve your Hebrew. Commit yourself to improving your vocabulary one word at a time. Register for an ulpan. Choose a prayer you will learn to read and understand in the original.