Sermon delivered in Hebrew and English by Rabbi Eric S. Gurvis at Congregation Or Hadash in Haifa
Shabbat Vayechi

Shabbat Shalom and Erev tov! I am so happy to return to Haifa and especially to Congregation Or Hadash. I already feel like I am at home. When I visited back in July, I was so thrilled to meet so many of the members of this wonderful congregation and community. Today, I am even more thrilled to return with my family, and with the group from my congregation -- they too, are my family -- Temple Shalom of Newton.

I want to thank my dear friend, Rabbi Edgar -- and all the members of this community for the wonderful reception I received in July, and for the reception you have given our group tonight. I am already looking forward to the visit of your young people in our community in May. We’re already busy getting ready!

Once again, thank you for the wonderful way in which you have greeted us and made us feel welcome this evening. We are all thrilled to be here.

This Shabbat we read the final Torah portion in the book of Genesis -- Parashat Vayechi, which sets the stage for the beginning of Exodus and our people’s journey from slavery to freedom, from Egypt to this land of Israel. The cycle of stories we conclude this Shabbat really began weeks ago as we first met Jacob. If we think about Jacob’s life as it unfolds in it is essentially the story of a journey, or a series of journeys. Following his birth and younger years we read of Jacob fleeing his home to escape the wrath of his brother Esau. Twenty years later Jacob is on the run again as he sets out from Laban’s house -- with his two wives, and their children in tow. He journeys from Shechem to Beyt El. Finally, last week we read of Jacob’s journey to Egypt where he is reunited with his beloved son Joseph, setting the stage for this week’s bedside farewell and blessing of his children as he prepares to die.

Just a few verses into Parashat Vayechi we read: "And Jacob said to Joseph, "El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and He blessed me" For me, and I believe, for the 46 members of my congregation who are here with me, Jacob’s speaking of his sense of God blessing him resonates strongly this Shabbat. Truly we feel blessed to be here -- in Haifa, at Or Hadash, and in Eretz Yisrael.

And as Jacob speaks with his son Joseph, he continues: "and God said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and numerous, making of you a community of peoples; and I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession.’"

In our Temple Shalom group there are many for whom our arrival in Israel yesterday was their first. For others, this is the first visit in a very long time. Our journey, our pilgrimage, if you will, is in and of itself a blessing. But to be sure, it is more. I learned that during own first journey to Israel, in July of 1976 -- when I arrived for a year of work and study at Kibbutz Ma’ale HaChamisha sponsored by our Reform movement. Ever since then I have strongly believed that for those of us who live outside of the Land of Israel, visiting in Israel, and building a relationship with Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel), Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) and most especially with Am Yisrael (the People of Israel) is among the most important things we can do as Jews. For me , for us, the time we will spend in Israel connects us tangibly with the words Jacob recounts to his son, "God said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and numerous, making of you a community of peoples; and I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession.’" We have come to witness the fulfillment of these words.

"I will make you fertile and numerous," -- We have come to witness the ways in which our people have made Eretz Yisrael flourish and blossom. In our travels, as we set forth from Haifa early on Sunday morning, we will see as much of the land as we can in the days we have -- from way up in the North at Rosh Hanikra to Dan, and the Golan, to Ein Bokek and Masada )if we only had the time to reach Yahel, Lotan and Eilat(. We shall see not only how the land has flourished -- but also how you -- our brothers and sisters have flourished and become numerous.

"I will make of you a community of peoples." In our travels we will witness how Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) has become a haven, a homeland and a blessing to our people who have come here from every corner of the world. In the Talmud, in Tractate Horayot (6a-b) there is a discussion amongst the Rabbis of the meaning of kahal amim -- a community of peoples. They want to know what constitutes a community or a congregation? They want to know if even a single tribe can constitute "a community of peoples." One sage proposes: "A tribe which has a holding is called a kahal." If one digs deeper, one learns that even greater strength is found when the kahal amim is built from different varying tribes. As we join you here at Or Hadash, here in Haifa, here in Eretz Yisrael, I am reminded and renewed in my fervent belief that we are strengthened as a people when we can stand together in building the State of Israel and the people of Israel.

This leads me to the last part of God’s words as recounted by Jacob to Joseph "I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession." Our group has come to witness the miracle that is Israel. This is the land of our people’s earliest beginnings. As we conclude the book of Genesis this Shabbat, it is important for us to remember our people’s ties to this land. We have nurtured the land, but it too, has nurtured us. We who live outside of the Land of Israel have a responsibility and a stake in what happens here. Our group’s visit here enables new bonds, new commitments, a new sense of connection to God’s promise to our ancestors -- "I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession."

God said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and numerous, making of you a community of peoples; and I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession.’ We have come to witness and to become a part of the fulfillment of these words.

Once again, on behalf of my fellow Temple Shalom travelers and for myself, I thank you for all the kindness you have shown and are showing us. May this visit be just one more strand in the tapestry of the relationship we have been and will continue to build between our two congregations.

When we conclude the reading of a book of Torah, as we do this Shabbat, we recite words which we generally translate as "Strength, strength, may we strengthen one another." I think these words are appropriate for us -- as together we continue to work towards the fulfillment of God’s words to Jacob -- I hope you will join me in saying -- Chazak, chazak, v’nitchazeyk -- "Strength, strength, may we strengthen one another."

Shabbat Shalom!