Ceei Orman -

Jewelry

Jerusalem Reform Shul
Growing, Says Rabbi

KATHY OZERY

Special to The Jewish News

R

abbi Levi Weiman-
Kelman catapulted
into the new arena
during Simchat Torah in 1986
when prayer services were
disrupted at his Reform con-
gregation, Kil Haneshamah,
in Jerusalem. Orthodox rab-
bi Eliahu Abergil and his
followers interrupted the ser-
vice in an attempt to carry off
the Torah scrolls which were
carried by women in the
Reform congregation. Police
charges were filed against
Rabbi Abergil and later drop-
ped after a public reconcilia-
tion between the rabbis.
Rabbi Weiman-Kelman
came to Detroit recently to
speak to two diverse groups.
Under the auspices of the

"For me the most
important issue is
the separation of
halachah and the
state."

Wexner Heritage Foundation,
the rabbi taught a class of 19
hand-picked people. They are
participating in a program
which offers an eclectic
Jewish education to people in
community leadership
positions.
The second group is the
Hillel High School Chavurah
program for alumni of the
Hillel Day School.
The rabbi, who has firm
roots in the American Con-
servative movement, says he
was not originally a Zionist
and expected to be a tradi-
tional rabbi for an American
Conservative congregation.
However, a visit to the Soviet
Union on his way to study in
Israel for one year of his rab-
binic program had a major
impact on his life. He met
with refuseniks whose
Zionism was strong despite
limited opportunities to ex-
press their Judaism.
"It shook up my complacen-
cy," he said. "Then I had a
very intense year in Israel. I
found myself spending more
time on Kibbutz Gezer with
my Zionist friends than stu-
dying. After I was ordained at
the Jewish Theological
Seminary in 1979, my friends
encouraged me to come back."
He did, spending four years at
Kibbutz Gezer before going to
Jerusalem.
In Jerusalem, Rabbi
Weiman-Kelman turned to

the Israel Movement for Pro-
gressive Judaism (Reform)
after the Conservative move-
ment in Israel said it would
not be able to support his non-
halachic approach to prayer.
"I have always been very ver-
bal about my creative ap-
proach to Judaism," the rab-
bi said. "The Reform move-
ment from the beginning has
been welcoming, supportive
and encouraging."
He began developing his
ideas while teaching college
students at the Brandeis-
Bardin Institute in California
during summers, seeking a
way "to expose them to the
widest possible Jewish ex-
perience in a non-
denominational program."
In Israel, said Rabbi
Weiman-Kelman, although
the Israel Reform movement
is ideologically similar to the
American Reform movement,
in style and atmosphere they
are strikingly different. "It is
the people who have given the
most thought to their
Judaism who come to pray at
Kol Haneshama."
In Israel, the Orthodox
synagogues are more
available, more abundant and
closer to home, he continued.
When an israeli prays in an
Orthodox synagogue, he is
praying in an institution sup-
ported by his taxes. "We are
supported solely by donations
and get no government
money, so it takes a certain
commitment to join our con-
gregation."
In addition, the usual
reasons Americans join
synagogues, such as learning
Hebrew as requirement for
bar or bat mitzvah or having
a rabbi to officiate at wedding
ceremonies are not applicable
to Kol Haneshamah Conser-
vative or Reform rabbis in
Israel are not authorized to of-
ficiate at such ceremonies.

That Kol Haneshemah
answers a need in Jerusalem
can be seen by the dramatic
increase in the size of the con-
gregation. When it was
started two years ago, there
were 60 people at Rosh
Hashanah services and 120
people for Kol Nidre. The
following year showed a fur-
ther increase and this year
there were 200 people on
Rosh Hashanah and 350 for
services on Yom Kippur.
During the year the con-
gregation consists primarily
of native English speakers,
but on holidays there are
many Israelis and people
from the neighborhood look-
ing for a place to pray. "Our

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