Baltimore Jewish community members received a firsthand account of the community rabbinical experience in Israel as Rabbi Shmuel Avraham joined B’nai Israel: The Downtown Synagogue on May 16 and 17.
Avraham came to B’nai Israel as the first part of a rabbinical exchange program between members of the Rabbinical Council of America and their Israeli counterpart, Barkai, a rabbinical development center. Avraham is a rabbi of a Sephardic community synagogue in Petach Tikvah and serves as rabbi for a girl’s high school in Netanya.
B’nai Israel is one of just six U.S. synagogues currently participating in the program. The focus of the program is to strengthen ties between American and Israeli communities and to enable rabbinic leaders to learn from each other’s community building, Torah learning and leadership styles.
Rabbi Etan Mintz, B’nai Israel’s rabbi, will travel to Israel in the fall to learn with Avraham’s community for the second part of the program.
“Rabbi Avraham uplifted the community with words of Torah at the shul’s Friday night dinner, delivered the Shabbat morning drasha, and shared his experiences as a community Rav in Israel during a time of war during the kiddush luncheon,” Mintz said. “Rav Avraham taught that we can each choose to step into being makers of history, rather than watchers of history. His exceptional Torah and stories inspired all those who heard him. The program was very worthwhile, creating meaningful connection between Jewish communities in America and Israel.”
This experience was a new one for Avraham, who said that he hadn’t really been able to interact much with Jewish communities outside of Israel, as he was born in the country and doesn’t really have any family outside of it.
Avraham said he realized he didn’t have much firsthand experience interacting with international Jewish communities and people, an issue he began trying to rectify during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020.
“I don’t know them. I don’t know what they think. I don’t know where their mental status is. I don’t know their problems and their wishes and what they do,” Avraham said. “When COVID started, we tried to organize things like this [exchange program]. I had been in many Zoom meetings with rabbis from England and France.”
But Avraham said that he had been advising Rabbi David Fine, a founder of Barkai, to take rabbis and fly them to communities in America and Europe so that they could build the strong connections that only come from spending time together in person.
That desire was fulfilled when Avraham and his wife, Rabbanit Lilach Avraham, arrived in Baltimore on May 16 and were able to attend events like a Lag B’Omer bonfire, a Shabbat dinner inside the shul and visit several spots around Baltimore.
Mintz said that the program was also highly informative for the B’nai Israel congregants who got to meet Avraham and hear about his experiences.
“For many American Jews, the Israelis they meet are often people who grew up in the US, made aliyah, and have connections in the States,” Mintz said. “This was a unique opportunity to engage with an Israeli rabbinic couple that we might not otherwise meet; this was Rav Avraham’s first time outside the land of Israel [with the exception of when he served in Lebanon]. Not everyone in our community has the chance to visit Israel on a regular basis. Bringing the spirit and Torah of Eretz Yisrael here was incredibly meaningful.”
Avraham gave a presentation on his experience as a community rabbi in Israel and the differences between synagogue communities in the U.S. and Israel during a Shabbat dinner at the Jewish Museum of Maryland on May 16.
The next morning, Avraham and Mintz led a Torah study before Avraham did a Lunch & Learn presentation.
Later that afternoon, attendees listened to a panel discussion with Lilach Avraham and Rebbetzin Tammy Mintz, both clinical psychologists, about the trauma of Oct. 7 and resilience in the face of the war.
The programs were informative, as Mintz explained that community life in Israel is different than the U.S., as the synagogue is the main connective hub for American Jews, while in Israel, it’s much easier to be connected.
Avraham said that he enjoyed attending the Shabbat dinner, held once a month in B’nai Israel, and that with all the events they had he was able to meet with many people.
“Since October 7, there has been a profound longing to connect—to bridge the emotional, physical and spiritual distance between Jews in Israel and the diaspora,” Mintz said. “It’s a way to connect family members who are living across the ocean from one another.”
And as this program concluded, Mintz said that he’s already looking forward to visiting Avraham’s community and seeing what his life is like.
“I’m eager to visit Rabbi Avraham’s community and experience his leadership firsthand,” Mintz said. “I’ve already learned a great deal from the way he leads by example, and I look forward to seeing him in his role as a community rabbi in Israel.”
