This week, different members of our clergy will share thoughts about Israel. Today Cantor Emma writes about her complicated relationship with the country.

It is hard for me to put words to the way I feel about Israel. Some of the greatest moments of my entire life were spent there, and I feel hopeful that there are good times ahead. Indeed, I am a sixth-generation Californian, an American Jew, but still, my heart is always in the East. I love the language, the climate, the history, the sounds, the smells, the connections. In my youth, I loved Israel like a teenager should: with a mythical, almost romantic love, a yearning for more information, a great excitement. And now, as a mother, I love Israel just so: I know that Israel is complicated, but I will always be here to support her, to try to understand her, and to love her, even if from a distance.It is hard to capture all of the things I feel about Israel. But this week, I will celebrate Israel: its people, its history, and God willing, its hopeful future. I’ll leave the words today to poet Rachel Garber, who is able to, just for a moment, capture in words the uniqueness of this sacred place.Come celebrate all that Israel is and can be with us tonight in the sanctuary at our Yom HaAtzmaut Shabbat. Be sure to stay afterwards for Israeli dancing and food!I hope that you will also consider joining me, Adam, Rabbi Yoshi, and Jacqueline in Israel for Hanukkah in December 2024 … more info to come! If you are interested in learning about the Israel trip, feel free to send me an email at [email protected].Shabbat Shalom,

—Cantor Emma Lutz

My Heart’s Delight by Rachel Garber

I fell in love with you so long ago
Although I never met you
Yet your allure calls to me
Beckons to me in my sleeping
and in my waking hours
Netanya, Jaffa, Zefat, and Haifa
Your names cast a spell over me
Haunting my dreams
with their promise of a history long past
David, Samuel, Rachel and Abraham
have been warmed by your sun
Jacob, Sarah, Ruth and Isaac
have been nourished by
the fruit of your orchards
You lily of the valley
You rose of Sharon
By the Seas of Kinneret
have so many come before me
I can feel your green, green grass
beneath my feet
the tamarisk tree gives me shade
and the sun warms my brow
there is no other like you
Oh, Jerusalem
calling me home
In the shuk of Jericho
I smell your spices
cardamon, sesame, cumin and coriander
My teeth wrap around
the fair pomegranate
I am caught up in the embrace
of your sheltering embrace
Oh Israel my love
Israel my home