Drash Lech L’cha

Rabbi Allison RH Conyer

Temple Beth Israel, Melbourne

Lech L’cha – Going Forth and Bearing Witness

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־אַבְרָם לֶךְ־לְךָ… אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ
“Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you… I will bless you, and you shall be a blessing.”
— Genesis 12:1–2

Sitting in Tel Aviv right now, I can say without hesitation that I feel incredibly blessed. This week’s parasha, Lech L’cha, recounts God’s first command to Avram (before he became Avraham): “Go to the land that I will show you.” From these verses, the idea of the Promised Land is born. The promise, the brit,  is a covenant linking land and people so that we might be both blessed and a blessing to the world. Our connection to Israel, our Zionism is woven into the very fabric of our Jewish soul from our beginnings.

I, along with our co-President Jacky Magid, arrived in Israel for the World Union of Progressive Judaism’s Connections conference, which began shortly after Simchat Torah, shortly after the remaining living hostages were returned. I have felt so blessed to share this joy and relief with both Israelis and Jews from all over the world – each speaking different languages, yet sharing the same heart. Each of us brought together, depleted from the past two years of trauma in Israel and our own lands of residence; each revitalised here in Israel, reaffirming our place and connection to our land and global Jewish family.

Praying with the Women of the Wall, confronting internal discrimination and harassment, we found strength in our solidarity and fight for the rights of gender equality in the most sacred of religious spaces, as we celebrated a bat mitzvah at the Kotel – a powerful reminder of why our Progressive Movement’s presence here in Israel matters. After I led the women in dancing, Lesley Sachs, the new President of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, told me that this was the first time that they danced in two years! And so, we have danced again.

Throughout Shabbat, Israeli Reform rabbis and cantors led us in worship filled with new melodies that gave ancient words new life. We heard the creator of Israel Stories share the background of Naomi Shemer’s Yerushalayim Shel Zahav and were stunned when Shuli Natan herself, the original singer at age 19 in 1967, appeared to perform the song.

The conference concluded with Havdalah before joining the demonstration calling for the return of the 13 remaining hostages’ bodies. No one left behind. I was deeply moved by the unity of a people who continue to gather — for bodies, for memory, for love. What other nation does this? Our covenantal bond between people and land is not theoretical; it lives in us.

Now, joined by several TBI members and representatives from across Australia, we begin our UPJ Mission. We are engaging with Israel’s diverse and complex realities — not all of them easy. To love Israel is to see her fully, not idealised but real – beautiful, imperfect, blemished, and sacred.

Our land and our people are hurting and divided. Since I have arrived, I have heard so many different narratives within and beyond our Jewish community – religiously, politically, economically, and culturally. I have heard anger and hope, fear and faith, despair and determination. Yet through it all, we remain bound to one another  – to our nation and our land – by covenant and responsibility to help heal what is broken – for this is holy work.

To stand in Israel, with our people, at this time, is an incredible blessing. I encourage everyone who is able to visit, bear witness, and offer support. And in doing so, may each of us be blessed.

Ken y’hi ratzon — may this be God’s will.