When I made Aliyah a number of decades ago, Israel as a place and as an idea became my Judaism.

Central to my Jewish life was its history, culture, language, and people.  I cherished the opportunity to live my Israeli life on the national Jewish calendar.

To be clear, this Judaism was not synagogue centric, nor was it a life based on law and mitzvot.

And, although I became more observant with my wife Judy when I returned to live in the States, Israel remained the primary focus of my Jewish communal life.

But I always knew that something fundamental was missing in Israel.  Jews in Israel, particularly those who were secular like me, could not find Jewish avenues except through the narrow confines of the State’s monopoly on Judaism. There was something terribly off-putting and disturbing about this. (Incidentally, my secular Israeli cousins’ most impactful experience with their neighborhood Rabbi took place when they sought his blessing before taking their driving test!)

For several years, I devoted my communal energies to forming, serving on and then co-chairing JFNA’s IREP committee. We raise and allocate significant funds annually from North American Jewish communities who share the vision of vibrant alternatives to state sponsored religious institutions. No day was better than a Zoom call with our Israeli staff (albeit, sometimes at 5 a.m. EST!) interviewing a new potential program. And, this led me naturally and seamlessly to the Honey Foundation. The goals remain the same… how can we foster and support a more open and compelling community based Judaism in the Jewish State?