Poster girl for the cause

VICKY TOBIANAH

When Rabbi Miri Gold visits Vancouver on March 12, she’ll be speaking to high school students, community leaders and the public about how she petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel to become the first non-Orthodox rabbi with a salary paid by the Israeli government – and won. Unfortunately, even though it took seven years for that milestone decision to pass this past May, she’s still facing several hurdles. “We have a long way to go,” said Gold, who is the rabbi of Kehilat Birkat Shalom at Kibbutz Gezer in Israel.

“Some people think the case is all taken care of and finished, but I still don’t have a paycheque because of all the bureaucracy and it seems like it’s bureaucracy designed to prevent me from ever getting one,” she told the Independent.

Originally from Detroit, Gold made aliyah in 1977 because she believed it would be easier there to raise a family with a strong Jewish identity. She had no idea of the challenges she would later face. “I used to joke that I moved to Israel because I thought it would be easier,” she said. Together with her gar’in – the term denoting a group of people who make aliyah together – they tried to find a kibbutz that met their needs, but most of them were culturally Jewish, not practising any religious customs. That’s when they found Kibbutz Gezer, a place that was both culturally and religiously, although liberally, Jewish.

“Right away, what had been a one-room classroom on the kibbutz became a synagogue,” she said of the early days. She began teaching young boys and girls for their bar and bat mitzvahs. “I just pieced things together until, at one point, I decided to go to rabbinical school at the age of 44 with three little kids, and it was to be able to serve my community.”

It’s been more than 35 years since they found the kibbutz and they still use that one-room classroom as their synagogue today, due to a lack of funds. So, when the Israel Religious Action Centre, the public and legal advocacy organization for the Reform movement in Israel, called her up in 2005 and asked her if she would be the poster girl for their case challenging the Supreme Court of Israel to begin paying salaries for non-Orthodox Rabbis, Gold said yes.

“Israel can’t be a Jewish state if it’s not a democratic state in my eyes,” she said. The fact that they fund Orthodox rabbis and synagogues but not Reform or Conservative ones is not democratic, she added.

“That’s taxation without representation and that’s not acceptable,” she said. Their case was strong but the Israeli government delayed hearing it, saying they needed more time to prepare, she said. This went on for years until, finally, the case was brought forward.

In May 2012, Gold won her case, ensuring that the Israeli government would pay salaries for 15 non-Orthodox rabbis in Israel’s rural communities. Unlike her Orthodox counterparts, however, her salary would not come from Israel’s Religious Services Ministry but from the Ministry of Culture and Sport. It also doesn’t grant any non-Orthodox rabbis authority over Jewish life events, like marriage and divorce, where Orthodox rabbis have the final say. And, just when she thought the hurdles were over, they began again.

“Because [issuing the cheque] took so long, my first thought was, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ Of course, we [haven’t seen] it yet,” she said. That’s because the government has placed several restrictions in order to be eligible for this money, she explained. In order to receive a salary, recipients must be full-time rabbis (Gold was working part-time beforehand so she cannot apply for any salaries retroactively like she had planned), there must be 250 members in the congregation (Gold’s congregation has about 70 member families, but she managed to come up with 250 signatures) and recipients have to put in a certain number of hours of work per month. “The minister of culture created all kinds of criteria or obstacles that do not fall on Orthodox rabbis,” Gold explained.

She plans to talk about her challenges and her vision for the future when she visits Vancouver, where she’ll meet with King David High School students, speak at Hillel at University of British Columbia, attend Temple Sholom Synagogue for a Rosh Chodesh class, have dinner with community leaders and give a public lecture.

Gold said that she will be reiterating that her goal is not just to stand up for what she believes are her own democratic rights, but also to help other Jews find their place.

“I think what’s always been the kind of classic statement is that, in Israel, Judaism is black and white, and the black means the black-hat rabbinate deciding what is kosher, so to speak, and what we’re trying to show is that Judaism is colorful, that you have choices,” she said. “People think ‘I don’t think the rabbinate is meaningful to me, therefore, I’ll be secular.’ But more and more over the years, they’ll say ‘yeah, I identify with Reform Judaism’ or with a liberal way of celebrating Jewish events.”

Another advancement to promote equality among various streams of Judaism is the Israeli government’s recent agreement to help fund the building of non-Orthodox synagogues. A 2012 survey found that 30 percent of Israeli Jews had attended a Conservative or Reform service. Currently, only Orthodox synagogues are eligible for government funding. About four non-Orthodox synagogues will receive funding, including Gold’s.

“Having streams of Judaism also enriches Judaism because people can find a place where they’re comfortable,” Gold said. “There’s more interest to be able to approach the Jewish bookshelf and study in ways that are different than what the Orthodox establishment offers.”

She hopes that she’ll soon have that cheque in her hands, so that she has tangible evidence that she is equal to her Orthodox counterparts. After that, she’d like to pursue other legal cases like hers. Her victory only granted non-Orthodox rabbis serving in rural communities a right to funding, and she wants to petition the courts to grant non-Orthodox rabbis living in urban cities the same privileges. “I’d like to see more flexibility,” said Gold. “The sky’s the limit.”

Gold’s public lecture, co-sponsored by ARZA Canada, is on March 12, 7:30 p.m., at Temple Sholom.

Vicky Tobianah is a freelance writer and editor based in Toronto and a recent McGill University graduate. Connect with her on Twitter, @vicktob, or by e-mail to [email protected].

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