Friends of Sia’h Shalom–North America

Building on trips throughout the past year to New York, Massachusetts and Texas, Rabbis Tara and Meir Feldman have been busy laying the foundations of Friends of Sia’h Shalom–North America (FOSS) with the goal of strengthening ties between the North American Jewish community and Sia’h Shalom efforts in Israel. This past April, Sia’h Shalom founders, Professor Avinoam Rosenak and Dr. Alick Isaacs, joined Meir and Tara on a trip to Long Island, New York. 

In addition to convening informational parlor meetings, Sia’h Shalom collaborated with the UJA-Federation of New York. In support of the UJA’s initiative Bridging the Divide, Sia’h Shalom facilitated the  second of two gatherings of Great Neck rabbis. As a result of these efforts, new lines of understanding and collaboration among rabbis and lay leaders are beginning to emerge. These results affirm our hopes that not only can the North American Jewish community support the work of Sia’h Shalom in Israel, but Sia’h Shalom can bring insights and expertise gained in Israel to impact local efforts to heal polarizing fractures within the North American Jewish community.

Join Tara and Meir to explore the texts and ideas that animate Sia’h Shalom. Consider the relevance of Sia’h Shalom encounters within and beyond Israel, and receive updates about our work on the ground. Our next Sia’h Shalom Zoom learning opportunity will be held on Wednesday, June 21, at 12:30 p.m. ET, 11:30 a.m. CT.  To join us, click on this link.

Want to meet us in person? Our aspiration in the coming months is to continue adding to the momentum begun during the past year. To that end, we are looking forward to more parlor meetings in and around New York in July and October. What new North American Jewish community might we focus on next? Perhaps, it could be yours. We’d love to speak with you about Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Houston, Boston and beyond. Our experiences in New York have enabled us to sharpen our vision for a compelling and sustainable model through which to engage North American Jewish communities. Please be in touch with us at Tara@TalkingPeace.org.il.

Having recently celebrated Shavuot—our spring festival of the harvest—this is an appropriate time for metaphors of planting and harvesting. As with every new start-up effort, we are planting seeds, watering them, adding (organic) fertilizer and tilling the soil. Introducing folks to the efforts of Sia’h Shalom is sacred work. As with planting seeds, it takes time, effort and sunshine (inspiration) to convey the importance and impact of our work. In one year alone, we have engaged dozens of new Sia’h Shalom supporters and are excited about the coming months as well.