The Einat Project involves not only 25 members of Kehillat Ramot Zion, but also volunteers from the Nechama Branch of Hadassah Women, Haverot and Hadassah Hospital.

Volunteers run activities at the hospital for rehabilitation patients and their families on a weekly basis, including music, games, discussions, study groups and more.

In preparation for this activity, volunteers participated in four intensive workshops led by members of Haverot and the hospital staff.  The sessions covered issues such as interpersonal communication, how to communicate with rehabilitation patients and the rehabilitation process.  Volunteers continue to receive guidance on a monthly basis.

Ramot Zion’s activities in the Rehabilitation Unit have now expanded to include young children from the kehilla preparing Hanukah decorations for the Unit, NOAM (Masorti’s youth movement) members providing other decorations and the Ramot Zion choir singing in the unit on Fridays.

Kehillat Ramot Zion is a member of the Masorti Movement in Israel.  Kehillat Tzedek is a joint project of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and the Masorti Movement.

The idea of a “second-hand” fair kindled the imagination of the adults in the minyan and they approached the local council and the educational institutions in the village.  The head of the local council and its members were happy to cooperate: they gave the project their blessing and the staff of the various municipal departments played an active role in helping to put the event together.  The idea caught on not only in the congregation but outside as well, grabbing the interest of young and old, religious and secular Jews, as well as that of non-Jewish residents in the surrounding communities. Letters were distributed in the schools inviting families to contribute items, which were sorted by members of the student council and placed in boxes prepared by members of the minyan.  Even though it was the end of the school year, discussions were held in many classrooms about “giving” to others and about the importance of recycling.

The businesses and management of the commercial center also contributed, providing an empty store where the second-hand items were sorted and stored.  Members of “Beit Horesh,” a home for adults with special needs, were also involved in preparing the fair and joined members of the minyan and other helpers as the salespeople at the fair.

Minyan member Jacqueline Rotem offered the following comment: “The fair was a wonderful opportunity for all members of the minyan to be involved, including those who do not attend tefilot on a regular basis. It was also an opportunity for our community as a whole to demonstrate our commitment to recycling and concern for the environment.

The income from the fair will finance the Bar/Bat Mitzva program for Children with Special Needs of the Masorti Movement, which teaches children with special needs about Judaism and Israel. At the end of the educational program, the children are called up to the Torah and become Bnai Mitzva.  This Program is run nationally by the Masorti Movement with significant community involvement. One of the senior program teachers is a longtime member of the Masorti Family Minyan in Kfar Vradim.

MASORTI, meaning traditional, is the Hebrew name for the movement of Conservative Judaism in Israel. The Masorti Movement, founded in 1979, is the umbrella organization of Masorti kehillot (congregations), which foster the practice of traditional Judaism among Israeli men and women while embracing modernity. In promoting the combined values of Conservative Judaism, religious tolerance and Zionism, the Movement strives to nurture a healthy, pluralistic, spiritual and ethical foundation for Israeli society.

Approximately 50,000 Israelis are members and affiliates of our kehillot and national programs, which engage some 125,000 Israelis each year. More than sixty percent of the Masorti community are native-born Israelis or come from lands in which English is not their native tongue.

The Masorti Movement in Israel comprises some 50 kehillot and havurot, the Religious Affairs Bureau, a kibbutz, a moshav, the NOAM youth movement, IDF Garinim (Masorti groups in the army), the Marom students and young adults organization, programs for children with special needs, regional and local educational learning centers for adults as well as pre-school programs. We are currently developing programs in the fields of family education, and leadership and community development. This is in addition to our ongoing synagogue services, events and social activities.

Legal advocacy is one of the central roles of the Movement, which represents the religious rights of Masorti and Conservative Judaism before the Israeli establishment, including government ministries, the Supreme Court and municipalities.

The Movement is deeply involved in the absorption of new olim – immigrants – from Latin America, as well as from countries of the Former Soviet Union. Masorti’s inclusive and pluralistic approach is attractive to many olim, who might otherwise take little or no interest in Judaism. A number of Masorti kehillot operate special programs for olim, as well as programming for the integration of olim run by NOAM and Marom.