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Community Corner

Conservative Synagogue Group Tours Israel

43 people will take a 10-day tour of the country.

Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn, the spiritual leader of Westport's Conservative Synagogue, is traveling with 43 members of the congregation on a trip to Israel this week.

The trip began Thursday and concludes on April 25. "I am thrilled with the interest and the turnout," Wiederhorn said. "When I joined this congregation in 2008,  I  knew this was a community that is connected to Israel and to the larger Jewish population."

The traveling contingent is made up of about nine area families. Wiederhorn has developed an itinerary that will keep the group very busy. "We will be involved in a lot of hands-on, outdoor activities. We will land in Tel Aviv and hit the ground running," he said. "We will immediately go on an architectural dig to get the adrenaline out."

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The group will spend the weekend in Tel Aviv, and then travel north. "We will visit  Independence Hall, Ben Gurion University, Tiberia and we will stay at a kibbutz," Wiederhorn said. "We will take Jeep tours of Golan and visit an army base. We also will visit the Dead Sea and we will take water hikes."

Visits to sister cities Afula and Gilboa also are planned. "We have ties to these cities through a United Jewish Appeal program," he explained.

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Part of  the trip will be devoted to doing a "mitzvah," which means an act of kindness toward others. "We will participate in the cleaning of fields," the rabbi explained. "We will pick up the fruit that has fallen and will otherwise go bad. The fruit we collect will to to Table to Table, which distributes food to food pantries and soup kitchens. There is significant amount of poverty in Israel."

During their visit, the group will experience two important national events. "We will be in the country during Israel's Memorial Day, which honors fallen soldiers,  and Independence Day observations, which will be a roller coaster of emotions," Wiederhorn said. "Yom Hazikaron, the memorial observation, is a somber one. Everyone in Israel knows someone who has lost their life.  The event is followed by Yom Ha'atzmaut, Independence Day, which is a joyous celebration. There will be massive parties and celebrations."

A visit to Jerusalem will be the grand finale of the trip, promising visits to the Old City, the Holocaust Museum,  and Masada. While in Jerusalem, Wiederhorn will perform a bar mitzvah and a bat mitzvah for two  youngsters who are taking the tour.

During the trip, a summary of events will be written by a different family for each day of the journey.

Weiderhorn plans to offer more trips to Israel in the future. "We might do it by demographics," he said. "Maybe a group of teens, next time.

"It's always a good time to go to Israel," he added.

Wiederhorn began serving as the spiritual leader of The Conservative Synagogue in July 2008.  He previously served as the rabbi of Midbar Kodesh Temple in Henderson , Nev., for eight years where he helped grow the young congregation to 300 families, started a Hevra Kadisha, and helped create the Solomon Schechter Day School of Las Vegas. 

He was raised in Southern California and is a former regional president and interim director of Far West Region United Synagogue Youth.  

He earned a B.A. in Judaic Studies from the University of California , San Diego in 1994. He received a master's in Hebrew Letters from the University of Judaism in 1996.  In May 2000, he earned another M.A. with his rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York .

Wiederhorn was also the Rabbinic Intern for Congregation Ner Tamid in Rancho Palos Verdes , Calif., and for three years served as the Rabbinic Intern at the Shelter Rock Jewish Center in Roslyn , N.Y.

 He is also a past president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern Nevada.

Wiederhorn is the husband of Rebecca (Riki) and father to Meital,9, Ayelet, 8,  and Avi, 4.

 

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