At 4:00 PM on May 14, the 5th day of Iyar, 5708, David Ben-Gurion, seated in front of a portrait of Theodor Herzl in the old Tel Aviv Art Museum, rapped his gavel and decreed, on behalf of the 250 delegates gathered, “By virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish people . . . we hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish State in Palestine to be called Medinat Yisrael.”
Two millennia of Jewish homelessness ended that afternoon as the new Israeli government invited Jews from across the planet to come home.
For the sixth year, Temple Emanu-El and Temple Israel will celebrate that miracle together, with a performance by the amazing a cappella group Six13, a sing-along of Israeli music led by our cantors and an oneg catered by Lior Lev Sercarz, Daniel Boulud’s former sous chef and founder/owner of La Boîte.
(Services this week will be taking place at Temple Israel, located at 112 E 75th St)