2010 Lay Leadership Summer Study Retreat June 30 – July 7, 2010   Engaging Israel: Jewish Values and the Dilemmas of Nationhood    Click here for a short video of the Opening Session of the Summer 2010 Lay Leadership Retreat.   The Shalom Hartman Institute Lay Leadership Summer Study Retreat is an annual weeklong seminar dealing with major questions facing Judaism in the modern age. The program, in operation for more than 20 years, takes place at the Institute's beautiful campus in the heart of Jerusalem and draws scores of North American lay leaders from across the continent and denominational spectrum.   Since Operation Cast Lead, the subsequent Goldstone Report and recent foreign policy debates, there has been an increasing sense that anti-Israeli opinion has moved beyond criticism of some of Israel's actions and policies to the delegitimization of the Zionist project as a whole. The Jewish community at large, since the creation of the State of Israel, has taken as self-evident the need to support Israel. Yet that support is now being questioned on many levels and among large segments of the community. The Jewish community is in urgent need of a new language and argument for assimilating the significance of Israel into the modern Jewish consciousness.    For Summer 2010, our upcoming study programs will focus on these urgent needs and the essential questions and challenges directed against Israel today and use them as a basis for developing a new response and language, based on Jewish ideas and values. Jewish leaders today need to be able to address crucial questions for which they currently do not know the answers. For example: What is the role of "peoplehood" in modern Jewish identity? In a world of intense individualism, can Judaism be defined primarily as a personal and internal experience, or is a sense of belonging to a Jewish collective central to giving meaning and purpose to contemporary Jewish life? How does Jewish sovereignty relate to the self-identity of a Jews living throughout the world? How does Israel balance its legitimate right of self defense with the rights of others? How do we reconcile the Jewish claim to the land with those of the Palestinian people? What are the requirements of morality of war, and how can Israel use its power in a way that is consistent with the highest standards of Jewish morality and values? Can a Jewish state be reconciled with the values of Jewish pluralism and freedom? What does the Jewish national project have to offer in responding to global challenges and advancing the value of Tikkun Olam? In addition, the study program will include a multi-session track devoted to the study of seven great texts which have framed the identity of the Jewish people taught by senior faculty of the Hartman Institute, evening lectures by guest scholars and Israeli political figures, and excursions exploring the contemporary realities of the State of Israel.   2009 Lay Leadership Summer Retreat   The 29th annual Lay Leadership Summer Retreat, held July 1-8, 2009, was, “Crisis and Uncertainty: Paradigms of Response.” A record group studied the core values of the Jewish tradition regarding wealth, human need, and ultimate values, and probed how Jewish visionaries of the past responded to moments of crisis and what their responses and texts teach us about the origins of Jewish optimism.   Further Information   Contact Meirav Fishman at meravf@shi.org.il, 972.2.567.5301.   Target Population   The program is open to individuals of all denominations from across North America who seek to deepen their knowledge of Judaism and its pluralistic voices, and are committed to utilizing their influence and leadership to promote Jewish vitality in their community.   Faculty   Summer Retreat study sessions will be led by the faculty of the Shalom Hartman Institute, including David Hartman, Donniel Hartman, Moshe Halbertal, Melila Hellner-Eshed, Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi and Noam Zion, as well as visiting scholars such as  David Ellenson. Reflections   “The best antidote for spiritual boredom.”                                                         – Andy Gordon, Phoenix   “An exalted experience.”                                                          – Karen Marcus, Miami    “The best Jewish learning experience of my life. Helped me in my spiritual quest, answered many questions and raised many more for me.”                                                         – Michelle Gary, Atlanta