On Wednesday, Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana met with rabbis affiliated with the Religious Kibbutz movement and with the leaders of the movement.
During the meeting, Kahana described the next reform he has in mind to implement: “I intend to advance legislation to limit the terms of office of municipal rabbis,” Kahana said. “My aim in doing so is to have more communities that feel connected to Judaism.”
The secretary of the Religious Kibbutz Movement, Sara Ebron, noted that the purpose of the meeting was to “hear the voice of our Torah leadership, and also to discuss the reforms in the area of kosher supervision and conversion and to present practical suggestions.”
Following the meeting, Ebron uploaded a post onto social media in which she wrote: “We came to hear the voice of our movement’s Torah leadership, the voices of the rabbis of the kibbutz communities and the heads of our movement’s institutions. We brought with us a spirit of Torah v’Avodah and the ‘vav ha’chibbur,’ [a way to connect people] connecting the various segments of society. We discussed the reforms in the areas of kosher supervision and conversions with the minister, challenged him with questions, and made practical suggestions of our own.
“From the minister we heard of his wish to impose changes that will lead to more people connecting to Judaism,” she continued. “We heard and spoke about the importance of extending a hand to others even in the midst of a disagreement, even if that hand remains suspended in the air, and we also discussed ways of conducting disputes, which is Torah.”
Participating in the meeting were rabbis of religious kibbutzim and also representatives from the Ein Hanetziv seminary and the yeshiva of Maale Gilboa, as well as heads of the Religious Kibbutz Movement.