One Week at Hartman, A Lifetime of Questions

Reflections following my week at the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem as part of the Community Leadership Program (CLP)

By Israel Ben-Ishai

The Community Leadership Program (CLP) is designed for lay and professional Jewish community leaders, as well as lifelong learners. This year’s theme was “Confident Identities in a Divided World.”

The Hartman Institute is a Jewish think tank and educational institution dedicated to addressing the most important challenges facing the Jewish people today. Through research, education, and leadership development, it brings together diverse voices committed to pluralism, a Jewish and democratic Israel, and strong ties between Israel and North American Jewry.

This was my third year participating in the program. As in previous years, I returned home with a stronger Jewish identity and a deeper appreciation for the resilience, continuity, and enduring aspirations of the Jewish people. I also came away with a renewed sense of solidarity with Jews across the Diaspora and with our brothers and sisters in Israel, our ancestral homeland.

The Institute’s outstanding scholars and teachers guided us through thoughtful discussions of Jewish philosophy, moral values, the wisdom of the Torah, and other foundational Jewish texts. We also explored many of the pressing issues facing Israel and Jewish communities around the world today.

I did not come home with answers to all my questions or dilemmas. Instead, I gained new ways of thinking about and framing complex issues such as antisemitism, Israel’s relationship with its minority communities, our place as a minority in our own countries, and the future of Jewish life in the Diaspora. Many of these conversations were grounded in the Torah, Tanach, the Talmud, and the writings of our sages, reminding us that the Jewish tradition has long grappled with difficult moral, social, and political questions.

One of the program’s greatest strengths is that it does not seek to tell participants what to think. Rather, it challenges us to think more deeply, to listen respectfully to differing perspectives, and to wrestle honestly with difficult questions while remaining grounded in Jewish values and tradition.

If you enjoy deep thinking or simply appreciate learning from exceptional scholars who engage thoughtfully with important questions, I highly recommend this program. Whether or not you agree with every perspective presented, you will leave with a richer understanding of Judaism, Israel, and the challenges and opportunities facing the Jewish people today.