Designed to promote understanding and collaboration, the trip brought 20 Israeli rabbis to leading American Orthodox Jewish communities to exchange ideas and strengthen ties.
An Orthodox Union mission recently brought 20 Israeli rabbis to the U.S. to experience the richness and diversity of Orthodox Jewish life and strengthen ties between Israel’s religious-Zionist and American Orthodox communities. The weeklong trip featured visits to leading institutions across three states, meetings with prominent Roshei Yeshiva and community leaders, and opportunities for the delegates to gain firsthand insights into American Orthodox life.
The delegates, many of whom had never been outside Israel, were flown to the U.S. by Gesher, an organization that promotes dialogue among Jewish communities and brings Israeli leaders abroad. Representing both Dati Leumi (Religious-Zionist) and Chardal (Charedi-Zionist) communities, the prominent leaders included Rav Yaakov Shapira, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav; Rav Eliezer Igra, Dayan of the Beit Din HaRabbani Hagadol; Rav Gad Maimon Revah, Rabbi of Mitzpe Ramon; and Rav Baruch Menachem Vider, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hakotel. Most delegates are affiliated with Rabbanei Torat HaAretz HaTova, which strengthens Jewish identity through Torah-based educational initiatives, while a few serve on Igud Rabbanei Kehillot, Israel’s largest organization of community rabbis.
From Lakewood’s Beth Medrash Govoha to Baltimore’s Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, and from New York’s Yeshiva University to the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, the delegation toured myriad organizations, met with renowned Roshei Yeshiva and respected community leaders, and delivered inspiring shiurim to students of various ages.
“Delegates got a sense of each institution’s unique value to the community,” says OU Managing Director for Community Engagement Rabbi Yaakov Glasser. “The Lakewood Yeshiva is defined by a different hashkafa than Mercaz HaRav. And yet, at the deepest level, both are magnificent worlds of Torah, yeshivos filled with thousands of young men immersed in limud haTorah day and night. In that essential sense, they share profoundly. We were able to create a space of genuine mutual respect and appreciation, even as they acknowledged and even debated their differences. The atmosphere was one of sincerity, dignity, and a collective recognition that disagreements do not diminish the greatness we see in one another.”
Conceived by OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer, zt”l, the trip advanced his vision of a more connected and unified Klal Yisrael. Rabbi Hauer worked closely with the planning team up until his sudden passing on Shemini Atzeret.
“Rabbi Hauer, zt”l’s goal was to introduce the rabbanim to the people behind the institutions, to help them gain a deep understanding of the complexity and range of the American Jewish community, and to expose delegates to paradigms that don’t exist in Israel,” says Rabbi Glasser. What was amazing was that the mission not only encompassed a tremendous range of hashkafos and organizations, but that Rabbi Hauer, zt”l, had personal relationships in all these spaces.”
OU Israel Executive Director Rabbi Avi Berman adds, “Many of our discussions focused on how meeting with one another broadens perspectives and adds nuance to our views. Jews in Israel often know little about American Jewry, and vice versa. The mission aimed to bridge that gap, helping Israelis understand what olim experience when making Aliyah, for example, and helping Americans appreciate what it means to have children in the army, with the ultimate goal of promoting achdus within Klal Yisrael.”
At the OU’s New York headquarters, delegates were welcomed by OU President Mitchel Aeder and OU Executive Vice President and COO Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, before meeting with the heads of the OU Kosher, Yachad, OU Women’s Initiative, Synagogue Initiatives, and OU Advocacy departments.
“The rabbanim came to the profound realization that, in many ways, the OU in America functions as the infrastructure of the Jewish community —handling everything from eruvin to kashrut — much like the government does in Israel,” notes Rabbi Berman.
The delegates also met JLIC students at Columbia University and attended both the OU’s Third Annual City Eruv Conference and the Rabbinical Council of America’s Rebbetzins Yarchei Kallah, where they heard from rebbetzins about their pastoral roles, and met with RCA leadership.
“Hearing about the communal challenges many rebbetzins in America mitigate, and the way they are supported by both the RCA and the OU Women’s Initiative, was eye-opening for the rabbanim,” says Rabbi Berman. “It helped them to better understand rebbetzins’ roles and inspired them to consider adopting similar practices in Israel. The rabbanim have already invited OU Women’s Initiative Founding Director Rebbetzin Dr. Adina Shmidman to speak at a rebbetzin’s conference in Israel.”
Other mission highlights included tours of AIPAC and the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.; a visit to the Ohel; davening at the Young Israel’s of Woodmere, Lawrence-Cedarhurst (YILC), and Passaic-Clifton (YIPC) — Rabbi Glasser’s shul; meeting the Skverer Rebbe in New Square, New York; engaging with the Syrian community at Congregation Beth Torah in Brooklyn; and Shabbat in Teaneck, New Jersey, where the rabbanim enjoyed a special Oneg Shabbat and meaningful Melaveh Malka at the home of OU Board of Directors Treasurer Avi and OU Women’s Initiative Board member Becky Katz.
Rabbi Shlomo Glicksberg, Rosh Beit Midrash of the Ariel Institutions and the Rav of Hashmonaim—a Dati Leumi yishuv east of Modi’in—serves a community of about 4,000 residents, including a substantial Anglo population, many of whom come from Teaneck.
Rabbi Glicksberg previously lived in Johannesburg for six years, serving as senior rabbi of the Yeshiva Mizrachi community and as a dayan on the South African Beth Din. While his community was similar to that of Teaneck, he says fellow delegates were struck by how thoughtfully and professionally American communities are run — the strength of their learning, commitment to observance, and deep rabbinic involvement.
“In Israel, shuls are primarily places to daven,” he says. “In the diaspora, shuls are true community hubs, and full-time rabbis are woven into every part of people’s lives. Diaspora Jews live and engage with their communities differently. We need to understand how to support those who make Aliyah — and even when we can’t, we must appreciate their mesirut nefesh, that they’ve left everything behind to come to Israel.”
For Rabbi Glicksberg, seeing Teaneck’s Modern Orthodox community was particularly impactful.
“After Shacharit at one of the shuls, one of the balabatim gave a well-attended shiur on Minchat Chinuch, which is a high-level, in-depth text usually studied by those proficient in Gemara. It was serious Torah learning. In Israel, communities like these — Modern Orthodox or Zioni Dati, as we see in America — don’t really exist. This struck me deeply and made me think about how we might encourage olim to build similar communities in Israel, in order to inspire more Aliyah. For me, this was a very significant chidush.”
Rabbi Glicksberg’s most memorable experience, however, was the delegation’s attendance at the 42nd International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, or Kinus HaShluchim, in Edison, New Jersey, where 6,500 international shluchim were honored for their service.
“Seeing nearly 7,000 attendees was deeply moving,” he says. “I was struck by how much the shluchim do, how they gather from all over the world, and how they and their families are treated with such kavod, dignity, and professionalism. I believe that we need more rabbinic conferences in Israel that offer that same level of appreciation and support. I’m still thinking about what we can learn from Chabad, both from their shluchim and from how they run such an extraordinary gathering.”
Rabbi Chaim Markowitz leads a diverse Dati Leumi community in Ma’ale Adumim, composed of both Israelis and olim. In addition to managing Rabbanei HaAretz HaTova’s Diaspora Committee, he is deeply involved in kashrut and founded the nonprofit Shadranim within Igud Rabbanei Kehillot, which works to strengthen connections between Israeli rabbis and Diaspora communities.
Rabbi Markowitz says he had long envisioned organizing a rabbinic mission like this one and is grateful to have finally found an enthusiastic partner in the OU.
“In meeting with Rabbi Hauer, zt”l, I came to understand just how deeply he valued the connection between Israeli rabbis and Jewish communities in the U.S.,” he says. “Baruch Hashem, we have succeeded in fulfilling his vision and carrying out this mission.”
In his work with Diaspora Jewry, Rabbi Markowitz has made roughly 15 visits to the U.S., each time discovering something new about the ties between Orthodox communities in Israel and America.
“On this recent mission, I gained important insights,” he says. “I learned about the significant influence that Yeshiva University has on Modern Orthodox communities. Conversely, I also noted the substantial influence of the Lithuanian-style world emanating from Lakewood, and how many who seek a more serious engagement with Torah and mitzvah observance are gravitating in that direction.”
Rabbi Markowitz was particularly moved by the visit to YU.
“I was awestruck by the vibrant Beit Midrash, teeming with life and Torah study,” he reflects. “Meeting the members of the Kollel Elyon (an advanced Torah study program), who have completed their semicha and are facing the serious question of where their path leads them, was inspiring. We also heard from them about the challenges facing those who wish to make Aliyah. We have taken this to heart, and are committed to doing everything possible to ease absorption and enable anyone who wishes to move to Israel to do so without apprehension.”
Rabbi Berman says the mission truly put the size and scope of America’s Orthodox Jewish community into perspective.
“It was so touching to see the rabbanim’s realization that the Jewish people are actually double the size than they had imagined,” he says. “These rabbis and their children serve in the army for Klal Yisrael, and when they recognized not only their shared destiny with their brothers and sisters overseas, but also their responsibility for them, you could see their hearts literally double in size.”
Since the mission, the delegates have met to share impressions and begin applying lessons learned. Additional meetings are planned, including one between Rabbi Glasser and Yeshivat Mercaz Harav leaders.
“I think the big lesson is that when we meet one another face to face, there’s a lot we could do to move the wholeness of the Jewish people forward,” says Rabbi Glasser. “If the goal of achdus is to find common points of connection among the broader Jewish people, where we can appreciate each other, share space, and build from there, then the mission was an extraordinary success. It was a very big honor and a very big privilege to be a small part of that.”
Rabbi Berman reflects, “The essence is that American Jewry has much to teach Israelis, and Israelis have much to teach American Jewry, with the real value being in sharing those moments together. Through this mission, mindsets have been changed, hopefully forever. Rabbi Hauer, zt”l, left us a tzava (charge). B’ezrat Hashem, we will continue to be inspired by the values he gave us, and bring more and more achdus, Torah, and passion to Klal Yisrael.”
About the Orthodox Union
Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union (OU), or Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, serves as the voice of American Orthodox Jewry, with over 400 congregations in its synagogue network. As the umbrella organization for American Orthodox Jewry, the OU is at the forefront of advocacy work on both state and federal levels, outreach to Jewish teens and young professionals through NCSY, Israel Free Spirit Birthright, Yachad and OU Press, among many other divisions and programs.