{"id":7370,"date":"2015-09-03T20:03:36","date_gmt":"2015-09-03T17:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toravoda.org.il\/?p=7370"},"modified":"2015-09-07T21:45:12","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T18:45:12","slug":"the-communal-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toravoda.org.il\/en\/the-communal-model\/","title":{"rendered":"The Communal Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Communal Model:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Changing the Relationship between Religion and State in Israel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The goal of the Communal Model is to offer all Jewish Israelis the opportunity to live according to the religious lifestyle that speaks to them. By democratizing the Chief Rabbinate, we can give the different communities the opportunity to shape their religious guidelines and services in a way that is much closer to their beliefs. This is augmented by changes on the institutional and governmental level; once new procedures are put into place in the administration of religious sites and institutions, more voices will be heard in decision-making processes, creating a Jewish Israel that is more democratic and open.<\/p>\n

Throughout its many years of activity,\u00a0<\/span>Ne’emanei Torah Va’Avodah<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>has been at the forefront of the struggle to define Israel’s religious nature. The organization has been involved in any number of specific issues, attempting to find a middle ground that could be acceptable for all Jewish Israeli communities. Over the years, we have worked with such topics as prenuptial agreements to help stem the tragic occurrence of women chained to marriages; conversion; Shabbat in the public sphere; burial; public transportation on Shabbat; refusal to obey orders in military situations; encouraging citizens to pay taxes; mikvahs; social justice; conscription of young women to the army; and women in the public sphere. Very often, these initial efforts grew into entire organizations dedicated to one cause, and we were pleased to serve as their first home.<\/p>\n

However, over the past few years, we have begun to work on a broader level, hoping to effect a change in the national rabbinic system. As such, we have developed the “Communal Model”, a program that removes the authority over religious services from the Chief Rabbinate and and places it in the hands of different communities.<\/p>\n

The Communal Model operates on a number of levels, including legal measures, advocacy, raising awareness and creating a model for communities. The program hopes to effect a broad change, working from within the system to create an improved model for religious services and greater understanding of the differential needs of religious communities.<\/p>\n

The Communal Model aims to transform the current religious services using a two-pronged approach:<\/p>\n