As we conclude the High Holiday season, we have prayed, reflected, and sought forgiveness. We have stood as individuals, each soul in its uniqueness, and we have stood together, Kol Yisrael, as one people. Now comes the harder work: to live as though we truly belong to one another.
These days, the fractures within the Jewish world feel sharper than ever. The war in Gaza has widened the gap between Israeli and diaspora Jews. Young Israelis tend to move rightward, while many young American Jews express not only criticism but also a growing indifference toward Israel. For some, Israel no longer feels central to Jewish identity.
In light of this, some thinkers wonder whether “Jewish peoplehood” itself is an outdated idea. Shaul Magid, a leading scholar of Jewish studies and professor of Jewish thought at Dartmouth College, has argued that perhaps the concept, coined in 1942 by Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of the Reconstructionist movement, no longer speaks to our era. And yet, as Professor Julie E. Cooper, political scientist at Tel Aviv University, has powerfully written, now is exactly the time when we must reclaim it. She insists that peoplehood is not a relic, but the essential framework for building the coalitions we need, especially when Israel’s actions have consequences for Jews worldwide, including rising antisemitism and strained political belonging.
Our tradition agrees. The Talmud teaches, Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh, “All of Israel are responsible for one another” (Shevuot 39a). And throughout the High Holiday liturgy, we prayed not in the singular but in the plural: ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu, “we have sinned, we have betrayed, we have stolen.” Our fate is linked. Our prayers bind us as one people, even as our experiences and perspectives differ.
This season of renewal calls us to rededicate ourselves not only to God, but also to one another. Jewish peoplehood does not demand uniformity. It does not mean silencing dissent. It means holding fast to the truth that we are bound together, even in disagreement, even in pain, even in protest. To abandon peoplehood now would be to abandon each other, at precisely the moment we most need solidarity.
As we move from the Days of Awe into the days of building and healing, let us embrace the covenant that makes us one people. Our diversity is real, our debates are necessary, but our shared destiny is non-negotiable. We remain, and must remain, Am Yisrael, the Jewish people, responsible for one another, and committed to walking forward together.
Rabbi Jodie
