“A Very Precious and Meaningful Gift”: A Golden Hanassi Fellow and Her Host Rabbi Discuss the Program’s Impact

Established at Hebrew Union College more than a decade ago through the generosity of Suzanne and John Golden and the Golden Family Foundation, the Golden Hanassi Fellows Program strengthens the bonds between Israeli and North American Reform Jewish communities. The program provides Israel Rabbinical Program students with the opportunity to serve in Reform congregations across the United States, where they are mentored by leading rabbis. As a fellow in this year's cohort, Rabbi Yael Katz Ben Yitzhak '23, Head of Community and Educational Activities for the Israel Reform Movement, came to Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach, Florida, where she worked with Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz and the clergy team during two visits in November 2024 and March 2025. Rabbis Katz Ben Yitzhak and Pomerantz came together recently for a conversation about the program and its impact.

Rabbi Gayle Pomerantz: When I first heard about the Hanassi Fellowship, I said, "Oh, this is right up our alley, we should be doing this." I thought that it would be such a great opportunity for our congregation to learn more about what's happening in Israel around Reform Judaism, and to get the perspective of somebody who is like an eyewitness reporter. Because the truth is, we are normally the ones going to Israel. And this was kind of the reverse. Yael, I loved the idea of you being able to enrich your understanding of American Jewry, and of us being able to enrich our understanding of Israel. I feel that the information we get about Israel is so skewed. What I have been exposed to from working with you is alternative information - not to dispute what we hear in the media, but the information I now have about what's happening in Israel is more full-bodied, it's not just one perspective. I'd love to hear from you about why you initially wanted to do this fellowship.

Rabbi Yael Katz Ben Yitzhak: Being a Reform Jew before I became a rabbi, I did a lot of education programs with Jews around the world, especially in North America. But it's a totally different story when you are at a synagogue for two weeks, and you live as part of the congregation for that time. It's not a visit; it's like becoming part of the family, and you gain a new understanding that you wouldn't have if you weren't there for a longer period of time, taking part in conversations and regular meetings. It really infused and deepened my understanding, and my ability to think from different angles and be creative about how to approach my rabbinate. For me, it was a very precious and meaningful gift, both personally and professionally.

Rabbi Gayle, I would echo what you said about getting a deeper understanding of American Jewry and its connections to Israel. You and the other members of the clergy team, and people in the congregation, were very generous to share many, many ideas with me, and talk about their challenges, as I also shared the challenges that we are dealing with in Israel. One of the things I discussed not only with the clergy, but also with the educators, was how we should approach talking about Israel, in particular with younger members of the congregation. I was able to share my perspective as an Israeli and as a mother who has a child in the army, instead of you just hearing about it on TV or from an article. I was able to share the conversations that we have at home about serving in the army in such a situation, and how I feel about our government, and what other people in Israeli society are thinking and doing, because not everyone is Ben-Gvir or Netanyahu.

For me, Israel is part of our Judaism and our heart, and at Temple Beth Sholom, I had conversations with people in the congregation about how meaningful Israel is to them, and how we should engage the complexities of that. We came to understand that you can't approach Israel as, like, "the Disneyland of the Jewish world." When you meet face-to-face, you can speak about the complexity of Israel and of our relationship, and you also understand that there are many things that we have in common.

GP: I want to comment on what you just said, because I think there is an expanding gap between how Israeli Jews perceive American Jews, and how American Jews perceive Israeli Jews. During my recent trip to Israel for a seminar led by Hebrew Union College and Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism, where we were exposed to different thinkers, diplomats, and Knesset members, I came to understand that many Miami Jews - and I can only speak about Miami - don't want to know about the complexity. They want it to be black and white. They just want to love Israel and support Israel. It's challenging for them to deal with anything that is gray. And of course, what's going on right now is so gray. I think that you, as a Hanassi fellow, were able to share - for people who were willing to listen - some of that complexity, and your own challenges, and the challenges we face as Reform Jews.

On a more personal level, Yael, I want to tell you that I was so in awe of how you just took this opportunity and really put yourself out there. That was such a gift for you to be able to do that for yourself and for us. I think for anybody who chooses to become a Hanassi fellow, it's essential to have that mindset of, "I am in this. I'm gonna give it all I've got." And you really just kept going and going and going. That was amazing.

YK: I think it was also amazing how you and all the clergy and the congregation gave me so many opportunities to be part of the community, both during my first visit and my second stay. The way the fellowship was structured, the first visit was more about listening, being in as many places as I could, and learning, learning, learning. Then, during the second visit, I was able to deepen the conversation. One evening, in the home of one of the congregants, we had a very meaningful conversation about Israel, where we got into the hard things. But we needed my first visit to get to know each other to be able to have such a deep engagement. That was also the case with the educational team. The process of having two visits was so important for us to have more meaningful exchanges and reach another layer, and then another layer, as we went deeper.

GP: Over the years, whenever we're hiring and we bring in rabbinical candidates for vetting, we have like 25 people meet with them, and we set up these very complicated days. We did something very similar with your first visit, but of course, it was geared toward Israel and the people we thought you should talk to. What is unique about you is that you don't have a congregation, and you work for the Movement as an educator, with your fingers in many different pies. My understanding of what we were meant to do as a host congregation was to expose you to as many aspects of American Reform Jewry as we could, to as many people as possible, and to the things we do as congregational rabbis - like when I took you to a wedding I was doing, or when you attended the Beit Din of someone who was converting. And then, during the second visit, the community was able to hear more from you as well, and we were able to deepen those conversations.

YK: It was so important for me to participate in life cycle events like weddings and funerals because, in addition to my role at the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, I also work with rabbis in many congregations at home, and I do bar mitzvahs and other things by myself. So I wanted to see the similarities and differences and get new ideas, to see what will fit with Israel, and what won't.

One program at Beth Sholom that I found particularly beautiful was Panim el Panim, which brings people together in small groups led by volunteers. I was able to take what I learned back home and tell people there about this program, which taught me so much, especially about speaking with young adults.

GP: I also want to add how fortuitous it was that you were here as we were beginning to vote in the World Zionist Congress election. That only happens once every five years, so that was just lucky for us. But I think that things are so dynamic in Israel that no matter when somebody is a

Hanassi fellow, there's always going to be something happening that makes it important for you to be there.

YK: You're so right. Also, being in the U.S. on election day was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I went to a polling place with one of the rabbis who invited me to come see how he votes. Being with a family on election night, that's not a small thing. Understanding the feelings of the people, and also learning from you, Rabbi Gayle, and from the clergy, was profound, as was seeing how carefully all of you thought about how the Shabbat night would be after the election - because there were people who were very, very upset - and how to speak to people, and what you can say, and what you can't say. That was so meaningful for me, because of course, we also have similar issues in Israel when it comes to saying things about our government, and about the conflict, both in the pulpit and outside the pulpit. These conversations can be heartbreaking for both sides, and these times are heartbreaking if you are a Jew in Miami and if you are a Jew in Israel.

GP: Enabling these relationships and the two-way flow of information between Israeli Reform rabbis and American congregations is such an important achievement of Hebrew Union College and the Golden Family Foundation. The Hanassi Fellowship is so important because, for so long, it's been a one-way relationship, with American Jews talking about going to Israel and what they are doing for Israel. Through this program, Yael, you were able to come to us and share your experiences not only with us, but with the other fellows who have visited other congregations. I think that is brilliant and really valuable at this time.

YK: I really think it's also having such wonderful people and such great preparation at Temple Beth Sholom. Everyone worked so intentionally to put together my schedule, so I was able to utilize my time in the best way possible to get into classes, to participate in lifecycle events, and to see as much as I could and get to know the congregation, its staff and volunteers, along with the family that hosted me. All of these elements made it possible for us to have meaningful conversations and enrich our connections. It's so beautiful in so many ways.