Kehillat Yedidya is a Zionist, liberal Orthodox community in Jerusalem’s Baka neighborhood comprising some 190 households. Yedidya was founded in 1980 by a vanguard of women and men who saw a need for a Jerusalem community that would promote prayer that, in accordance with the halacha, provides for the active participation of all its members of all genders. Through its social vision and its commitment to the Torah and mitzvot, Kehillat Yedidya seeks to cross boundaries in Israeli society. It is an active community that works together for a more just, democratic, and pluralist society while fostering a vibrant communal life of Torah study, mutual aid, and charity.
Yedidya’s members come from a range of religious backgrounds. Most of the community’s activities in the realms of Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Hasadim are organized by the members. Yedidya is a community that prays together on Shabbat, holidays, weekday mornings, and on other important occasions; studies together in classes and lectures; and makes decisions together about its customs and procedures.
Children and Youth
Yedidya encourages the participation of children and youth in its prayers and other activities and emphasizes intergenerational ties. Services for children of different ages are held every Shabbat. A designated play area in the back of the sanctuary enables parents of young children to participate in services. The community hands out quizzes for children to answer during the Torah reading, and children lead prayers such as “Yigdal” and “An’im Zemirot.” Every Simhat Torah, the children hold a special Torah reading of their own.
Spiritual Leadership
To achieve its goals of spiritual growth, support and learning, the community has established a Spiritual Leadership, a new model consisting of two or three community members (or friends of the community from outside it), women and men. The Spiritual Leadership’s members serve for two years and are responsible for the community’s spiritual life. Its members initiate and lead activities and events in the areas of study, prayer, life cycle events, and community life, and are also available to individual members of the community who wish to consult them.
Yedidya in Its Home, Women and Men
The Kehillat Yedidya building, built with the generous assistance of many donors from within and without, embodies the community and offers multipurpose areas for activity. In the sanctuary, the divider separating the men’s and women’s sections runs down the center of the room, from the Ark at the front to the entrances in the back. The Torah reading table and the pulpit stand in the center, accessible to both women and men. The community conducts regular separate Torah readings for women as well as partnership readings in which both women and men read from and are called up to the Torah, in addition to the regular traditional reading. Women at times lead the Kabbalat Shabbat section of the Friday night service. On Shabbat mornings, women lead the blessings for the community and the public that follow the Torah reading, including a prayer for IDF soldiers that the community composed and the prayer for peace attributed to Rabbi Nahman of Breslov, up until the Torah is returned to the ark. Women take part in reading the megillot, give divrei Torah, and serve in all leadership posts.
The community stresses the importance of accessibility to its facilities and activities. The Yedidya building was designed in keeping with that principle. All parts of the building and all prayer areas are accessible to wheelchairs, including the Torah reading table, the pulpit, and the ark. Yedidya is also equipped with a special halakhically certified audio system that enables full participation for worshipers who use hearing aids. Many services and activities are broadcast on Zoom, so that the homebound can participate.
Kehillat Yedidya is a home and family to its members, an aspect that is particularly important for members who have made aliyah and may lack extended families in Israel. From time to time the community holds joint Shabbat and holiday meals, and the members celebrate life cycle events together. The members take turns organizing the kiddush every Shabbat, providing a regular venue of social interaction.
Yedidya and the State of Israel
Kehillat Yedidya is a Zionist community in the inclusive, original sense of the term. It participates in Israeli Jewish society and culture and in the broader Israeli culture, which includes non-Jewish citizens and residents of other faiths, traditions, and ideologies. Hebrew is the language of all official community activities, but from time to time classes and other activities are offered in English—and we are open to other languages as well, should there be a demand! Yedidya stands by its community principles, even as we welcome constructive criticism. A range of ideas and proposals come to expression in divrei Torah, study, meetings, and other forums, where they are given their due consideration.
Hospitality at Yedidya
Our community has a tradition of warmly welcoming visitors and newcomers interested in joining us. Yedidya hosts Jewish tourists and missions, teenagers and students who come to travel and study for a time. We also welcome members of other religions who come to experience our prayer services and sometimes to be hosted by our members. The community offers a home to families and young people spending a sabbatical year in Jerusalem. It fosters ties with similar communities in and outside Jerusalem, and with organizations and institutions who share its values.
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Our Team
Office Manager – Einat Nisim
Chairpersons – Ariel Picard | Hadas Rahamim
Gabbaim – Jakob Melchior | Danny Reicher
Gabbait – Elise Kranc
Tzedaka – Dorit Meijers
Resource Development – Marc Render
Shabbat Meals Hospitality – Bobbie Silberklang
Group Coordinator Simchas – Debbie Weissman
Bereavement Aid – Eliezer Finer (050) 9942501 | Yechiel Greniman
Death Announcements – Sheldon Salzberg (052) 3077694
Members’ Assistance – Annabelle Landgarten | Deborah Lustig
Kehilla Weekly Newsletter – Editor
Kehilla Discussion Group – Moderator
Building Maintenance – Marc Render
Hall Rental – Adi Amitai (055) 6661142