Yama, Jordan Valley Regional Council

Yama, meaning toward the sea, was established in the Jordan Vallery region by a group of individuals from all settlements of the Jordan Valley, with the goal of finding a connection to an inclusive and enabling Judaism in the region. It is a regional community that provides a complex response to the lifestyle of the working, regional communities of entrepreneurs and creators, which promotes community work within communities and at the same time works regionally in cooperation with the regional councils. The congregation works in cooperation with Shikha communities – a secular humanist movement – creating a platform for discourse that allows for a variety of Jewish identities and experiences.

Yama holds musical Shabbat gatherings once every two weeks at Ashdot Ya’akov Ihud. Once a month we hold multi-generational family Shabbat gatherings, as well as a regional Shabbat gathering during Pride Month in the summer. Every year, Yama hosts gatherings during the holidays of: Ramzi Elul – preparatory events for the Tishrei holidays in the atmosphere of Elul, accepting a year on the Jordan, Yom Kippur prayers on the shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee in Ein Gev, Sukkot Shalom, reading the Megillat Esther, a family Passover seder, a community event on Second Passover, tikkun Shavuot night at Beit Gabriel and the reading of the Megillat Icha Bet Bab. In addition, Yama offers educational courses for couples preparing to wed, bar and bat mitzvah children, as well as circumcision or birth/ naming ceremonies.

The congregation is led by Rabbi Yair Tobias.