Rabbi Larry Moldo, Rabbi at Mount Sinai Congregation, Cheyenne, Wyoming. I was born in 1961 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and lived there until I graduated college (University of Minnesota). I later moved to Peoria, Illiniois; Omaha, Nebraska; Prairie Village, Kansas; Manhattan, New York; Elmwood Park, New Jersey; Buffalo, New York; Modesto, California; Baldwin, Long Island, New York; Cheyenne, Wyoming. I have a large Science Fiction and Fantasy book collection (which has not been added to in decades).

In your opinion, what importance, if any, does the existence of a Jewish state have to you personally and to Jewish people in general?

“It seems fairly obvious to me that no matter how bad things might be in the world for Jews, without the existence of the State of Israel things would be far worse. For me personally Israel is a country whose existence makes sense and whose events remain longer and more clearly in my memory than similar groups of events somewhere in Africa or Australia do.”

Do you feel committed in some way to defend the future existence of Israel?

“I am beyond the age of physically defending much of anything, but I do try to broaden viewpoints where that seems capable of making a difference. There are many people whose views on all sorts of topics seem rock solid, and not readily amenable to change.”

Do you affiliate yourself with a specific confessional division in Judaism? What is your view regarding the dominance of the Orthodox division in Israel religious establishment?

“I grew up as a Conservative Jew, and currently serve as the only local Rabbi in this part of Wyoming, USA, where the community has never belonged to any one strand of Judaism. I personally feel the job of Chief Rabbi is a mistaken post in a Jewish State, and that all politicians, if they are Rabbis, should give up their pulpits and stop teaching while they are politically active. Each denomination’s Chief Rabbi (if they have one) should only be able, at most, to indicate who can join their particular branch or be serviced by Rabbis of their particular stripe, and have nothing to say about life cycle events in general. God has not yet decided which strand of Israelites is actually correct, despite any certain statements by humans to the contrary.”

Do you feel morally responsible for Israel’s actions (such as its management of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)?

“I don’t feel morally responsible for other people’s actions. I do feel moral outrage when Israeli Jews harm other people who were not engaged in attacking them at that moment (prime example is the Dawabsha family), and I express that outrage via social media. I feel some moral outrage at racist behavior in general, but not at policies regarding border crossings. I lived near a border between Canada and the US for awhile, and who gets to cross is taken very seriously (and this is between friends). Others of my colleagues seem more certain they know who is being oppressed and why, or perhaps they know which group of people they are more likely to talk out of acting a certain way.”

In your opinion, what is the main thing Israelis fail to understand about the reality of being Jewish outside of Israel?

“There are no neat categories in which people can be pigeon-holed, particularly in America. Apparent contradiction is normative, and you cannot judge the level of somebody’s Judaism by externals .”

How would you describe Israel’s policy (formally and in practice) regarding its relationship with the Diaspora?

“There are several aspects of the relationship. Growing up, it seemed that the Youth Groups which mimicked the Labor Party’s outlook received more ‘Shlichim’ than other groups did (when the government changed, the number of ‘Shlichim’ dwindled drastically). It seems that there are many obstacles put in front of people who try to make Aliyah from America, which may be related to all the religious brouhaha. I really do not appreciate somebody who has never lived outside of Israel trying to tell me that I am not Jewish. Sometimes it seems like the Israeli government is trying to tell me that, and I hate the concept.

“On a separate issue, I think it is beneficial for Israel to try to be as independent as possible. I like living in America, but given our long historical memory as Jews, I don’t think any country can afford to rely on any other country for all that long. Decades ago I came up with a concept that might result in an actually united peoplehood. Somewhat similar to America’s Peace Corps concept, every person would have to serve a year or two in a dissimilar community. Diaspora Jews would serve in Israel and Israeli Jews would serve in the Diaspora, and the religious style of the community being served would also have to be different. This should create the complete understanding that people are people, and avoid the possibility of demonizing the other completely. The idea was never picked up by anybody who could have done something with it – I still think it is a reasonable idea whose time might have already passed.”

In your opinion, does Israel have an obligation to defend and help Jewish communities in need?

“Yes. Which is why we feel so upset when Israel tries to limit who it considers Jewish enough.”

Have you ever been to Israel?

“I have not ever been to Israel (or to any other country besides Canada), as international travel requires much more money than I have ever had.”

Can you tell us a bit about the Jewish community in your hometown? Is it organized? Are there community activities?

“Depends upon the definition of hometown. Where I live now, the community is very eclectic with a highly active core, and a strong support system from those who are either no longer active, or are waiting to be active until some personal issues have been resolved. There were Jews, and a kosher Torah Scroll in this city even before it was named. In the modern era, it is easy enough to keep kosher most of the year, although for Passover items I find it useful to travel to a town a couple of hours away which has a single Kosher delicatessen and grocery. The synagogue which has hired me has a Mikveh which satisfies Orthodox standards, a kitchen which I oversee that they voted to retain as strong Conservative standards, and regular Shabbat services that are either modified Conservative or Reform in nature. Many of the active regulars are converts, and all the students in the Religious School are part of intermarried families.

“The city I have lived in for the longest time (and I have lived and worked in 9 places since then) has a very large Jewish population. My family belonged to what we considered the town’s small, heimishe shul. It had 950 families, and was the smallest Conservative synagogue out of the three possibilities. The city also had Reform and Orthodox options, as well as a very functional Federation, Jewish Community Center, and a community Talmud Torah. It has grown in population and the number of options since I left.”

Is there a question you feel should be added to the project’s questionnaire?

“Maybe a question about Zionist connections growing up?”