A resource for Jewish communal professionals engaged in outreach to those on the periphery of Jewish life.
Below are some of JOI's most recent thoughts on current issues about creating a more welcoming Jewish community. What do YOU think? Please feel free to leave comments.
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The Welcoming Synagogues project, highlighted in a recent article in the Huffington Post by Jessica Youseffi, seeks to not just welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Jews—and their non-Jewish significant others, when applicable—but offer programming and support so that these individuals feel welcome and included. Dr. Joel L. Kushner of Hebrew Union College, the organization that first piloted the Welcoming Synagogues program, advocates that inclusion isn’t successful unless it is an active and on-going process.
He outlined four steps to inclusion: content, visibility, training and language. In implementation, this might mean having visual images on the website of two dads and a child, training clergy and staff on services the community offers for LGBT Jews, or ensuring the membership forms don’t just say “mother and father” but “parent or guardian.”
Kushner’s suggestions fit within JOI’s Big Tent Judaism’s 10 Principles of Inclusion, which outline methods for institutions to welcome intermarried families, Jews of color, LGBT Jews, and all who either consider themselves or their households Jewish or are involved in the Jewish community. The idea of creating not just a welcoming physical space, but a welcoming web space, is one we also advocate for, in addition to training “front-line” staff to ensure they are greeting all members with the same open arms.
Yet while it’s clear that in many ways “welcoming” is welcoming, regardless of who approaches our doors, at the same time there are specific sensitivities that need to be addressed depending on the unique needs and interests of each individual. That’s why we at JOI are so supportive of Dr. Kushner’s work and believe the Welcoming Synagogues project will help many synagogues address the specific interests and needs of LGBT Jews. We look forward to helping, particularly on the additional challenges and opportunities inherent in welcoming LGBT Jews in interfaith relationships. And as is implied by the project, it’s not just about weaving a better welcome mat, but making sure we build lasting, meaningful relationships and pathways into Jewish life through ongoing inclusive programming and community activities.
I heard a lecturer once talk about the idea of MOT and MOB– Member of the Tribe and Member of the Book– essentially dividing Jewish identity into two categories. It’s never that simple by the way, but it states the issue well. Am I a Jew because my family was Jewish (MOT) or am I a Jew because I keep Kosher, walk to Shul on Shabbat, obey as many of the 613 mitzvot that I can remember, and can recite the whole Amidah (a very long prayer) from memory (MOB)? Is one better than the other? Can I claim to be “Jewier” than thou? Can you?
It’s certainly a common way to look at our community, and an interesting point that we’ve been debating since the parting of the Red Sea, but it misses one truly important factor. Our community is far more than just MOT’s and MOB’s, and trying to divide it into this one or that one does us all a great disservice. Like any truly vibrant community, homogeny is an illusion. It’s our diversity that makes us interesting and the blending of cultures and practices that keeps things interesting. We are Sephardic and Ashkenazi and Ethiopian. We come from Italy and Spain, Russia and Iran and Tucson, AZ (that would be yours truly) and each culture brings something unique to the celebration of Jewish identity.
Most importantly however, neither idea, MOT or MOB, take into account one of the largest segments of our Community (and I use Community with a capital C here): the wonderful and loving partners of other religious backgrounds who have chosen to marry into a Jewish family. Let’s forget for a moment where we come from, and choose to see and appreciate the choices we’ve made today. While much of our Jewish identity is wrapped up in where we come from, I think we do ourselves harm if we don’t also include where we are going. And where we are going will be defined by everyone who is making this journey with us, not just those of us who were born into the Jewish community, and it’s important that we not forget that.
JOI has spent years advocating for openness and inclusion in our communities. More and more we are seeing the results as organizations around the country are actively reaching out to these families and encouraging them to come and share those most Jewish of values: learning and being a part of something greater. What those open arms say more than anything else is, “You belong here. We value you and we believe there is something here that you will find valuable.”
eJewishPhilanthropy.com has featured an article by JOI Executive Director Rabbi Kerry Olitzky and Associate Executive Director Paul Golin on the progress of the Public Space Judaism model.
A phrase coined by JOI after a landmark study in 2001, Public Space Judaism is the methodology of bringing Judaism to where people are, outside of the walls of our Jewish institutions, and into public spaces such as supermarkets and bookstores. 2011 saw the rise of public space programs from other organizations in the Jewish community, pointing to a rise in the method’s acceptance and success. We are seeing more and more outreach programming for less-engaged Jews and intermarried households, and the success of these programs is encouraging.
Rabbi Olitzky and Paul Golin look forward to what 2012 has in store:
JOI’s outreach comes from a place of genuine optimism about the future of Jewish life in America. This isn’t a desperation membership drive. We’re out there sharing what we love about being Jewish and helping individuals explore their own connections to whatever they find meaningful in our tradition, culture, and/or peoplehood. We look forward to continuing to share what we’ve learned about outreach and engagement with as many Jewish communal professionals and volunteer leaders as we possible can in 2012.
Public Space Judaism can take place almost anywhere, and JOI can provide the resources for your community to run programs like Passover in the Matzah Aisle and Hands-On Hanukkah. We encourage institutions and organizations to continue to look beyond their physical walls and reach out to the community at large, and the Public Space Judaism model that JOI has created allows for greater outreach. We must also keep in mind that it’s not just the location that matters, but what takes place there: outreach methodology includes many other techniques such as data collection, follow-up, and next-step program planning. JOI can offer resources and tools to maximize the potential of these programs, and we look forward to working with new communities in 2012.
Just after the High Holidays, we posted a blog about the wave of synagogues who not only offered free High Holiday services this year, but in same cases threw their membership model out the window completely. Some synagogues here in New York have switched to a model of “pay what you can,” and the idea seems to be spreading.
In an article posted on eJewishPhilanthropy.com today, Dan Judson highlights a Boston area synagogue that has changed their membership dues model, and is now seeing a slow and steady increase in membership. Temple Israel of Sharon, MA was seeing a decline in membership, and was not meeting its annual budget. Families were leaving as the synagogue increased dues every year to compensate for the slow economy and rising costs of maintenance. So, after considering several options, the synagogue decided to “scrap” the current model, and replace it with a voluntary system by which families can essentially pay what they want to be members.
While the first two years continued to see a deficit, it was smaller than with the dues system, and this past year actually saw positive numbers, as well as an increase in membership. Creating a system in which people don’t feel like they have to pay encourages them to pay, and the synagogue is finally turning around financially.
Here at JOI, we acknowledge that changes to the synagogue culture like the change seen at Temple Israel, are a slow and steady process. It can be scary for synagogues to let go of the monetary reigns and allow congregants to dictate when and how much they will pay to be members of their local Jewish community. However, in these difficult economic times, new financial models may be worth exploring. We are eager to see what other new membership models synagogues try, particularly those that can not only raise the necessary funds but that also promote inclusion by welcoming in all families regardless of financial standing and the ability to give.
As the gay rights movement has developed and restructured our secular and Jewish worlds, we have witnessed a change in perception regarding gay rights among North Americans. With realistic (and non-stereotypical) gay characters and couples abounding on TV shows, the legalization of gay marriage in the state of New York, and the Conservative movement’s ordination of the first openly gay rabbi in 2011, it comes as no surprise that the Orthodox Jewish community has begun to wrestle with the seeming paradox of open homosexuality in Orthodox practice. While the debate is not new (the 2001 provocative documentary, Trembling Before God certainly attests to this), we must thank Rabbi Steven Greenberg, an openly gay Orthodox rabbi, for his dedication to shaking up the protocol regarding gays in the Orthodox world. His advocacy, both through his words and actions, has pushed the bounds of Halacha (Jewish law).
Rabbi Greenberg’s recent article, “A Place for Gays in Orthodoxy,” in the Jewish Daily Forward, specifically articulates the steps necessary to allow for Orthodox Judaism to make room for gays in the Orthodox community. His words are particularly potent, as they speak to the struggles of gay individuals, both Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Rabbi Greenberg explains:
I was recently told in a single New York City psychiatric clinic there is a suicide attempt by a gay Orthodox person yearly. Sadly, the healthiest of these young people, having read the tea leaves years earlier, decide that they will have no life in the Orthodox world and are no longer frum by the time their parents find out.
Though Rabbi Greenberg does demand Orthodox rabbis to begin to reevaluate their Halachic interpretation of homosexuality, he more importantly calls for actions that can immediately affect the lives of gay individuals dealing with communal rejection. To ensure that gay Orthodox Jews do not desert the movement for more accepting communities, Orthodox Judaism should follow in the footsteps of their sister movements and take ownership of a “welcoming” mindset. It cannot be just the Orthodox family’s acceptance of the gay family member. It cannot be just Rabbi Greenberg and a few Orthodox rabbis who secretly articulate the profound conundrums they face. Instead, “communal expectations,” which can degrade the dignity of gay community members, must be eliminated.
For 25-year-old Vermont state legislator Kesha Ram, life is about much more than just politics. As the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Hindu father, Ram was raised to cherish and respect both religions. Having already visited India several times, Ram, at the suggestion of her brother, recently visited Israel as part of a Taglit-Birthright trip.
While in Israel, Ram says “it’s important to see ancient spaces and to understand history where it happened.” Spending time in Israel allowed her to reconnect with her Jewish side, and also to bring some political ideas back home. In addition to learning about Israel’s use of solar energy, she would also like to see the United States adopt a voluntary service model similar to the Israel Defense Force’s.
Growing up in an interfaith family in which both religions claim her as their own (Judaism uses matrilineal descent while Hinduism uses patrilineal), has helped shape Kesha Ram into the person she is today, which is, in fact, the youngest state legislator in the country. Ram’s college rabbi attributes this to her open ear and open mind, and I believe that by being raised essentially in two cultures and two religions, she has a greater understanding about not just keeping that open mind, but accepting others’ beliefs and opinions as well.
Here at JOI, we see the adult children of intermarriage as an important part of the future of the Jewish community. 20-somethings like Kesha will help shape this future into a positive, nurturing, and welcoming Jewish community in which all sorts of Jews will be included.
We at the Jewish Outreach Institute often highlight the changes that need to be made in the American Jewish community to prepare for its future growth. As we struggle to broaden the Jewish community, it is equally important acknowledge the progress made through the hard work and advocacy of a few pioneers. The Jewish community has opened many doors in the last few decades as a result of these visionaries.
One such recently departed pioneer, Dr Paula Hyman, deserves her due. A historian and feminist, Dr. Hyman leaves quite a legacy. Beyond her critical historical research on Jewish women’s contributions to the American immigrant experience, Dr. Hyman’s feminism and advocacy catalyzed change within the Conservative movement and thereby the American Jewish community at large. Her 1972 delivery of the speech “Jewish Women Call for Change,” (with fellow Jewish feminists) to the rabbis of the Conservative movement called to end restrictions on women. At the time, Conservative Judaism’s views regarding women’s participation did not look too different from those of Modern Orthodox Judaism. However, with Dr. Hyman’s advocacy and subsequent appointment as the first woman dean of undergraduates at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Conservative Judaism veered in a new direction. Her leadership brought almost full equality to the movement of my own upbringing.
I want to acknowledge Dr. Hyman because I benefited from her fight. Entirely unaware of their struggles, I became a Bat Mitzvah at a Conservative synagogue and felt like an equal in the Houston Jewish community. Today, I regularly work with Reform and Conservative female rabbis and cantors, women who lead minyanim, and female leaders of the Jewish community. There is a pervasive sense of egalitarianism within the American Jewish community in no small party to the late Dr. Hyman. Tablet Magazine deemed her a “Shivah Star.” If only I had known her earlier.
After spending the day meeting with the likes of AIPAC and J Street, a contingency of 19 Australian Union of Jewish Students leaders visited JOI’s offices for an informal Q&A about JOI’s work. Associate Director Paul Golin and Senior Director of Training Eva Stern led the session, talking about innovative approaches to outreach such as Public Space Judaism, understanding of issues related to intermarriage, and the bigger picture question of why be Jewish. Students from the AUJS have visited the JOI offices for the past four years in a row now; we’re honored to host them and appreciate their interest in our work.
The students put forth extremely thoughtful questions and seemed genuinely appreciative of the responses and new perspectives. One student asked whether JOI’s work was perceived as encouraging of intermarriage. In response, Paul was able to explain that such a perception confused cause and effect, that intermarriage in North America has been a growing trend for decades at this point, that the Jewish community spent the 1960s through the 1990s trying to put its foot down during that period to no effect as the intermarriage rate continued to climb regardless. And that JOI’s work recognizes an opportunity to engage less-engaged Jews, including intermarried households, and try to help them answer the question of why be Jewish. Thoughtful, well-informed responses and explanations like this of JOI’s work seemed to have a deep impact on the students’ understanding of modern Jewish life, challenges and potential solutions.
We hope the students’ JOI experience, along with their other experiences (including last night’s performance of A Very Les Miz Hanukkah) will help them think about new approaches to outreach and inclusiveness in the Australian Jewish community as well.
Tablet Magazine featured an article by JOI Associate Executive Director Paul Golin in response to a recent trend of non-intermarried Jews telling intermarried Jews that they shouldn’t put up a Christmas tree in their home. He raises the point that each family has a right to decide for themselves how they are going to tackle the December holidays. Even though he does not choose to have a Christmas tree in his own home, despite his wife’s upbringing with one, he respects others’ decisions to include this symbol of the season:
For many Jews looking in from the outside, a Christmas tree might represent the threatening, monolithic assertion: “Christian Household.” But for vast swaths of the intermarried population who put up Christmas trees but still successfully raise strongly identified Jews, that’s just not factually correct. And it’s why Tablet’s Marc Tracy drew the wrong red line when he wrote on the Scroll that the flexibility of identity requires some limits “and celebrating Christmas is beyond that limit.”
Really? Why does anyone get to decide that limit for someone else?
The overwhelming majority of Jews pick and choose which Jewish laws they find meaningful and which they reject. Keeping kosher all the time? Rejected by 85 percent of American Jewry. Believing homosexuality is an abomination? Thankfully, rejected by a growing majority. When we start telling each other that our own individual red lines are the universally accepted “Jewish” red lines—and if you cross them, you’re a bad Jew—our community descends into recriminations. Those of us working to actually grow the Jewish community understand that the message of “our way or the highway” more often than not results in the highway. Rather than telling people what they shouldn’t do, why not provide more ways for them to express their Jewish identity?
We at JOI support intermarried families raising Jewish children, regardless of their decision to have or not have Christmas trees in their homes. As Jews, we should be thankful for the fact that they have chosen to raise their children in the Jewish faith, and be open to the idea that they have a right to decide if and how to incorporate the non-Jewish partner’s traditions. Let’s focus on sharing what we love about being Jewish rather than chastising people for doing it “wrong.”
We at the Jewish Outreach Institute wish you a Happy Hanukkah! Below is this year’s JOI Hanukkah card, encouraging those who are already a part of the Jewish community to reach out to those who are newcomers by introducing them to the Festival of Lights. We hope you enjoy the card, and will share it with friends.
- The Staff of the Jewish Outreach Institute
