Inclusion

We often talk about inclusion, and being welcoming, and reaching out, but we’re not so good at putting those happy clichés into action. And there often are good – or at least deeply human – reasons for that. People who are unlike us often scare us, and even when we are not frightened often we’re lazy. Reaching out takes work.

On Tuesday afternoon, members of a panel hosted by Joel Baker, our Pacific Southwest executive director, talked about specific differences, how it is that people feel as if they are outside the community, and ways to understand that as we work to bring them in.

Rabbi Steven Greenberg of Clal, who perhaps is best known for his part in the enormously influential documentary film Trembling Before G-d, led the session, beginning by teaching texts about inclusion. He began with Abraham, sitting in the doorway of his tent and welcoming in strangers. That tent is the opposite of Sodom, he said, which is the equivalent of a gated community, open only to people who are like each other.

David Levy of Keshet, a Boston-based organization devoted to creating inclusion for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Jews, who grew up as an active Conservative Jew and USYer, said that it was hard establishing an identity as a young observant Jew, much less as a gay one. No matter how us versus them anyone might feel, he said, remember that we are all us. Always assume that someone in the room, any room, is touched by the issue, and remember that symbolic actions matter and concrete actions matter as well. Be careful about language. School forms don’t have to say mother or father; parent/parent works better. Consider cosponsoring events with glbt organizations. Provide a gender-neutral bathroom. Establish a permanent committee to address issues of inclusion, not an ad hoc one. These and other such actions are powerful signals or real support.

Shelley Kaplan, the chair of United Synagogue’s Commission on Disabilities, began by pointing out that although it is not unusual for sessions like this one to be held, usually they are tacked on at the end, when people already are thinking of packing up and heading home. She talked about some of the architectural solutions available, mentioned the resources available on our website, and urged people to create and share more of them.

Lacey Schwartz, the New York director of B’chol Lashon, said that she never looked exactly like the rest of her Ashkenazi family but she never knew why; when people would ask her about her exotic background she’d have no idea what they were talking about. It wasn’t until she was 18, when her parents split, that she learned that her biological father with a black man with whom her mother had had a relationship. In college she explored her black identity; it wasn’t until much later that she was able to begin to integrate the two parts of her being. “Our real goal is to build a global Jewish identity that encompasses all pieces of who we are,” she said. “Wat we really want to do is put out substantive content and encourage conversation about each other, so we all feel like part of the Jewish community.”

United Synagogue's Rabbi Moshe Edelman, who wrote our guide to keruv, or outreach, Al Ha Derekh (On the Path), also talked about how important it is not only to reach out but to welcome actively.

Joanne Palmer