Think-Pieces and Sermons on Inclusive Judaism
by individuals from member organizations of the Big Tent Judaism Coalition
Have you written or spoken about Big Tent Judaism or the principles of welcoming and inclusivity? Contact Paul Golin to post it here and share it with the entire Big Tent Judaism Coalition! If not yet, find themes and inspiration from the voices of your colleagues:
Celebrating Jewish Diversity
Rabbi Maurice Harris
Eugene, OR (Temple Beth Israel)
"Temple Beth Israel is one of the most Jewishly diverse congregations I’ve ever been a part of, and this ties directly into what I’d like to talk about tonight. The people who make up this congregation come from many different backgrounds, embrace a wide range of religious approaches and practices of Judaism, and include Jews -- and many non-Jews – who contribute a wide range of talents and ideas to this community. It is this kind of diversity -- the astonishing diversity that is internal to the Jewish community -- that I think can be one of our people’s greatest strengths when it is embraced with care and faith by all of us. However, despite its potential blessings, our diversity also causes many Jewish leaders to worry about our future. Let me say a little more about what I mean."
(Full text)
An Unexpected Role Model
Rabbi Maurice Harris
"There’s a member of the Jewish community who I’d like to talk about this evening – someone who has lived an extraordinary life. I haven’t told him beforehand that he would be the focus of my talk, so I don’t know how he might react. He’s someone who has lived a life that is so compelling, so filled with controversy and contradiction, that on this sacred day when we make time to reflect on the meaning of our lives, I was drawn to talk about what his life might mean to all of us."
(Full text)
They walked, the two of them, together
Rabbi Adam Zeff
Philadelphia, PA ( Germantown Jewish Centre)
“We have gotten used to being divided by our differences and locked in our own experiences, alienated from each other. We sometimes even treat others—when separated from us by politics, religion or something else—as if they are not fellow travelers on our journey, as if they cannot accompany us and we cannot walk with them.”
(Full text)
What are our Sacred Texts?
Rabbi Rachel Ain
Dewitt, NY (Congregation Beth Sholom-Chevra Shas)
“We don’t discriminate based on finances, sexual orientation, religion of either spouse, or no spouse at all. I always say to prospective members that our synagogue is a tapestry of the American Jewish community. We take pride in our diversity because we are committed and bound to the values that hold us together. So, our challenge is that we have to be more than just an open tent. We need to figure out how to continue to attract those who are unaffiliated-not because we need a membership drive. We are doing fine with regard to numbers. But because if we care so deeply about Jewish life in general and this synagogue in particular, we should share that.”
(Full text)
Reject Intolerance in our Community
Rabbi Daniel Levin
Boca Raton, FL (Temple Beth El)
“We as a Jewish community can no longer tolerate racism and bigotry in our community. We can no longer tolerate judgments based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. It’s not enough just to know that racism is bad individually—we have to go further and reject it in our community.”
(Full text)
Are We All Created in God's Image?
Rabbi Stephen Wise
Oakville, Ontario (Shaarei-Beth El Congregation)
“Abraham, our forefather, taught us that when strangers arrive we must open our tents and welcome them in as friends. Abraham would rush out to greet anyone sojourning through the desert, invite them in for food and water, providing rest of shelter, We must remind ourselves of Abraham’s example and open our tent to all who wish to join us under the mantle of Torah and beneath the wings of the Shechinah, “God’s Presence.”
(Full text)
We Embrace You
Rabbi Jeffrey Kurtz-Lendner
Hollywood, FL ( Temple Solel)
“The concept of Big Tent Judaism is that we accept you for who you are, without judgement. Of course the Jewish community promotes Jews marrying Jews, but you’re intermarried we welcome and embrace you. If you are the child of intermarried parents, we embrace you. If you are not Jewish but your spouse is Jewish, we embrace you. If you are a member of the GLBT community, we embrace you. If you come from a non-European ethnic background, we embrace you."
(Full text)
Welcoming Those in Recovery
"There is a blessing that appears in the traditional Jewish liturgy called Birkat HaGomel – “the blessing of bestowing.” The blessing goes as follows: Barukh Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melekh Ha’olam Hagomel Tovot sheGemalani kol tov. “Praised are you Eternal our God, Sovereign of the Universe, the One who bestows all good things; and has bestowed every goodness upon me.”
This blessing is traditionally recited by someone who comes up for an aliyah at the Torah, to be honored with the blessing over the reading from our sacred scriptures. It is recited after the safe return from a long journey, from surviving a dangerous event or recovering from a serious illness. But the ceremony does not end when the person who has survived trauma recites this blessing."
(Full text)
Our Autumn Clubhouse
Rabbi Misha Zinkow
Columbus, OH ( Temple Israel)
“We live in an era in which every one of us must actively choose Judaism, every one of us is a Jew by choice. Our future depends on all of us and our ability to welcome, to be inclusive and to strengthen the chain of Jewish tradition. Our diversity will indeed be our asset only if we use it to deepen our personal connections to the beauty of Judaism and enhance our own lives.”
(Full text)
Brotherhood, Sisterhood and Peoplehood
Rabbi Isaac Jeret
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (Congregation Ner Tamid)
“When I cross my arms to bless my sons, I braid them together. My arms touch, they are equal, they are not one over the other. Its like the challah, its like the way we touch or caress someone we love. They are joined as I am joined. As your sons and your daughters are joined. As all of us are joined. One people, One brotherhood, One sisterhood, one shul. One people.”
(Listen to the full sermon here)
A Charge to Jewish Outreach
Rabbi Isaac Jeret
“In a world of new challenges we also have a world of opportunities. The opportunities are in this room, and they are among us tonight, in the form of those individuals who have decided to become Jewish, who have not yet decided to become Jewish or who will never decide to become Jewish who at times and oft times are more involved in raising their children as Jews as their Jewish spouses are.”
(Listen to the full sermon here)
Abraham and Lawn Signs
Rabbi Leonard Gordon
Philadelphia, PA ( Germantown Jewish Centre)
“Our mystical and legal traditions, along with the tradition of Abraham, like the Greek and Roman traditions that begin with the Odyssey, are clear that openness to outsiders is the defining act of a truly civilized household and community. To return once again to our time, we need to ask: How far have you departed from this value in our homes today?”
(Full text)
Between Optimism and Fear: Non-Jews in the Jewish Community
Rabbi Leonard Gordon
“Do we allow non-Jewish partners to join the synagogue and be members? May they assume leadership in synagogue committees and processes? Tonight I raise these questions, not to answer them, but to reiterate the importance of kaeruv, not alienating people who would be close to us, of facilitating people’s interest in raising Jewish children, even as we preserve the Jewish need for sensitively demarcated ritual boundaries.”
(Full text)
Belonging For All: A New Approach
Allan Finkelstein
New York, NY (Jewish Community Centers Association)
"A recent study by the Florence G. Heller-JCC Association Research Center should make some folks in the Jewish community happy. The study, conducted by leading Jewish demographer Steven Cohen and Lauren Blitzer, demonstrates a fascinating contradiction among American Jews. Using national survey data collected by the Pew Forum, the two researchers remind us that American Jews have a great penchant to belong, to affiliate, to support a variety of institutions of Jewish life. However, unlike committed Christians in America, their passion for joining does not derive primarily from widespread religious belief."
(Full text)