Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Reconstructionist Movement

Connections to Reconstructionism by Carol Lessure

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I am fond of saying that I was a Reconstructionist Jew before I ever heard of such a thing. 

Why do I say that? 

As I grew up in a small Jewish community in Evansville, Indiana, I often found myself questioning and also doing things my way. At that time, we had two synagogues serving a small Jewish community.  Evansville wasn’t a deserted island but as the joke goes, there was the shul we attended, and the one that we didn’t. 

As the Jewish community continued to age and shrink during my childhood, the two synagogues merged religious schools when I was in elementary school. I recall asking the reform Rabbi (of the shul we didn’t attend) why we couldn’t chant the Shema in his class. I came to learn that congregants didn’t chant anything at his synagogue but rather the service songs were sung by a musically trained, non-Jewish person accompanied by piano behind a screen. I failed to connect to the Rabbi or his services. 

By the time I was in high school, the two congregations fully merged after the two Rabbis retired. I remember it was challenging to meld reform and conservative traditions to the satisfaction of the majority of members. I taught in the religious school, led the local Jewish youth chapter, and ran children’s services on high holidays. I was involved and often did things my own way. 

The new synagogue became known as Temple Adath B’nai Israel and hired a new Rabbi and one of the first female cantors. Even today, the Temple website doesn’t make a strong connection to any denomination and seeks to include Jews from many different backgrounds. That is consistent with my own memory of the early years when the new congregation sorted out what traditions were most important and how to honor the needs of all its members. 

At college, the Hillel didn’t really suit me – so I rarely went to there. One year, I wanted a Passover seder that was more meaningful – so I wrote my own Haggadah and invited Jewish and non-Jewish friends to celebrate with me. The four sons became the four children, the Haggadah included Miriam and the midwives Shifra and Puah along with Moses and the plagues. We no longer read the traditional Talmudic style Haggadah that discussing what ancient Rabbis thought about the story in the Torah and the meaning of various phrases. The old Haggadah always seemed to me to be the opposite of what we are asked to do at this holiday – to share and tell the story of Passover. My “reconstructed” Haggadah has gone through various iterations over the past 40+ years. It is now assembled into spiral bound notebooks so that we can add and change sections as we find new songs and readings that are meaningful to our family. 

As a young adult in DC, I didn’t affiliate but continued to seek out Jewish spaces. For several years, a friend and I did Jewish community hopping visiting various Havurah-style services for Shabbat. When my friend married and became involved in a congregation in Maryland – that was my first introduction to Reconstrutionism. After she divorced, we continued our seeking. I still have a copy of “Chaveirim Kol Yisraeil – a Project of The Progressive Chavurah Siddur Committee of Boston” a prayer book that was used by one of the congregations that we attended. 

When I moved to Ann Arbor, my friend and I met up to attend the Havurah Summer Institute around 1996 – a gathering organized by the National Havurah Committee. It was an amazing experience with people from a wide variety of practices from around North America. It was there that I met Evelyn Neuhaus who made the annual trek east to the Institute each summer.  She was affiliated with the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Havurah – aka “The Hav” – while I attended home-based monthly services with a Havurah of 30 somethings that included Beth Israel congregants and unaffiliated Jews including AARC member Sarai Brachman Shoup who I knew from grad school.  

Soon after, I started lurking around the Hav – attending High Holiday services at the Quaker house on Hill Street. I still recall standing next to Rena and Jeff Basch in 2001 – holding their infant son Ari – for a communal Aliyah for Parsha Vayeira on Rosh Hashana. I was pregnant with our first child, Avi. We were all delighting, like Sarah, in new beginnings. 

Within a year or so, Jon Engelbert and I became members. We found our Jewish home with the Ann Arbor Reconstructionists. Nearly a half century later, AARC continues to be our Jewish home. 

Reconstructionist Judaism encourages me to think about and find connections to our ancient Jewish traditions in a way that brings meaning to my modern life. I am grateful to have this community.    

Carol is 2nd from right, with friends at the 2025 AARC Retreat at Camp Tamarack

Why I Chose Reconstructionist by Elizabeth Brindley

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I wasn’t born a Jew.

Well… maybe that’s not really accurate. The more I learned about Judaism, the more it felt like getting to know myself, so maybe I was always Jewish deep down. Judaism had never occurred to me as an option. I was raised Lutheran, but had never connected with it, and I had explored other practices like Wicca and Buddhism trying to find something that brought the peace and guidance I think I was really looking for. It wasn’t until I took a Jewish Children’s Literature class, which necessitated a basic understanding of Jewish beliefs, that I really started to wonder if this was a good fit. I liked the idea of Tikkun Olam, and Yom Kippur sounded like a really meaningful holiday. Eventually I decided to talk to a Rabbi, and I told myself I would keep practicing Judaism until I didn’t like it anymore. But the longer I’m here, the more I like it, so… here we are.

Regardless, I didn’t have a Jewish family around growing up, aside from Rabbi Scott z”l, a family friend, and much of my Jewish education has been in formal settings like a Jewish Children’s Literature at Eastern Michigan, a couple Judaism 101 classes, and a Beginner’s Hebrew Class. I’ve read A LOT of books about the history and various practice ways, but I focused a lot on the mystical, the yummy (food!) and the folk. I found my corner of Jewish study very quickly, but it took much, much longer to feel like part of the Jewish community.

Rabbi Robert Scott

SCOTT, Rabbi Robert. Beloved husband of the late Ardis K. Scott, cherished father of Jeffrey Paul Scott, David Simon Scott and Stephanie Tara Scott (Jeremy Wilson). Also survived by his loving dog Motek. Dear brother of Philip (Marsha) Scott. 

Being a convert can feel very insecure. Is it weird to tell you I’m a convert in conversation? Should I keep it to myself, tell you when it’s comfortable, tell you up front? Does it even matter to you? Will it change how you talk to me if you know? Do I know enough to be here? Am I doing something inadvertently to out myself as a convert?

Perhaps complicating things somewhat was that I converted in a Reform setting. If you’ve never participated in Reform practices, it is highly individualized. I think of Judaism like a spectrum. The most Orthodox, like the Chasidim, I explain like this: They follow ALL the commandments to the T, because God gave those commandments, and as you follow them you find meaning in them. You do and you understand, right? Reform attitude goes in the other direction — you practice the mitzvahs and rituals that make you (the individual) feel Jewish. I explain to folks who ask that Reconstructionist Judaism sits somewhere in the middle. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with either end of the spectrum, but I am a person who likes structure and tradition and community, and Reform spaces just felt too loose for me, and left me feeling untethered and a little lonely. It was hard to find Reform spaces where my penchant and desire for intellectual study, critical analysis or mystical experiences necessarily fit the culture. I love the folkways, the women’s practices, the hidden histories of Judaism. The “hot takes” as the kids say. They weren’t necessarily frowned on in Reform, but I was hard pressed to find anybody who had read The Hebrew Priestess or was super interested in the Witch of Endor, or Judaism’s attitude towards folk magic practices, much less wanted to talk about them or incorporate aspects into their personal practices. While the Rabbi of my home temple in Ohio is very progressive and we can discuss these topics, the larger culture of the Temple wasn’t quite there, which is something I learned I wanted after a few years into my Jewish practice.

My experience with Reconstructionist Judaism, however, has been the perfect mix of tradition and innovation. It was a Jewish friend from a Reconstructionist congregation who introduced me to the idea of Eco Kashrut, an altered form of Kashrut that values caring for the planet and its creatures or separating ourselves from other cultures, a view which I have slowly introduced to my family over the last few years. Every time I prepare a meal, I know that I have excluded meat and included as much local and homegrown produce as I could because I intentionally chose to. In fact, I knew AARC was the right place for me when my very first time working 4th Friday, the idea of vegetarian diet being the ideal in the Torah came up. It was reinforced recently when Rav Gav showed me her song list and it had several niggunim and chants from Rabbi Shefa Gold.

Reconstructionist Judaism’s idea that Judaism is an evolving civilization, not just a tradition, was one of the biggest draws I had to this community. I mean yes, you pay me to be here, but that doesn’t mean I don’t connect with or participate in services to the extent I can while I’m there. Now that I know AARC is here and what they’re about, it’s likely I would have two congregations I was part of. I would come join in even if you weren’t paying me to do so. I am proud that the Reconstruction Movement created teachers like Rabbi Sandra Lawson, who is queer and black. I’m proud that this movement celebrates its black, brown, female and queer members, not just accepts them. I firmly believe that this culture, which I have found to be full of joy and pride and commitment from those involved, is informed by RJ’s core values:

  • Learning from the vast storehouse of Jewish wisdom and practice while understanding that the past has a vote, not a veto;
  • Openness to insights from contemporary society, especially democratic practice and commitments to advancing equity;
  • Thinking, dreaming and making decisions in conversation with community—the community gathered around us today, the voices of our ancestors, and, as best as we can anticipate, the needs and aspirations of the communities of tomorrow;
  • Feeling empowered to reconstruct and co-create rituals, practices, texts and more in order to build the Jewish community we want to live in

I love the Reconstructionist space you (we) have made AARC. I am proud to be part of a community that celebrates its diversity, not just accepts it. Where are times I felt like my Reform practice was disconnected from the community. In the Reconstructionist space I feel not only connected to my spiritual ancestors, but to those people present with me, and those who have not yet joined us. Not to be dramatic, but it feels a bit like the Jewish folks sealing the covenant with G-d at Sinai. By innovating Judaism and continuing to connect it to our constantly changing and modernizing lives, we keep it alive for future generations to find peace and comfort in, and continue to build on thousands of years of memory and learning and community. Thank you, thank you, thanks for inviting me in.

Reconstructing Judaism Movement Votes to Support Reparations to BIPOC Communities That Suffered Due To American Colonization

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Co-Written by Etta Heisler and Gillian Jackson

RJ Commissioned work by Ayeola Omolara Kaplan
“Reparations in Pursuit of Repairing the World“

“If a fellow Hebrew, man or woman, is sold to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall set him free. When you set him free, do not let him go empty-handed: Furnish him out of the flock, threshing floor, and vat, with which the Lord your God has blessed you. Bear in mind that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I enjoin this commandment upon you today.” Deuteronomy 15:12-18

Generational trauma and persecution is a theme in Jewish liturgy and culture that runs deep in the roots of our cultural identity. As long as the Jews have been in diaspora, there have been lessons passed down through the generations about preserving our culture and standing up to oppression. There are myriad stories that describe ways various oppressors attempted to marginalize or harm the Jewish people and we survived (i.e. Purim, Hanukkah, Passover to name a few). It stands to reason that Jewish institutions are increasingly sensitive to the generational trauma inflicted on People of Color in the United States. At the same time, generations of white Jews have largely benefitted from the economic, legal, and social systems founded upon both the enslavement of Africans and Black folks, and on the genocide of indigenous people in the United States. Predominantly white Jewish institutions have often perpetuated biases against BIPOC community members – Jewish and non-Jewish alike. Reconciling with this narrative in which we are the oppressors and the oppressed is the work of B’tzelem Elohim, Teshuvah, Tzedek, and Tikkun Olam. All people are created in the image of God and it is our job as Jews to create a world where everyone is treated as such.

In acknowledgement of this shared responsibility for those facing enslavement and disenfranchisement in our country, the Reconstructing Judaism movement has written and passed a Resolution on Reparations. The reparations resolution commits the Reconstructionist movement to a series of advocacy measures that will aid in building momentum for nationwide reparations. The beginning of the resolution acknowledges that people of European ancestry have benefited from black oppression and enslavement. It adds that other BIPOC populations have been affected by white nationalism throughout US history. The resolution then promises to acknowledge and support BIPOC led initiatives that address racism. It lays intentions to educate members or Reconstructionist Congregations on this issue. Finally the resolution commits to supporting House Bill 40, a bill that funds research into how the US can make reparations to the descendants of black slaves. 

In further discussion of reparations, Reconstructing Judaism states, “Reparations can mean many things. It is policy, theology, a moral obligation, history, and a demand for truth and reconciliation. The National African-American Commission on Reparations (NAACR) defines reparations as, “a process of repairing, healing and restoring a people injured because of their group identity and in violation of their fundamental human rights.” Ta-Nehisi Coates understands reparations as an ethical orientation — “the full acceptance of our collective biography and its consequences.” There is no Hebrew term that fully encompasses the range of meanings that are associated with the English word, reparations. Is it both teshuvah — the Jewish process of public accountability, apology, mending, and returning to right relationship, and tzedek — the ethical demands of material and legal justice.” You can read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ full article on reparations here. 

Before this most recent resolution on reparations, Reconstructing Judaism committed to dozens of anti-racist initiatives that include diversifying the Reconstructionist movement and college, developing improved communications around their anti-racist work, supporting liturgy that teaches about racism and is taught in multiple languages, participating in larger movements, and reviewing internal systems that contribute to biased policy. A wise friend of mine once told me that real social change can be defined by this image: unjust systems will continue to move forward like an airport escalator endlessly cycling forward. It’s not enough to turn around and stand against it, we need to walk the opposite direction and walk fast enough to move the other way. The passage from Deuteronomy seems to acknowledge this idea as well – it is not enough simply to free an enslaved person, one must also give them means to live a fulfilled life. Reparations is one way of “walking down the escalator” in acknowledgment of the centuries of discrimination that have continued since slavery was abolished. Participating in this conversation and activism around anti-racist work is essential to the success of the movement. We should be proud of Reconstructing Judaism’s commitment to this work and have the hard conversations necessary to move it forward. 

Some members of our congregation have begun a conversation about participating in the educational modules provided by Reconstructing Judaism to educate ourselves about the work of reparations and anti-racism. If you would like to participate in planning these events, please email us!

Observing Holocaust Remembrance Day

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Holocaust Memorial in Poland: attribution

On this day in 1945 the Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. To commemorate this liberation, we observe Holocaust Remembrance Day or Yom Hashoah on the 27th of January. This day reminds us how the forces of hatred and fear can incite sectarian violence that ripples through generations. This day reminds us to honor the people affected by genocide around the world, and pledge to stop genocide whenever it arises. It is important to take a moment in our busy life and remember the violence that was inflicted on our ancestors and others effected by genocide.

If you are looking for a way to observe the holiday, the United States Holocaust Museum will be posting speeches from Holocaust survivors and stories about those who were lost. The event will be posted here on their website to be viewed at your convenience. Their website also provides a wealth of resources that one can browse to reflect on the music, culture, documents, art, etc. from the lost communities of the Holocaust.

If you are a parent looking for resources to teach your kids about the Holocaust, this essay in Parenting Magazine by Tyler Gidlin provides ample motivation to make sure we teach our children wisely about the Holocaust. According to Gidlin, “A recent survey of Americans between the ages of 18 and 39 found that 23 percent of respondents said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, or had been exaggerated. Nearly half of all respondents said they have seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online. And worst of all: 1 in 8 (12 percent) said they had definitely not heard or didn’t think they had heard about the Holocaust.” It is a tough topic to broach to be sure, but as we get farther removed from the generations who experienced it first hand, it becomes more important to hold onto the lessons that were learned during this terrible event in our history.

The Reconstructionist movement provides a wealth of resources to reflect on the holiday including prayers, rituals, and readings. You can find them here on Ritualwell. Here is an excerpt from the website, a poem by By B. E. (Betti) Kahn:

Ritual

By B.E. (Betti) Kahn

So many voids

the world full of them.

Unknown relatives

in mass graves.

Or did they survive?

Still lost to family here.

Their bones, in the vast

ritual of music unplayed,

like violin bows taut.

All our unstrung lives

saved by utterance.

Previously published in Poetry Super Highway, Annual Yom Hashoah Issue, 2010

May their memory be for a blessing.

Members of the Reconstructionist Movement Grapple With Tough Israel/Palestine Topics

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Last week, a handful of AARC members attended a lecture by Rabbi Rebecca Alpert titled ‘Reconstructionism without Zionism.’ The event was the beginning of a series of lectures hosted by a coalition of Rabbis and members of the Reconstructionist community that are concerned about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The series was not hosted by the Reconstructing Judaism official body or the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. The lectures will occur bi-weekly and cover a range of topics including Decolonizing Jewish Liturgy, Rethinking Israel Education: Teaching Jewish Kids to Think Critically about Israel/Palestine, Becoming an Abolitionist: Antiracism and Antizionism and more. To learn more about the upcoming lectures, check out the coalition’s website here.

The lecture was opened with an appeal for all participants to sit with their uncomfortable feelings about Israel, be curious about what feels challenging, and remain open to hearing divergent viewpoints. Rabbi Brian Walt invited everyone to take part in a prayer to open the lecture:

Barukh atah Adonai Elo heinu melekh ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu lirdof tzedek v’shalom l’chol yoshvei tevel. 

Blessed is the Source of Life that makes us holy through mitzvot, calling us to pursue justice and peace for all.

If you want to read Rabbi Alpert’s lecture, you can find the source info here from an article she published on Rabbi Brant Rosen’s blog. In her lecture, Rabbi Alpert argued that we need to redefine what it means to be Jews in diaspora. She maintained that how Mordechai Kaplan related to Israel in the post-WWII era needs to be subject to ‘transvaluation’ in the same way that we have transvalued (or redefined) other concepts within Judaism such as the assertion of Jews as the ‘chosen people.’ Rabbi Alpert concluded by urging the Jewish community to consider the ethical implications of war and occupation.

Upon the conclusion of her lecture, the floor was opened up for 45 minutes questions. It was clear during the Q & A that participants had a lot to say about the subject of Zionism, and Rabbi Alpert’s opinion on the subject. The level of emotion and the fact that over 280 people attended the lecture demonstrates our communities’ need to grapple with this issue. The coalition hosting the lecture provided this space for discussion in the form of a Google group after the lecture.

If last week’s lecture is an example of the level of passion on the topic, we are in for an engaging series of lectures and discussions!

To attend next week’s lecture, sign up here.

Resources for Learning More About Reconstructionist Judaism

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How does Reconstructionist Judaism define itself? We are a movement that draws on Jewish history, ritual, and practice to build meaningful and meaning-filled communities. We strive to be inclusive, casting a wide net to draw in previously marginalized Jews and provide them a home to practice Judaism in ways that feel relevant and comfortable.

To learn more about our diverse community, a good place to start is the online home of Reconstructionist Judaism, reconstructingjudaism.org. We have also gathered additional resources below; please comment on this blog if you have any questions or comments.

Resources for engaging with Reconstructionist thought, belief, and ritual:

Hashivenu podcast: A podcast full of Jewish teachings on individual and collective resilience and renewal. The podcast is produced by Reconstructing Judaism, the central organizing arm of the Reconstructionist movement.

Evolve: An online platform with conversation-sparking essays from thought-provoking Reconstructionist rabbis, leaders and creators. Explore essays on key social, ethical, and political topics, as well as curricula, sermon sparks and videos that apply the best Jewish thinking to contemporary questions.

Ritualwell: A website that offers thousands of curated rituals for every moment in a Jewish life, from birth to death, celebration to loss to spiritual renewal, and everything in between. Ritualwell is an example of how we can create meaningful rituals that are relevant to us as modern Jews. This is a great place to start if you are looking for ways to mark a special life event — and you’re invited to contribute your own ritual creations, as well!

Books/articles for learning more about Recon:

Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach: A great introductory text that offers a brief history of the Reconstructionist movement, as well as what makes the movement unique in its approaches to God, Jewish chosenness, prayer, and contemporary social issues. An accessible and important read.

A Guide to Jewish Practice, Volumes 1-3: This comprehensive series provides a guide to Reconstructionist Jewish thought and its take on contemporary ethical issues, the Jewish calendar year, and the Jewish life cycle.

The Radical American Judaism of Mordechai M. Kaplan: This book focuses on Mordecai M. Kaplan, the founder of the Reconstructionist movement. Drawing on Kaplan’s 27-volume diary, author Mel Scult describes the development of Kaplan’s radical theology in dialogue with the thinkers and writers who mattered to him most, from Spinoza to Emerson and from Ahad Ha-Am to Abraham Joshua Heschel.

Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan as an American Thinker: This article is quick read that how Reconstrucionist Judaism was shaped by and shaped in turn liberal American Judaism.

We hope that you enjoy these resources!

Preparing For Shavuot

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The Evolution of Tikkun Leil Shavuot and Details About Community Shavuot 2021

Shavuot is an ancient holiday that has blossomed in recent years as a celebration of Jewish learning. But how exactly did we arrive at the modern manifestation of Shavuot, and what significance does this day hold for us as Reconstructionist Jews?

The biblical origins of Shavuot lie in the agricultural celebration of the first wheat harvest after Passover. Ancient Jews would bring their freshly-baked bread to the temple and partake in a celebration of freedom and bounty. However, in post-Temple Judaic practice, Shavuot shifted into a celebration of the giving of Torah to Moses at Sinai. This shift happened around the 1st century CE, when the early rabbis noticed that the receiving of Torah on Sinai coincided with the exact date of Shavuot. By linking Shavuot to this event, the holiday regained relevance in the Jewish calendar.

The celebration of receiving the Torah evolved over the years. In early days the holiday centered around Torah as divine revelation, but soon expanded into an exploration of halakha (Jewish law) and midrash (stories). Around the 16th century, mystics and Kabbalists expanded the holiday’s celebration into an entire night of study, called Tikkun Leil Shavuot (preparation for a night of study). In the early 20th century, the tradition of eating dairy (in particular cheesecake!) was born out of the symbolism of Torah as milk and honey. Consuming these foods was thought to be a symbol of receiving Torah.

Into the 21st century, the study of Torah on Shavuot has taken on new meaning as the definition of Torah itself has expanded to encompass the whole of Jewish tradition. The Reconstructionist tradition has embraced Shavuot as a time to study what it means to be Jewish and explore how Jewish values can inform contemporary social issues. Reconstructing the revelation of Torah at Sinai, we ourselves are experiencing the revelation of knowledge from our community, our rabbis, and each other during this engaging evening of study!

On Sunday May 16th at 7:30pm, AARC will join congregations in Washtenaw county and beyond to celebrate Shavuot. The event will feature a night of study featuring a keynote address by Washtenaw County Prosecuting Attorney Eli Savit. The evening will host multiple learning sessions, including text study, embodied movement, and creative cooking. BYOC (Bring Your Own Cheesecake) and prepare for a night of learning and connecting to our Jewish community. The zoom link will be sent out in our mailer the Tuesday prior to the event. If you do not receive our mailers and would like to come, please email us! We hope to see you there!

Follow-up on the Welcoming Blog Series: The Act of Welcoming is Happening All Over Town!

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The need to reach out to our community and express openness and welcome is not singular to our congregation. It seems that many around our community are feeling the need to organize events that send the message of welcome to those around us.

It is not surprising, given our current political climate, that we are all opening our arms to each other in order to say “You are loved, I value you, and you are welcome here.” We are always looking for ways to balance the scales in our lives. The heavy weight of hostility coming from our administration calls us to add weight to our own messages of welcome.

Our own Beit Sefer is using “Welcoming” as the theme of the school year. Students learned this previous Sunday how as a people, Jews have relied on other welcoming us in our Diaspora. Over the course of this school year, Beit Sefer students will study our relationship with immigrants and immigration, how to be welcoming with each other, and about how welcoming has been taught in our religious texts.

Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County is holding Welcoming Week this week. JFS’s website explains that this event is meant to emphasize that “being a welcoming community for all makes everyone stronger economically, socially, and culturally.” JFS has invited Ann Arbor businesses to advertise themselves as “Welcoming Businesses.” Shoppers can get discounts at some locations by showing an “I’m A Welcomer” packet when they shop. More information is available at JFSannarbor.org.

The Ann Arbor Jewish Sanctuary and Immigration Network has launched the “Butterfly Project: Migration is Beautiful, Never Again is Now.” This project aims to blanket the town with tiles and pictures that illustrate the beauty of migration, demonstrating to the immigration community through visual arts that they are welcome, wherever they are. If you would like to participate in this project, please contact AARC member Idelle Hammon-Sass at Hammond_sass@msn.com.

Our blog series focused on ways we can make everyone feel welcome in our congregation – how we as Reconstructionists can build upon our Jewish tradition to be more inclusive in our interactions with each other and our guests. Perhaps we can use the momentum from our very important work to take part in other acts of welcoming happening in our community! Do you know of any other welcoming efforts happening right now? Please share them in the comments!

What Does it Mean To Be Welcoming: Gender Inclusivity

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This blog post is the first in a three-part series exploring what it means for a congregation to be truly welcoming. Each week we will explore a different topic: gender inclusivity, welcoming people of all (dis)abilities, and appropriate touch.

Walking into a place of worship, it’s possible to take our welcome for granted, but that has not always been the case (and continues not to be, in some communities) for LGBTQIA and genderqueer/non-binary Jews. For those of us who are not cisgender, entering new spaces can cause us to feel uncertain how we will be treated. While a community might fervently believe that it is accepting of others, newcomers might not perceive this spirit of acceptance without gestures of explicit welcome.

Since biblical times, Jews have carried on a tradition of engaging with various expressions of gender. In fact, Jewish texts contain references to six different genders.

  • Androgenos – one who has both male and female characteristics
  • Tumtum – one of uncertain or undecided gender
  • Aylonit – one who is born female and transitions to male
  • Saris – one who is born male and transitions to female
  • Male – male biology and identifying
  • Female – female biology and identifying

Because Modern English typically insists upon gendered personal pronouns, we can find ourselves searching for workarounds to accommodate cultural understandings of genders beyond “he” and “she.” Modern English usage often leads us to pause mid-sentence or mid-thought to reconsider the assumptions about gender we are about to make. Just as our Jewish ancestors developed a lexicon to include various expressions of gender, we must do the same in our language.

If we wish to be more welcoming, being mindful of pronoun preferences is a good place to start. When we introduce ourselves, we might add our own chosen pronoun; for example, “Hi, my name is Gillian, you can use she/her pronouns when referring to me.” When we introduce someone new, we might say, “Sally this is Newbie; Newbie – what pronouns do you prefer?” This signals that we are not taking our gender expressions for granted and welcome others to do the same.

AARC will be offering pronoun stickers to add to our member name tags. These little stickers will help all of us avoid any assumptions and assure a special welcome to those whose pronouns are often misused. The new stickers will be on the welcome table beginning at this Friday’s Kabbalat Shabbat service.

Jewish history is overrun with accounts of our people rendered powerless, discriminated against, and treated as second class citizens. As Jews, we have an obligation to ensure that other marginalized communities never have to face these obstacles when engaging with us. It is in this spirit that I welcome you to practice this new way of interacting with gender and incorporate it into our community when welcoming guests and visitors to our congregation.

Letter from Rabbi Ora

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My dear community,

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the devastating news of the Islamophobic terror attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand.

This morning, I sat down with community rabbis to write the following letter, which we sent to Imam Abdullah Al-Mahmudi of the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor:

“Our hearts are breaking. When we woke this morning to the news of the terror attacks against Muslim worshippers in New Zealand, the first thing we thought of was the Ann Arbor Muslim Community. White supremacy, whether in Christchurch, Ann Arbor, or anywhere else in this world is a threat to us all. The murder of innocents, especially in prayer, is a terrible affront to humanity.

“As a Jewish community, we express our grief and moral outrage over this Islamophobic act of terror in New Zealand—the murder of 49 innocents in prayer.

“Both the Muslim and Jewish traditions believe that whoever destroys a single life is considered to have destroyed the entire world; and whoever saves a single life is considered to have saved the entire world. (Surah 5:32, Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5)

“We recognize that last night, whole worlds were lost. We hold you in our hearts, and grieve alongside you.”

In response to the news of the shootings, a colleague of mine, Rafael Shimunov, wrote: ‘When you kill someone praying, you are killing them at the moment they closed their eyes, turned their back to the door, tuned out every sound and decided that this will be the moment they will trust the rest of humanity the most.’

This afternoon, I will be standing outside the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor as our Muslim brothers and sisters attend Jumu’ah, Friday prayer, along with Rabbi Josh Whinston, Rav Nadav Caine, Reb Elliot Ginsburg, and members of their communities. Please: if you’re able, join us, to remind those grieving that they can continue to trust the rest of humanity.

Holding you, and holding onto hope for a Shabbat of shalom,

Rabbi Ora