Synagogues are always interested in attracting Jewish families. But what is a Jewish family?
This week, I came across a very interesting and thoughtful article written by a fellow Conservative rabbi, Elianna Yolkut. Her article encourages the Jewish community to think broadly and creatively when it comes to reaching out to Jewish families. Here is an excerpt:
For many of us, the concept of a Jewish family evokes a clear image; a husband, a wife and children by their side. Despite this stereotypical perception, this is not the only image of Jewish family – it was not the case historically and it is certainly not the case today…
Nowhere in history is the Jewish family singularly defined. As a community we are and always have been diverse, both ethnically and culturally, with no single model typifying the Jewish household…
Jewish families come in all shapes and sizes and what unites them is not their normative identifying qualities – divorced, single, gay, straight, multi-racial, interfaith – but instead their dedication to a deep and abiding connection to Jewish community, faith and practice…
It is not for us to decide or define what constitutes a Jewish family, but rather we must help those who have chosen to identify themselves with Judaism to draw closer to Torah, the study of our inherited wisdom, Avodah – the service of the Holy One in sacred community and Gemilut Chasadim – acts of loving-kindness….
It is our responsibility to help me’karav (bring close) families to the Jewish community, especially those who have been disenfranchised in the past by bigotry or exclusion. Definitions of the Jewish family are firmly based in the living and breathing reality of Jewish people around the world – not on some unrealistic, exclusionary ideal.
What do you think? Do we at Congregation Torat El live up to this ideal? In what ways are we successfully inclusive, and where do we fall short? What more might we be able to do as a community in order to reach out to the broader, more diverse, Jewish community and include them in our midst?
To read the rest of the article, click the following link:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/redefining-the-jewish-family-1.377443