As I write, I am listening to the arguments for and against impeachment. I can’t say that I was surprised that there was violence on January 6th...but seeing it and hearing it - even from my phone - was pretty horrifying. While it’s not my place to talk about my politics in this venue, I will say that seeing the Confederate flag being waved in the Capitol Rotunda, and reading sweatshirts saying that “6 million was not enough” is frightening, sickening, and angering. I have no doubt that “we shall overcome someday,” but until then…..well, I’m just processing.

The world has changed since I was ordained in 1988, and so have I, and I hope you have as well. The Conservative Movement as a whole is thinking more broadly about what it means to be a Conservative Jew today and what our place in the American Jewish community is; parenthetically, I really prefer, Masorti, ‘traditional’ Jew - but even that doesn’t really describe us. It’s complicated. The past month, I have been exploring the concept of truly being inclusive, specifically around LGBTQ Jews and Jews of Color. I have been challenged to think about people who identify as non-binary or gender fluid and its implications for our rituals. For example, when we call people to the Torah, we ask them to rise as a man or a woman. When we speak about the ceremony that celebrates a young person becoming an adult, again it refers to a boy or a girl. As I look out at our community, I wonder if there are those who assume that they don’t belong; perhaps because of their skin color or their gender or their abilities. There was a time when I might have been skeptical of these distinctions or when I decided that there were more important issues to tackle. Today, I want to lean in, learn about, and celebrate every facet of a person’s identity. I envision TBE as Southern Maine’s hub for a diverse Conservative Judaism, and I want to better understand and respond to the many kinds of diversity within our Jewish community. 

Interestingly, this notion of feeling like an outsider came up years ago, when the non-Jewish partners of our members told me that they felt invisible in our community. As a way to acknowledge and embrace our non-Jewish partners and outline what that means in our community, together we created a pamphlet called, “You are welcome here.”  At the time, they wanted to understand Conservative (Masorti) parameters of inclusion and communicate them broadly. I have always wanted to continue that series in some fashion and create avenues through which we can begin to understand the diverse experiences and identities those in our community possess. 

On Monday, as a country, we remember Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His words and actions are an inspiration for me every day. These words, in particular, resonate with me right now:

 “…I am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa 

October 15, 1962

We must learn from each other, so that we can live in a world with less hatred and fear and more compassion and understanding. Some of our community may feel uncomfortable or threatened or feel that this kind of exploration is unnecessary, but I see it as a challenge and an opportunity to really live Masorti Judaism. Perhaps, as a believer, I see this exploration as a tikkun, as an antidote to the hatred and name calling, bias, and fear that surrounds us. I hope to come out of this pandemic - not just the virus, but our pandemic of fear and oppression - stronger and wiser.