Do Not Hold Back: Notes from a Gay Congregation

W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 51 I saiah demands of us that we “not hold back” when it comes to the welcoming capacity of our tents. For the past thirty-seven years, we have been working to do this at CongregationBeitSimchatTorah.Originallyfoundedbya groupofgaymen,wehavegrownovertheyears,stretched our tent curtains wider, and are stretching wider still. The site of our tent is now a place of trans folks, lesbians, bisexuals, children, interfaithcouples,andasizablenumberofstraightallies. All work of tikkun olam, of mending the world, happens in community.Itisincommunitythatwefindourselves.Itisincommunity that we find power. As members of groups who have not traditionally found space in the tent, community can be a terrifyingconcept .Communitieshavebeenthesourceof somuchofour pain, so much of our brokenness. As Jews with varied and violent histories of persecution, we have a hard time trusting others, let alone each other. As queer and trans Jews, as Jews of color, as working-class Jews, we have often had experiences within Jewish communitiesthatamplifythatdistrust,pushingusoutofcommunitiesandintoisolation .ToomanyJewishcommunitiesacrossthe country are moving further to the right in their politics, and those of us on the left are feeling the danger of this shift. We feel the tent curtains narrowing, squeezing us out of where we know we belong. It is easy to turn our backs on our roots, on our communities, andourtraditions.Indoingthat,werisklosingtoomuch.Itmight be tempting to go rogue in our pursuit of justice. There’s a certain glory-appeal in it, to be a lone activist fighting the good fight and transforming our world into a place of liberation. I think this is a common pitfall for many of us who are politically inclined. As activists with strong ideological commitments to justice— commitmentsforgedwithinspecifictheologicalandpoliticalcontexts —we feel injustice deeply and personally. When we come across communities who do not seem to share our vision for a just world, it is tempting to walk away. But those of us who can stay inside need to do so for our own benefit, and for the benefit of the world. Without reproducing anti-Semitic myths of Jewish world domination, I think it is important to recognize the power that Jewishcommunitieshaveaccesstoacrossthecountry.Itisourresponsibility to remain accountable to those who have not been welcomed into the tent. We cannot hold back. We need to work within our communities, push them to enlarge the sites of our tents, to stretch the tent curtains wider. It is only by enlarging it that we will be able to lengthen our cords and strengthen our stakes.Godknows,thestakesarehigh.■ DoNotHoldBack: NotesfromaGayCongregation bySharonKleinbaum RabbiKleinbaumservesasthespiritualleaderofCBSTandisregardedasoneofthemostimportantrabbisinAmerica.ThenationalJewishweeklythe Forwardnamedherasoneofthecountry’sfiftytopJewishleaders,andThe New York Jewish Week identifiedherasoneoftheforty-fiveleadingyoung AmericanJewishleadersinNewYork. 25 YEARS OF TIKKUN “Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” —Isaiah 54:2 ROSALIE Z FANSHEL ...