Inclusion and Exclusion - Embracing Change for Good
Our synagogue has been engaged in a slow process of change for decades. At first, in the fifties, men and women were allowed to sit together. Then, in the seventies girls could have a bat mitzvah on Friday nights. Next, in the eighties, women could read from the Torah for the congregation and eventually count in the minyan. More recently, we have come to embrace same sex couples, and the life celebrations and memberships that come with them. We now welcome and invite our non-Jewish family and friends to participate in the ritual life of our congregation, especially in their families' simchas and sacred moments. And now, as we come to understand and accept the variety of gender expressions and sexual identities that exist in God’s creation, we are devoted to being inclusive of all those who seek more Judaism through participation in our community and synagogue life.
I recognize that when brought together this is a lot. And it is good and it is important. In the wake of these changes, however, a key term - a core value - has been raised, debated and decried by a valued few who are not comfortable or supportive of these values. The terms in question are inclusion and exclusion. So, in the sincere hope and prayer that our variety and differences can be appreciated and our core values understood, I would like to define each term and give a couple of examples.
Exclusion is any circumstance of formal, ingrained or physical limits that prevent a person from exercising their free will to fully participate in an activity, group or physical infrastructure. They wish to participate, and are excluded by an external force which prevents them from doing so. That is exclusion. Exclusion can occur through everything from the absence of universal design in bathrooms to overt bigotry and bias.
Inclusion is the circumstance of an open, supportive and welcoming system that anticipates and eliminates all possible external barriers of exclusion. Inclusion is tested when a person wishes to be a part and in fact is able to be a part of the activity, community or location in question.
Religion can “Exclude"
Religious organizations will often exclude the non-faithful or outsider from their core sacraments, but this is not exclusion per se. A non-Catholic can not take communion. A non-Muslim is not allowed at the Kaba in Mecca. A non-Jew can not read from the Torah scroll for the community. Since access to the core rituals is permitted by the free will act of conversion, this kind of exclusivity is entirely inclusive in potential - based on the free will of the individual in question. There is no structural, formal or deliberate exclusion - just the choice of the individual to adhere to the norms of that community. As such, Religions have the ability and the right to exclude - or include - based on any principle of faith. Religious organizations will draw the lines in various ways. Orthodox synagogues will not accept intermarried couples as members, or permit women to lead religious services of the congregation. That is their right.
Two examples are instructive. First, our synagogue has determined exactly what is permitted or not permitted for a non-Jewish person to do during the services of the congregation. We have embraced their full possible participation in our public and private rituals, according to Jewish Law in our movement. A non-Jew can join their spouse at the ark, or on the bimah, and can say a parent’s prayer for their child during their bar or bat mitzvah. Yet they don’t say prayers or engage in actions commanded of Jews for Jews. Second, we have recognized the important religious value of personal dignity and avoiding public embarrassment when it comes to our bathrooms, providing not just the binary choices of men and women but also a proclaimed “all gender” bathroom. No one is forced into a personally awkward space, and each person’s free will defines for themselves where they will go. This is the definition of inclusion.
The accusation of “exclusion" in times of change
Change is not always welcomed by everyone, and is managed as a process in religious communities. Clearly all the movements in Judaism originally accepted the pertinent passages of Leviticus as prohibiting homosexuality, for example. The Conservative movement has come to recognize homosexuality as a creation of God, not a sinful choice. It is, therefore, to be celebrated in the kinds of lifecycle moments that heterosexual couples have always enjoyed. Eliminating the ban on all homosexuality was an act of inclusion, based on the change in beliefs endorsed by the movement as a whole. But what of the person who joined the community long ago who holds fast to the prior belief system? What happens when they sit in their long-time seat and are suddenly subjected to a ritual activity or community norm that they believe is terrible and wrong? “By making this change” they say, “you are excluding me.” I have to lovingly say, they are mistaken.
Embracing free will in times of change is the key to the conundrum. The religious leadership of the movement, as taught by the mara d’atra - the local rabbinic law authority of the rabbi - determines the acceptable norms and standards for the community. The community then sets policy and procedures within those norms. So there are two steps. First the Jewish law is determined. That is an exclusionary action. Second, the communal standards and policies are determined by the volunteer leadership. That can be either further exclusion, or full inclusion. Our community, to its great credit, has become avowedly inclusive in its norms. Everything permitted by Jewish law is made available to everyone of any ability or identity who comes into our building. Barriers have been removed, and free will is the only determining factor for someone’s participation.
Some people will accept and others will personally reject these changes in the synagogue. This has always been the case, as in each of the earlier examples of change I mentioned. Some will determine that they want a more exclusive environment, or that they want one with even more inclusive core beliefs and practices. They are still valued and beloved members of our community, and the distress this causes is sad. I ask that everyone look to the most inclusive model when it comes to the permitted, and act from love rather than judgement.
On the other hand, a negative outcome is possible for some individuals as a personal choice. A person who chooses not to tolerate the practices and norms of the community is making a personal choice based on the exercise of their own free will. The community is not "doing this to them." They are still being included in our community. No barrier exists to their continued involvement, and they are welcome and valued, even if they personally oppose the religious standards being taught by the movement and embodied in the synagogue.
Religion Exists to Provoke Change
In fact, one can presume that this is the core purpose of the synagogue and religion as a whole. If everyone in the room already believed and followed every teaching of the organization, there would be no possibility for spiritual or religious growth among the members. Religion exists to provoke change and improvement in all of us. It can be safely presumed that its message will not always be welcome - especially if it is something new.
We are indeed an inclusive community, and I am proud of our community’s firm embrace of that standard. It is my sincere prayer that we embrace our diversity in all its forms and that all our people continue to devote themselves to our synagogue and its ever changing fabric of community. All are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment