Our Jewish community is…
People who are Jews of Color. People who are disabled and can’t work. People who are chronically ill, wear masks and participate wholly in necessary online Jewish communities and gatherings. Wholly Jewish multi-faith and interfaith families. Custodial Staff. Administrative Assistants. Early Childhood Educators. People who provide at home childcare and sit with you in class or pews. Personal Support Workers. Youth Workers and Directors of Education. Board treasurers. People who haven’t and can’t ever pay a cent for membership and people who can. Foster parents. Step-parents. Jewish aunts. Children who have been separated from their families of origin. Single parents. Chosen family. Jews who don’t have buildings and Jews who do. The person at pick-up who drives total strangers and their family members to everything at synagogue or havurah or shtiebel and who isn’t Jewish. Every clergy member. Cantor. Kohenet. Chaplain. Rabbi. Rabbi-Cantor. Spiritual Care Director. The people who greet you with prayerbooks. Who teach Torah trope. Who volunteer a million hours or have never volunteered one but want to because they love it here. People who don’t have children and don’t or do want to. People who don’t have a Jewish paycheck but should. People who speak completely different languages than the languages in Jewish prayerbooks. People who know nothing about Hebrew or Jewish Law and people who do. People who say “hello” in the languages of your peoples. The person who always remembers to say thank-you. People who make sure the library is clean and dusted. People who don’t actually love it here. Every person who is overlooked and still matters. Postal Workers who remember you. The people who decide to give their life savings so kids can go to camp and afford day school tuition. Social Action and Communication Chairs. The people who show up early just to wash dishes in the synagogue kitchen. Who replace old toys with new ones. The people who sponsor refugees. The people who organize scholarships and accommodations on trips to Israel. Israelis. The grandparents who have been there for decades. People who are diasporists. Refugees. People who don’t love Israel and people who do. Mizrahim. Arabs who are Jewish. Arabs who aren’t. Muslims. Christians. People of no faith, minimal faith or some faith mostly on Tuesdays. People who give to global Jewish communities and urge their communities to. The queer kids and misfits just looking for a place to belong. Every baby named. The person who knows you’re hungry because you haven’t eaten and can’t afford the cost of bread. The people constantly making sandwiches. Every person who chooses a Jewish name for themself. The person you least expect who arranges being called to the Torah, who you trust with and remembers your names. And pronouns. The person who asks all the questions in community meetings. The person who has never said anything at all. The person who is homeless or between housing. The people who read the Yizkor list. The people who pick up garbage in the parking lot. The children, and octogenarians and messy middles and people who you have no right idea what age they actually are, including the grandmother who insists she is really 25. The person who isn’t sure they’re really a part of the community. People who are all or some or none of the aforementioned at all. The people who plant the Jewish flowers and give every one their Jewish flowers. Every. Single. One.
Thank you for being our Jewish community.
We are so glad you’re here.
