BK Blast Archive

Dear Bnai Keshet,

We are writing to update you on the progress of the Torah Honors Task Force. The task force has not yet made a recommendation and Bnai Keshet’s current Torah Honors policy is as follows:

“Only Jews are allowed to participate in Torah honors (Aliyot, Ark opening and closing, hagbah, gelilah, Torah, Haftarah chanting). The Congregation acknowledges the special relationship between the Torah and the Jewish people as expressed in the Torah blessings. A non-Jewish parent who has accepted the Jewishness of his or her child and has provided a Jewish education has earned a part in the Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Indeed, participation under these circumstances is welcomed.”

The traditional blessing said for an aliyah thanks G-d “who has singled us out from all the peoples and given us … Torah.” The Reconstructionist blessing most often used at Bnai Keshet thanks the Eternal One “who has drawn us to your service and given us … Torah.” Some members feel that our current blessing offers a flexibility to redefine who may be given this honor. Others believe the “us” in our current blessing specifies the same group as in the traditional blessing.

As part of our research, the committee looked into the policies at several other synagogues. Most congregations do not allow non-Jews to be called for an Aliyah, though some few allow for other Torah honors, such as glilah (the ceremonial lifting of the Torah) or ark opening, to be offered to non-Jews. Many liberal congregations have policies similar to our own that try to welcome families members who aren’t Jewish to participate in Torah honors as part of lifecycle events. Some communities have opened up their aliyot to anyone ready to take on the honor. This is most often in the context of group aliyot. One, Dorshei Tzedek in Massachusetts, shared an alternative prayer that does not specify the identity of the person praying; it blesses the Source of Life “who has brought me into loving relationship with the Jewish people and the Torah.” That other congregations have creatively dealt with the issue is a source of inspiration.

Since we began our discussions, both Rabbis have presented relevant divrey Torah during Shabbat services; in addition, there was a discussion session open to the larger community on a Sunday in April and another at the congregational retreat. Throughout the process, we have kept in mind a desire to welcome more people to live a Jewish life, understanding that such a life is inevitably defined by a specific collection of rules and values. We recognize that some of those rules have historically excluded groups who sought a more intimate relationship with Torah, and in our discussions we have explored how Torah Honors rules have changed—sometimes radically--over the centuries. While it was not our mandate, we also touched on the pathways by which non-Jews formally embrace Jewish life as more traditionally defined, and how that passage might be facilitated.

As part of our process for gathering feedback, the Rabbis will incorporate several alternative approaches not included in our current Torah Honors policy. On January 7^th a parent who is not Jewish will read a selection from the Haftarah in English at his son’s Bar Mitzvah, on January 14^th, we will try an alternate blessing; on January 21^st, we will include group aliyot; and on January 28^th, understanding that joining the BK community is a “life event” of sorts, we will welcome all new members to the Torah for a group aliyah. We emphasize that no decisions have been reached and we are not recommending any of these alternative practices at this time. Rather, we are offering an experiential opportunity to evaluate these practices and broaden the discussion.

The members of the Task Force, like Bnai Keshet, have wide ranging and diverse opinions on this matter. We are dedicated to listening thoughtfully and engaging our deliberations with each other, the congregation and our tradition with open minds. We recognize that no decision—keeping the policy as is or changing it—will make everyone happy. Nevertheless, we are confident, the more feedback we get and the wider array of opinions we hear, the stronger our process and recommendation to the board will be. Please feel free to reach out to the Task Force co-chairs, C. Lynn Carr (c.lynn.carr@gmail.com) and Geoff Shandler (geoffshandler@gmail.com) or to our Rabbis with any thoughts, advice and concerns. We will be sending out weekly reminders by email so you don’t have to worry about this on Shabbat.

Sincerely,

C. Lynn Carr and Geoff Shandler, Co-Chairs Torah Honors Task Force

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman and Rabbi Ariann Weitzman

Torah Honors Task Force Members
Alvaro Donado
Beth Sandweiss
Craig Levine
Eric Schwimmer
Jordan Sklar
Julie Segal
Margo Bloom
Marian Golan
Beth Fuqua
Roberta Elliott
Carlos Ramos
Janis Orlofsky