The Mitzvah of Welcoming
At Touro Synagogue
September 1, 2018
The gloom continued during the rabbi’s brief words of Torah. He described walking in Beit Shemash, Israel, through an unwelcoming neighborhood.
“Beit Shemesh,” he said, “is a town that has been in the news these last few years due to the turf wars between the ultra-orthodox and the less orthodox: there is real tension in Beit Shemesh and it is Jew vs. Jew.
‘A few years ago…we walked from Beit Shemesh to Ramat Beit Shemesh, and we were scared - in one neighborhood there was graffiti everywhere, broken windows, and what appeared to be gangs of people staring at us."
Beit Shemesh has had a large influx of haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jews, some of whom are intolerant of anyone who they think is less observant. This has led to women being treated as second class citizens, forced to sit in the back of the bus, and trying to make them non-persons, at least in public. So many incidents have occurred that the United States Department of State has issued a warning for American travelers.
Rabbi Mandel concluded, “So the picture of this week’s parsha is looking more like a bad dream in some places in Israel.
“But let’s be hopeful that we can turn this around. Rabbi Dov Lipman, who used to be a teacher at Reishit Yerushalayim in Beit Shemesh and a member of Knesset, has been trying to build bridges between the communities. Let us support people like Dov and work to paint a brighter picture of Israel that we can all be proud of.”
At the kiddish, which she sponsored, Rita Slom spoke about a time when she felt unwelcome. An election in Newport was scheduled on Rosh Hashanah, and Rita would be unable to vote for her husband, Aaron, who was running for school committee. The issue ended up in court, which ordered the day of the election moved.
In 2013, Rhode Island enacted a law to address the issue:
“§ 17-18-5.1 Elections falling on religious holiday. – In the event that the date for the holding of any state or municipal election, other than the general election held on the first Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in even numbered years, falls upon the day of a religious holiday on which the doctrines of a faith would prohibit its followers from voting, the election shall be held upon the next business day other than Saturday then following; provided, that nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to invalidate any election once it has been held.”
The morning was not all serious. Among the visitors were the Danesh and Hakim families. They had last visited on September 9, 2017 to celebrate the aufruf of Danny who was about to marry Jessica. Once again we heard the joyous sound of ulalation from above. I thought this was how women, who are not full participants during services, make sure that their voices are heard, and that those of us below understand who is in charge.
Learn more about the aufruf at https://jewishnewport.blogspot.com/2017/09/at-touro-synagogue-september-2-2017-by.html
May you be able to vote in elections, may you be welcome and greeted with ulalation wherever you go, may you be welcoming to others and Shabbat Shalom from Jewish Newport!
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