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January 29, 2010
Reaching out to the fringes
The klei kodesh focus on inclusivity in numerous ways.
SUSAN J. KATZ
“Doors don’t open on their own, you have to open them.” Those are the words of Tammy Kalla, who took the initiative to round out her daughter Melissa’s years of Hebrew school at Temple Sholom with a bat mitzvah. The reason: Temple Sholom’s professional staff helped her create an event that was about Melissa’s celebration, and not about Melissa’s educational barriers.
There are many unpublicized ways in which klei kodesh – rabbis, cantors and other professional staff – are providing opportunities, and their presence, to Jewish people who otherwise may have become isolated or are unable to access facilities that many of us take for granted. The klei kodesh visit the homebound, seniors and people incarcerated in prisons, they sing at the Jewish Food Bank, they encourage differently abled people to voice their own ideas about inclusion and they actively promote change in policy and tolerance.
The Independent spoke with several of the community’s religious leaders earlier this month to learn more about their seldom-publicized outreach roles, beginning with an invitation from Rabbi David Mikelberg of Temple Sholom to join a group of residents of nearby Dany Guincher House, operated by the Tikva Housing Society, for a Chanukah Kabbalat Shabbat gathering.
There was another reason for the invitation – the synagogue’s mandate includes this statement: “Temple Sholom prides itself on welcoming all Jewish individuals, especially marginalized and vulnerable members of the community. Our membership includes single-parent families, inter-racial families, LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] individuals and families and families with special needs children. Special efforts have been made to include elderly residents of the community, especially individuals who are homebound. For the past few years, Shabbat services and holidays have been telecast via the web.”
Two other outreach initiatives include tea parties at the Louis Brier Home and Hospital and a program that brings people together to make sandwiches for residents of the Downtown Eastside.
In another interview about inclusion efforts, Rabbi David Mivasair of Ahavat Olam explained, “Every synagogue wishes to be inclusive. Religion is a product of human activity and the outcome of our search for meaning and relationship, with both the transcendent and each other. Therefore, inclusivity is our decision and should honor the divine in everyone.”
Mivasair has been a strong advocate for the inclusion of the many LGBT Jews in the local community and others. He performed the first Jewish same-sex marriage before they were recognized by Canadian law, and Ahavat Olam organized a simultaneous rally by religious groups in five provinces to voice their support of same-sex marriage. The congregation is developing a program to study Torah from a queer perspective and is a regular participant in the annual Pride Parade.
With much deliberation, Ahavat Olam has recognized Jews of patrilineal descent and Mivasair officiates at some intermarriage ceremonies. He would like to reach out to other religious communities here and build an inter-spiritual centre.
In addition to adult education, holiday events and Shabbat services, setting up a downtown business network and a Saturday night program for seniors in conjunction with the Jewish Family Service Agency, Rabbi Binyomin Bitton of Chabad of Downtown Vancouver said, “Seventy percent of what we do is social-religious work, which is confidential and under the tables.”
Bitton listed such areas as counseling, visiting, crisis support, health problems, transitioning the deceased to the Chevra Kadisha (Burial Society), marital issues and responding to the needs of those in hospital. He said that he is, “Basically on call for all kinds of needs you may never think of, even support to family overseas who have a relative here, as Chabad is worldwide.”
Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan of Or Shalom said, “According to Torah, a holy community treats individuals with physical and mental disabilities with awareness and sensitivity. Through this awareness, the community expresses its spiritual and social vitality. More recently, 20th-century halachic authority Rabbi Moshe Feinstein z’l reminds us that inclusivity is a communal responsibility.”
In addition to mentoring a gemilut chesed (act of loving-kindness) committee at Or Shalom, she has led monthly Rosh Chodesh teachings for women at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Residence and Louis Brier for several years.
According to Kaplan, “Anyone can help by learning directly from people with disabilities what will be helpful to them. One thing I learned from our members in motorized wheelchairs is that the pews in the synagogue need to be arranged in a specific way to allow for access by motorized wheelchairs. It’s not a bad thing to ask directly.”
Rabbi Ilan Acoca of the Sephardi Congregation Beth Hamidrash visits seniors and people who are unable to come to synagogue. He also provides activities for those who do not attend Shabbat services, such as social events, volunteer opportunities, committees that organize visits to hospitals and the Louis Brier, and education programs. Acoca said, “We stretch our hand to whoever is in need: Sephardic Judaism emphasizes warmth and openness to whoever comes.”
Cantor Michael Zoosman of Beth Israel provides what he calls, “a ministry of presence, to let people know they are not alone.”
“Tikkun Olam, repair of the world,” he said, “is an essential response of any individual, especially of the Jewish community. I feel it is my duty to reach out to the fringe, as on our tallit, whether someone has a physical or mental illness or disability and is isolated in long-term care, and may also be unaffiliated.”
Zoosman has a singing gig at the Jewish Food Bank, where he plays a timbrel and sings. He brought his shofar during a visit before the High Holy Days this year.
Zoosman’s interest in medical chaplaincy began when he was training on hospital psychiatric and oncology wards. He said he began to “see the people, not the label – people are people, no matter what their label.” He visits people at Banfield Pavilion at Vancouver General Hospital and has a regular meeting with residents of Yaffa House. His most unique role is as the only Jewish chaplain for the nine prisons in the Pacific Region of Correctional Services Canada (CSC).
“We usually think there are no Jews in prisons: I understand that Jews are everywhere,” he said. “I find this work rewarding because I can make connections with the inmates.” He ministers to 25-30 people at any one time in this
capacity and he leads services and provides one-on-one support for inmates and their families on the outside.
Zoosman’s answer to why more people don’t contact those on the fringes is that, “We turn away because of fear. When I enter a hospital, I confront my own mortality. In a prison, there is the fear of violence. Maybe we fear that fine line that separates them from us. Maybe we are susceptible.
“One of the successes of having klei kodesh [in the community] is because many people are uncomfortable and the klei kodesh will be able to fill these essential outreach roles.”
Inclusion is not just for those who may be on the fringes of our community, or just part of the job description for our religious leaders – it ties us all together. According to Kalla, creating Melissa’s bat mitzvah, “made a positive experience for other families during the process. It was not just about Melissa, but for other families, too.”
Susan J. Katz is a freelance writer and award-winning poet living in Vancouver. She can be reached at [email protected].
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