WRJ Voices: Nitzavim

One of the first times I ever chanted Torah for our congregation, it was from this week’s portion, Nitzavim: "You stand this day, all of you, before the Eternal your God – you tribal heads, you elders, and you officials, all the men of Israel, you children, you women, even the stranger within your camp, from wood chopper to water drawer – to enter into the covenant of the Eternal your God, which the Eternal your God is concluding with you this day . . . not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before our God and with those who are not with us here this day" (Deuteronomy 29:9-14). Everyone enters into the covenant. It’s one of the rare times in Torah that women are explicitly included…but even beyond that, this is an extraordinary message of inclusion – men, children, women and strangers, and even our unborn generations all stand together as one community. Most of us are members of a variety of communities…family, congregation, neighborhood, hobby, charitable, professional, etc. For me, and for many of you, Women of Reform Judaism is one of the most important communities to which we belong. WRJ welcomes every woman who identifies as a Reform or Progressive Jew - with or without a congregation, with or without a women’s group or sisterhood, within or outside North America. As we enter 5777, let’s commit to making our WRJ community truly inclusive. Roll out the welcome mat, reach out to those we don’t know as well, check in with women “on the fringes” or who we’ve not seen in a while. Take a new congregant with you to an event, sit with someone you don’t know, or say yes to someone who asks you to try something new. Invite participation, seek out new perspectives, and embrace suggestions of how we might do things differently to enhance our relevance and expand our horizons. When we say WRJ is “Stronger Together,” part of what we mean is that every member is able to, and encouraged to, actively take part. Let’s put ourselves in “the other’s” shoes and consider from her perspective how we might engage her in a meaningful way. Had I not been embraced by the women of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston SC in the early 1990s, I doubt that I’d be involved in WRJ today. I need to keep paying it forward! And speaking of meaningful engagement…as the U.S. election approaches, we have an opportunity to help ensure a different type of inclusion. One would think that inclusion of all citizens in elections would be a given. Unfortunately, with several states (one of them mine!) having enacted rules that disproportionately affect the ability of people of color, the young and elderly to vote, it is not a given that all votes will count as they should. Please join WRJ in the Reform movement’s nonpartisan election-year voting rights initiative, Nitzavim: Standing Up for Voter Protection and Participation, offering a variety of opportunities to engage in voter education and encourage voting through congregations or as individuals….and on November 8 if you are able, please consider traveling to Ohio or joining me in Georgia as a poll monitor seeking to protect inclusion. Wishing you a year of joy and meaning in the WRJ community, L’shana Tova. Blair C. Marks is President of Women of Reform Judaism, a member of the Women of Reform Judaism of Temple Kol Emeth in Marietta GA, and Past President of the Sisterhood of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston, SC. She also serves on the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, the North American Board of the Union for Reform Judaism, and the North American Advisory Board of the World Union for Progressive Judaism.