Rabbi's Week in Review Blog

We at Congregation Kol Ami have always committed ourselves to be a most welcoming community. For us, this has meant welcoming those who may have felt unwelcome or somehow marginalized at other shuls. As we like to say, we want to welcome anyone who is somewhere on a Jewish journey or who supports anyone on that journey.

Probably the most challenging part of my work as rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami has come when we have welcomed someone into the community who has been a disruptive presence to the Kol Ami community. Thankfully, such an occurrence has been relatively rare. Yet it always comes to me with some modicum of pain and regret.

As we do seek out everyone who fits the above descriptor, we also commit to creating an emotionally safe space for everyone. If one person is such a disruptive presence as to make others feel unsafe, then we have to consider whether we can continue to welcome that one person into the community.  

I, along with lay leadership, continue to grapple with this issue. Just know that we will always lead with being open and welcoming to even those who may struggle emotionally. Yet we will also understand that our commitment to the entire Congregation Kol Ami community/family requires that everyone who walks through our doors (figuratively speaking) understands that they, too, have an obligation to others within the community.

I am grateful to be part of a synagogue community that leads with being a welcoming, nonjudgmental community. Let us at Kol Ami continue to lead the way in how we create sacred community.