Rabbi Aviva's Blog

There is something magical about sitting around the dining room table, illuminated by the warm glow of lamp light and surrounded by friends and family despite night time descending early. As the seasons change and autumn slips into winter, we are precisely at the moment in our year cycle in which the Jewish value hachnasat orchim (welcoming guests) rises to the forefront of our lives. Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are two holidays in which we celebrate gratitude and connection in the comfort of our homes, transforming them into physical places of refuge and love. Not only is hosting others and being hosted (let’s be real, not all of us are cut from the same hospitality cloth) a lovely way to infuse our lives with meaning and memory, it is a sacred act. We learn of the importance of welcoming guests in the book of Genesis, when the 3 messengers of Gd appear at Abraham and Sarah’s tent. Immediately and without hesitation Abraham welcomes them inside, providing them shade, water and food. Just as Abraham and Sarah welcome in the shlosha anashim, the 3 figures, so too are we encouraged and expected, as Jews, to welcome in our loved ones and provide them comfort and nourishment.

In addition to hosting our friends and family this holiday season, may we be inspired by Abraham’s actions and welcome in the stranger. In our current political and social climate, it feels that as a society we have leaned away from spending time and attempting to understand folks who are different than ourselves ‐ for fear of discomfort (real or imagined). Instead, it feels like so many of us have strengthened the fortifications we’ve built up around ourselves which silo us off from the unknown peoples and communities that exist just beyond the borders of our comfort zones. For some, this may look like a turn towards the virtual world, immersing ourselves in the world of social media and online culture, losing the all‐important IRL (in real life) experiences that force us to reflect and grow. For others, this may mean tightening our social circles and keeping our (physical and/or emotional/spiritual) doors shut. Interacting with strangers ‐ neighbors, folks in the community we don’t know, even fellow congregants ‐ has become a weak muscle for many of us.

This season, I challenge each of us to open our doors and save a seat at our tables for a lesser‐known guest. Perhaps invite to your table this year the new neighbor who moved in on your block, or the friendly co‐worker you’ve kind‐of known for a while, or the foreign student who goes to college with your child. Invite a Beth Israel congregant who just became a member, or whom you only know casually, to your next shabbat meal. These in‐person, intimate and intentional acts of hachnasat orchim not only build a stronger community, but fill and nourish our souls too.

It is in this spirit of hachnasat orchim that Beth Israel launched the new Shabbat Havurot initiative. Over the past few months and beginning with our Hebrew School community, each Hebrew School class gathered together to welcome in Shabbat through song, craft, and brachot. Whether at BI or in a host family’s home, we spent time enjoying each others’ company and strengthening our connections and relationships. In the new year, we plan on expanding these Shabbat Havurot beyond the Hebrew School and into the wider Beth Israel community. Our hope is, every few weeks, to bring together a group of congregants who share some common bond (empty‐nesters, LGBTQ, divorcees, etc) to get to know one another and bring in shabbat around a cozy dining room table. So many of our Jewish traditions are meant to take place inside the home, comfortable and intimate. We hope that you find yourself either as host or being hosted at a Shabbat Havurah sometime this winter/spring. In this season of breaking bread and kindling light, may we open our hearts and our doors to gather with our people. May our circle of welcome extend to those who are new to the table, and may their presence become familiar and deepen the space with meaning. May each of us live out the sacred value of hachnasat orchim and get to know our neighbors and each other here at BI even better.