I've been thinking a lot lately about hospitality. What does it mean to welcome the stranger? What are boundaries to welcoming in modern society? How do we create open and welcoming spaces? And how do we invite people to them?
Emphasis has been placed lately on offical documentation of welcoming policies. If a congregation has on it's website that it is welcoming to queer folk or interreligious couples, that translates into the congregration being welcoming to queer folk or interreligious couples, right? I wish, but it's not always the case. Welcoming statements need to be backed up by welcoming actions. I feel welcomed by the people at my synagogue most of the time, but there are no gender-neutral bathrooms there, which makes using the bathroom at the synagogue a harrowing experience.
I wonder at how welcome Jewish spaces are for non-Jews and for Jews. My parent's synagogue keeps its doors locked even during services because of a combination of fear of violence and the prevalence of unsavory characters in the small but urban downtown area in which their synagogue is located. I find it extremely distracting when the doorbell rings in the middle of Shabbat services.
I don't know how we walk the line between practicing radical hospitality and ensuring safety, but I know we don't do it well most of the time. Our ethics are there, but where is the practice?
