Building an Inclusive Community Print E-mail
Written by Miriam Weiler   

Limmud, New York and the Columbia/Barnard Hillel
Kosher sushi, Klezmer-rap and Heeb parties: it often seems as if all things Jewish are born in New York City. But the pluralistic conference that began 20 years ago in England puts all five boroughs to shame. Limmud, which brings together hundreds of Jews of all denominations for four days of Jewish learning, culture, and spirituality, finally opened in New York on January 14th – following its arrival in places like Australia and Holland. Certainly these foreign countries deserve Limmud as much as we do, but the late date made me wonder—why has it taken the Jewish community of New York so long to adopt what the Jewish community of Britain embraced long ago?

As a Jewish student on a major university campus, I find the answer in the situation of my Hillel house. Columbia University hosts a huge Jewish population, of which only a miniscule percent participates in Hillel activities. The three major communities served by the Columbia/Barnard Hillel – Yavneh (Orthodox), Koach (Conservative) and Kesher (Reform) – join together once a week for Seudah Shelishit, an open buffet meal on Saturday afternoon. Despite various ill-fated attempts to unite the three disparate groups in other activities, Seudah Shelishit remains the only event with consistent attendance. Yet even at this popular, community-wide meal, rituals such as the grace after the meal are determined by Orthodox practice, leaving many feeling marginalized. Orthodox students argue that, in order to include everyone, the highest degree of observance must be followed, since deviating from the traditional halachik standards would necessarily exclude the Orthodox. And since the Yavneh community makes up the vast majority of the weekly Seudah Shelishit attendance, it is no wonder that their voice overrides those of the few Koach and Kesher participants.

Though this might seem to be a democratic decision, it is actually part of a smug belief—a conceit—that the orthodox community holds the mantle of religious Judaism. Were the masses of unaffiliated Jews to attend Hillel, a decision by majority would change drastically. Unfortunately, I fear that outnumbering the Orthodox would only result in further segregation between the denominations – if things are not done the Orthodox way they have more than a minyan’s worth of men to create their own community. I doubt that the tangled and uncomfortable issues of navigating the gulfs between Jewish denominations would come easily to the Columbia/Barnard Hillel. Like the rest of New York Orthodox Jews, Yavneh members can afford to ignore the needs and values of other denominations. Perhaps in England the situation is different, or perhaps not.

Either way, it’s about time that the dialogue that takes place yearly on the Nottingham campus reached New York City. This month, Limmud NY gave 600 Jews from all denominations the opportunity to eat, pray and learn about Judaism together. The variety of Sabbath services provided everyone a comfort zone for their personal and communal prayers, while the discussion sessions joined people from every denomination in conversations about some of the most divisive issues in American Jewry. The weekend served as a booster-shot of Jewish spirituality and culture for many, but more importantly, proved that with sensitivity and innovation, Jews who disagree on theology can nonetheless experience religion together. And in the same way, the Jewish community at Columbia needs to open its eyes and see the Jewish Other – the people we all sit next to in class, but to whom we never bother speaking.
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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.
 
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