When Sarah was a Bat Mitzvah she learned that the original Sarah had her tent open to all four sides so she could always welcome guests coming from any direction. We built Sarah’s tent. Open to all four sides. We served dinner in the tent with beautiful brass serving pieces collected in the Middle East. People felt welcome.

Today I hosted a meeting for the leaders of the congregation. As a way to say thank you. As a way to model warm and welcoming behavior. As a way to talk about how to have that kind of big tent where people feel welcome. I managed to get twenty busy people in the same room at the same time. I used real table clothes.  I served a menu that was kosher, gluten free, lactose free and vegetarian. There were enough choices. Nobody went hungry. Oh, and I’ve already got a thank you note because the fish was delicious.

Over dinner we looked at a picture of a tent. Open to all four sides. With people coming in and others welcoming them. Many ages and generations. Many skin tones. People seemed happy, joyous. There is a lot of light inside the tent.

This picture was one that Big Tent Judaism uses to spark this very discussion. They used it at a workshop on welcoming congregations for JUF and the Synagogue Commission that our educational director and our administrator attended. The discussion then focused on how we want to be welcoming. What does our tent look like:

• Non-judgemental, safe.
• Accepting
• Accessible
• Creative
• Affirming
• Approachable
• Active listeners
• Enjoyable
• Fun
• Not whiney, complaining
• No gossip
• Diverse
• Pleasant
• Positive
• Connected
• Communication

There were more words. Then we took turns reading a hand out on what priorities might be to make the synagogue more warm and welcoming. We talked a little about language and what it conveys. Then we looked at how people want to be welcomed, what proactive hospitality is. Another term is radical hospitality.

All this in a hour. Truth be told, we did all this in a hour and we just began the deep conversation. People went home with specific tasks. Someone will add a map to the video display. Someone else will continue to explore handicapped accessible bathrooms. Someone else will check the language of the website. It was a good meeting. It is a start. It is only a start.