{"id":259,"date":"2025-12-04T19:12:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T19:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/?p=259"},"modified":"2025-12-09T19:23:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T19:23:14","slug":"the-case-for-inclusivity-in-shuls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/the-case-for-inclusivity-in-shuls\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case for Inclusivity in Shuls"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Rabbi Ya’akov Trump<\/em><\/p>\n

Rabbis lead extraordinarily demanding lives. At any given moment, there are countless individuals who require attention, guidance, or support. The work of the rabbinate is a continuous act of balancing: weighing urgent needs against those that are less immediate; addressing educational, pastoral, programmatic, and organizational responsibilities; and tending to every demographic within a diverse and evolving community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Under these pressures, a particular mindset naturally develops\u2014one that prioritizes programs and initiatives capable of reaching the largest number of people at once. The logic is intuitive: if an event attracts more participants, then more individuals have been served by <\/span>the shul and the broader Jewish community. In this framework, the rabbi inevitably becomes the gatekeeper, responsible for determining which programs, speakers, and organizations will best serve the \u201cmajority.\u201d Anything that touches only a small subset of the community can feel difficult to justify. When resources and time are limited, <\/span>such calculations often seem <\/span>necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is\u2014until Rabbi Moshe Hauer reframed the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Rabbi Hauer invited me to join a rabbinic chabura of more than twenty rabbis from across North America, he offered us the gift of each other: a space to think collectively, to share challenges, and to problem-solve together. Among the issues he placed squarely on the table was one that too often goes unaddressed: the <\/span>challenge of genuine inclusivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rabbi Hauer urged us to reconsider the very metrics by which we evaluate communal success. A community\u2019s value, he argued, should not be measured by how many people attend a program, but by how deeply and authentically it includes those who might otherwise remain unseen. Inclusivity means noticing the individuals who do <\/span>not fit neatly into the standard categories around which communal life is often organized. <\/span>This idea shifted my thinking in a profound way.<\/span><\/p>\n

At one meeting, Rabbi Hauer posed a simple but revealing question: \u201cDo you know how many members of your shul are single?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It is the kind of question that seems obvious only after someone has asked it. I pulled out our membership list\u2014and was startled. Among our 500 families, over 40 member units consist of individuals living alone. Nearly 10% of our community is single, including those who have never married, those who are divorced, and those who are widowed. Creating that list was not merely an exercise; it was an awakening.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next step was deeper: understanding what this portion of our community needs, and how we can better ensure they feel truly included.<\/span><\/p>\n

Through the guidance of Rabbi Hauer and the thoughtful cohort of rabbis he brought together, I learned several practical and meaningful ways to move the needle on this issue:<\/span><\/p>\n