Parashat Vayera--A Community of Welcoming

This past Shabbat, I experienced pure joy as I gathered with many of our TIOH 6th Grade Religious School Families and our 6th Grade teachers (Libby and Manda) at the Karic family’s home for Shabbat dinner.  As each guest arrived, the Karics greeted us warmly.  And, soon, everyone was greeting one another.  As the evening drew to a close, one parent told me she had spoken to many, many people she had never met before.  This, to me, is what it means to be a welcoming community.  This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Vayera, offers us the perfect opportunity to reflect on our own practice of welcoming.

The Torah Portion Reads:

Adonai appeared to [Abraham] by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said, "My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant's way." They replied, "Do as you have said." (Genesis 18:1-5).

Parashat Vayera is considered by many to be our tradition’s definitive text on the practice of welcoming.  The commentator Rashi teaches us that Abraham is sitting at the entrance of his tent because he is in the process of healing from his circumcision.  He is at the ripe age of 99.  So, Abraham is sitting outside his tent, on his land, focusing on his life, and his issues.  At that moment, three strangers appear (later we are taught these strangers are actually angels).  Despite all this, Abraham steps out of himself, his life, and his own experiences and welcomes the three men into his home.  He offers them food, water, refreshment, and rest.  From this text, we learn the value of hachnasat orchim, welcoming guests.

This past Tuesday night, a group of fourteen TIOH 6th grade families gathered.  Each of these families has volunteered to host an Israeli student in their home during our Partnership visit with Israelis students from the Tzahala School.  These families are living out the core values of TIOH:  A welcoming community, connected to one another and to the land and people of Israel.  Again, this past week, my soul was filled as I understood the kindness these families were extending to our soon-to-be communal guests.

In his book The Spirituality of Welcoming, Ron Wolfson writes:

The spirituality of welcoming elevates both the guest and the host.  A warm greeting eases the unspoken anxiety a guest feels at being a stranger and immediately answers the first question anyone in a strange place asks:  Will I be welcome here?  For the host, the act of hospitality is a gesture of spiritual generosity, uplifting the soul.  It is an offering of oneself, an invitation for connection between human and human and, in that meeting, between human and God.

Each week, we begin Sunday morning Religious School with our Flagpole gathering.  This gathering is a time for students, parents, teachers, madrichim, and our TIOH clergy to connect with one another and, through that connection, to connect to the Sacred in our lives.  Our Flagpole time, which is filled with much laughter and joyful singing, is our opportunity to open the doors of our Tent wide, and to invite all to enter.  If you have not yet joined us for this weekly practice of welcoming, I invite you to do so (every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. in Miller Hall).

In our TIOH community, our roles are fluid.  At times, each of us is a host and at times each of us is a guest.  Sometimes we might even feel as if we are the stranger.  When we acknowledge and internalize this reality, we realize that it takes all of us to sustain and build our community of welcoming.

As this year continues and time goes on, there will be opportunities for all of us to open our hearts, our homes, our souls, and our arms to one another.  Parent and student, alike.  This, I believe, is Torah’s call to us this week:  How will you live out the spirituality of welcoming?  How might you serve as a welcoming presence in our community?  What will you do to ensure that we have a community of welcoming?