My Place in Creating Welcoming Communities
The following is the second installment of the GCDD First Thursdays blog series, a monthly blog that will share the thoughts and ideas of GCDD staff members.
My Place in Creating Welcoming Communities
This is a portion of a letter sent by Eric Jacobson to Rabbi Josh Lesser after the Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Thank you for helping me tie together the thoughts and ideas I have had for 25 years, and more importantly, over the last few weeks. Your words on the issues of building welcoming communities and creating a more just world were exactly what I needed during this solemn time. I am reminded of the words of Meg Wheatley in Turning to One Another that "there is nothing more powerful than a community that discovers what it cares about."
For the last 25 years, I have struggled with my place in the world. I often feel lost, but not because I haven't worked hard to find my role. I have reached the pinnacle in my field and am considered a leader. However, it has only been in the last five that I have been able to put the pieces together. I have come to an understanding that there is an intersectionality of the issues that exist in our society. With this in mind, I have focused my work on building communities that welcome all people, especially those who are marginalized and isolated.
This work has not always been easy because I don't have a disability. This is what Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about during his "I Have a Dream" speech, but I am not a person of color. It is what you spoke about at Congregation Beit Chavarim about gay men and lesbians hiding, but I am not gay. It is what women have fought since the early 1900s, but I am a man. It is what I have taught my children, yet I am no longer a child and maybe should have given up these dreams many years ago.
But my work and dreams continue. I forgot that Isaiah's Haf Torah for Yom Kippur spoke about social justice. I spiritually fasted by remembering Isaiah's words from God that "the fast that I desire is about letting the oppressed go free, sharing your bread with the hungry, opening your door to the homeless, offering clothes to the naked, and do not ignore your kin."
This is the reason I continue to do the work I do, even though I don't belong to any of these marginalized groups. My goal is for them to work together and create places where everyone's gifts are recognized, accepted and used. This is how we create communities that welcome everyone, regardless of their differences because differences become assets.
Is this what Isaiah was saying? Are we the right people to do this? How do we get started? Who will take this path with me? Who will be our teachers? What is the first step? These are the questions I have for myself.
Thank you for reminding me why I get up every morning with enthusiasm about the work I do. May your year be filled with peace, love and connections with those who love and care about you.
Eric Jacobson
GCDD Executive Director
