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Ritual Participation Policy

Ritual Participation Policy

Hill Havurah Ritual Participation Policy
v. 8-7-18
 
The non-Jew who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the LORD am your God. (Leviticus 19: 33-34)
 
Hill Havurah is a congregation that embraces and celebrates the many members of our community who are not Jewish. In the Torah, non-Jewish individuals who participate in the life of the Jewish community and loyally support their Jewish brethren are called “Gerei Toshav” (“Ger Toshav” in the singular) — “sojourners”. They are esteemed as non-Jews who have not chosen to convert but who have made a commitment to entwine their lives with the Jewish community and to be bound in various ways to the Jewish people and to Torah. We are much richer because of their presence, and we are ever grateful that they choose to join with us in our programs and worship services. By their participation, they affirm the value and beauty of our practices and thereby add to our pride and joy in celebrating our Jewish traditions and claiming our heritage. As partners and parents, they support the growth of their loved ones’ Jewish experience and commitment, and we encourage their active celebration of the many Jewish life cycle rituals that mark important milestones for their family and friends.
 
We invite and encourage non-Jewish members of our community, as well as the non-Jewish loved ones of community members, to contribute to our regular worship services by delivering readings and divrei Torah (brief commentaries on the weekly Torah portion) at any given service. We happily invite non-Jews to participate with Jews in opening and closing the Aron Kodesh, the ark that holds the Torah. And we welcome non-Jews to join Jewish friends or family members as they are called to the Torah for an honor or Aliyah (“going up”).  In rituals involving the sefer Torah, however, our most sacred object, the participation of non-Jews has some limits. The Torah is the central symbol of the unity of the Jewish present with the Jewish past, and many prayers and blessings in the Torah service affirm the role the Torah has played throughout Jewish history in unifying, inspiring, and preserving the Jewish people. Hill Havurah therefore requires all actions involving the Torah scrolls to be led by at least one individual who is Jewish by birth or formal conversion, and the honors of physically lifting and dressing the Torah scrolls are reserved strictly for Jewish service participants.
Sat, June 7 2025 11 Sivan 5785