Kehillah

Kehillah is Hebrew for community. The concept of Kehillah has been on my brain a lot these days. Here's why:

1. I'm worried about the DC bi community, what still exists of one. We're entering into the time of year when there are few activities, but it feels like we barely pulled off the busy Pride season this year, and I don't know how much energy there will be for future events.

2. I'm worried about the national bi community, what still exists of one. There's a meeting in a couple of weeks in Austin for the BiNet USA people to come together and try to figure out whether or not they're moving in the right direction and how to restructure if necessary to remain relevant.

3. I'm realizing I need to find my own place in the Jewish community, and also the place Erin and I have as a couple within the Jewish community. We went to high holiday services with Capitol Kehillah...I adored the services, they were very Conservative in terms of the amount of Hebrew and the tunes sung, but they were egalitarian as well. It was refreshing to hear a Rabbi using the word "Adonai" instead of "Lord" when reading English translations aloud. With this new congregation, we have the opportunity to help form and direct things so that it becomes the kind of place we want to raise a child. There are so many questions about this, though. Are we ready to join a Jewish community? What will joining entail? How do we reconcile our different views of how a religious community operates? Are there other faith communities out there that would speak more to us right now? Lots of food for thought.

4. I'm feeling disconnected from the self-selected community of friends I've worked so hard to build. Some people we see a lot of, but others are impossible to reach and seem distant whenever we do get in touch. And there aren't new people...the last new crop of friends almost all drifted off pretty quickly, which hadn't happened to us before and which was very disappointing...hell, downright distressing!

Here's what I'm trying to do about resolving my community issues:

1. I'm facilitating a salon discussion on the subject of bi community in a few weeks. Go to BI's website for more info.

2. I'm facilitating a workshop on the subject of bi community at a conference in NY in a couple more weeks. Go here for info on this conference.

3. I'm going to talk more with Rabbi Tamara Miller about Capitol Kehillah.

4. We may explore other spiritual communities and alternatives to spiritual communities, probably starting by going to the Washington Ethical Society with Abi.

5. Erin's going to Austin and will give me a full report upon return. It's good to be able to split up these conferences between the two of us if we can't both go to everything. :)

When I was in college, this guy Pete Reichle in my academic department (interdisciplinary studies) taught a class in community. I thought the concept was a little silly, but the older I get the more I realize that community is a compelling, fascinating subject...and one worthy of a serious examination. We all think we know what it is, when in reality it's fairly elusive. Pfeh.

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