Issues in Ethics

#4: Welcome or Welcoming

You are planning an elegant Shabbat dinner for 12. Just after you’ve finished setting the table, one of your invited guests, a close friend, calls to tell you that an old friend of hers from out of town has called to say she is unexpectedly in town for one day and would love to see you. Your friend asks if she may bring her to the Shabbat dinner. You glance at the table in dismay. There is no way you can fit in another chair. The only way to accommodate her would be to switch to a buffet dinner.

What would you do?

The Mishnah Teaches

…Let your house be opened wide                              

                  Pirke Avot: 1:5

Discussion Questions

w                 The mishnah suggests that we should be welcoming to all. Does reading the mishnah change your decision in any way?         

w                 Are there limits to hospitality? What are they?

w                 How would you apply this mishnah generally to situations at your synagogue or agency?

Application/Experience

Think about the first time you visited this synagogue/agency. What made you want to return?

All of our institutions strive to welcome everyone. What is the difference between an institution that welcomes everyone and a welcoming institution?

Links!

Bureau of Jewish Education of Orange County
250 E. Baker, Suite B
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: 714-755-4000 Fax: 714-433-2477
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.bjeoc.org/