top of page
Search
rabbirobynashworth

For When Religious Institutions Fail: An Elul Offering

We are at a time when the reality of abuse and harm caused by and within religious institutions is finally and slowly being recognised. The term 'Spiritual Abuse' has begun to be used and the foundational work of Professor Lisa Oakley is being built upon. The Shiloh Project is crucial in exploring this area - do have a listen to their podcast. You'll see that the last podcast episode was with myself and the wonderful Yehudis Fletcher on Abuse within Jewish communities.


The pain on suffering within a community of harm and leaving such a community is immense and complex. There is much to be done on teshuvah/accountability for individuals and institutions and support for those affected.


As we continue on our path in Elul of Cheshbon Nanefesh (an accounting of the soul) I offer this poem as we continue to ensure our religious spaces not only keep to the high ideals they espouse but that they go further in creating holy and aspirational, liberative spaces for us all.


You can find this piece in the Yom Kippur Machzor Seder Ha-t'fillot, p.711 which you can buy here. Please cite the author (AKA me!) if you are quoting or re-producing the poem. Photo by Yener Ozturk on Unsplash.



For When Religious Institutions Fail

By R.Robyn Ashworth-Steen


A land flowing with milk and honey


A space that recognises the spark


Of the divine in each human


The Torah we are taught


The words and images we imbibe


All of this we seek and expect



What pain in the void


What wounds when


The promised land appears a fallacy



Abuse seeps onto the bimah


Words used as weapons


Ungenerous spirits


And a fear of the ‘outsider’



The cover up


The closed doors


The ‘that’s not how we do things’



How far we have fallen as we curate


Our museums of Jewish religious life



We ask where the young people are


But


Do we ask where the shechinah is


And why she hovers above and not within



Holiness cannot spark


When dreams and visions are trampled



We were promised so much


Community, study, debate


But


We received hate packaged up as tradition


Aliyot meted out as rewards rather than welcome



The Shechinah is weeping as


Her home is desecrated



Through pain we now create art


Through exclusion we find inclusion


Through hate we demand compassion


Through abuse we seek courage



The promised land needs us


To break down the museums and


Find each other anew

75 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page