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How Do We Make Space for God to Belong?

Matan Koch headshotAs I was reading Shelly’s introductory note, I couldn’t help but reflect on the deep significance of building a house of worship that draws everyone into belonging. I think many of us have probably noted the inherent dichotomy between the Torah’s exclamation that we were all designed in the image of God, with the observable range of difference of humanity. Growing up in a post-Enlightenment Reform household, we were taught that this referred to the best parts of our natures, our love, our altruism, our morality and nobility.

It wasn’t until I got to college that I studied a rabbinic discussion about the treatment of the body that had been executed in a judicial proceeding that I realized that for them the image was quite literal. It begs the question then: how can this be both literal and true?

I think the answer is found in the traditional rabbinic prayer for congenital disability, which is to bless God for the manifold difference of creation. The rabbis understood the differences among us to be a good thing. I posit that this is because God is infinite, and we are small and finite. Only the entire complexity of humanity can come close to reflecting the image of God, and only because of the great array of differences between us, including disability.

As such, it seems to me that only when our houses of prayer reflect the fullness of belonging that Shelly envisions will we in fact be able to obey the command from the book of Exodus, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” For indeed, any barrier to full participation reflects not only a barrier to the individual, but a barrier to the part of the divine that they reflect. You can explore these sources and more in the study guide, “Created in the Image of God” based on my reading of the sources.

Meet the Author

Matan Koch

Matan A. Koch is the Senior Policy Advisor at RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities can fully participate in all aspects of community. A longtime national leader in disability advocacy and a wheelchair user himself, he is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School.

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