November 8, 2013  / 5 Kislev,  5774

As I was reviewing this week’ Torah Portion of Vayetze, it struck me how many compound phrases have been borrowed from this section, which feature's Jacob's dream of a ladder extending from Heaven to Earth, to give names to synagogues …   Beth El (House of God), Beth Elohim (House of God, slightly re-stated), Sha'ar Ha-Shamayim (Gateway to Heaven).

The main difference between these words as used by our third Patriarch and their usage today is that, whereas he framed them as imprints of his solitary audience with God, we use them in a more collective fashion, to give title to a kehilah kedosha - a sacred community.

While we have imported the terminology of kehilla kedosha, or kehilla for short, to describe modern Jewish communal life, the weight of the compound phrase is often lost in translation.

Rabbi Rick Kellner, of Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, in defining kehilla kedosha, references a scene in the Bilical Book of Nehemiah, in which the Torah is read publicly for the first time on Rosh Hashanah. Ezra the scribe read the Torah and translated it from the Hebrew into Aramaic (the vernacular of Israel at the time) so the people could understand. Overcome with emotion, the people respond by weeping. Ezra instructed them to celebrate and rejoice:

“What touches me about the description of the reading is that the people stood as one in order to hear the teaching of the Torah. What does it mean to stand as one and listen to the sacred words of our people's history? Sacred community is built upon coming together as one.”

I cannot help but force the question as to whether a kehilla is, by definition, a community of consensus.  For, if this were so, then it might be elusive, if not impossible, to achieve a working kehilla model in our day and age; we take such pride in our individuality and power of expression that the list of things upon which we agree becomes very short.

After doing some investigation, I came away not so discouraged as when I started. 

While consensus is a group process where the input of everyone is carefully considered and an outcome is crafted that best meets the needs of the group, and the heart of consensus is a cooperative intent, where the members are willing to work together to find the solution that meets the needs of the group, consensus is not unanimous agreement.

In a consensus process, people extend their relationships to each other as part of the listening and talking process. Consensus takes time and effort, honest communication and a willingness to trust the relationship.The communication of ideas and feelings, and the empathetic listening, builds trust and bonds between group members. By encouraging shared leadership and participation, consensus empowers all the members of a group to make the best decision. By working together to clarify ideas and proposals, the members build trust and communication skills that continue to grow and expand as the group works together. The longer the group works together, the better they get. The synergy of building collaborative agreements also builds a strong sense of commitment to the group and its mission, and a sense of belonging and commitment among the members.
                                                                                            (Source:  Basics of Consensus by Rob Sandelin)

Kehilla Kedosha in our day and age represents the elevation of community to sacred community, for it manifests the willingness of a group to believe in consensus and then live it out on a daily basis