...the Torah instructs that in the midst of our holiest cities and amongst people who do the work of God, that precisely there — in that place — are the vulnerable to take refuge.
These passages (from this week's parshah) go beyond the basic responsibility of physically helping the poor; they challenge us to take into account their dignity and personhood.
In the grand scheme of the occupation, individuals or small groups coming together might seem like a small thing, but Jacob and Esau’s meeting shows us just how powerful personal moments of meeting and reconciliation can be.
In a time when modern day Pharaohs are seeking to peddle fear, to oppress, and to erase transgender people, we can take our direction from our brave matriarchs.
...if we want the soil of our land to live up to our hopes for it, we must hold to our faith — whether that is in God, in the land itself, or, in our case, the conviction of the cause(s) we are working for — and believe that we will reap the fruits of our labor.
Looking back can be terrifying. We are further protected by being a part of the covenantal community, thus we can look back safely, unflinchingly, to the very real horrors that have shaped our communities and our lives.
We find that we have to learn from our ancestors with a dual dose of humility and chutzpah: both to learn from their wisdom, and also to transcend their limitations.
What feels so hard in this moment is that I don’t know what the right course of action is. One of the problems I see in the world’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack is a preponderance of either Chesed or Gevurah thinking.