We can start the process of being our authentic selves and accepting others as they want to be seen before we fully understand what or why that might be.
From Rabbi Seth Goldstein: We know that this is a nation founded by massacre, built by slavery, maintained by exclusion, defined by inequality. And we also know that this nation promises equality, exercises resilience, evolves continuously, practices teshuvah.
We live in a privileged society. The Torah teaches that God judges us on how we meet our societal responsibility to provide for the most vulnerable people within our society. While we enjoy the blessings [of our privilege], we fail to meet the responsibility.
A man must not withhold sexual pleasure from his wife. This is God’s message in this week’s parasha (Exodus 21:10). The context is: “if [a slave woman] proves to be displeasing to her master who designated her for himself… [and] if he marries another, he must not withhold from this [slave woman] her nearness of...