Immigration

"I recently asked a group of religious school students what their favorite Passover food was. Unsurprisingly, many answered with the usual suspects: matzah ball soup, chocolate-covered matzah, and so on. But a few shouted out a surprising answer: parsley dipped in salt water."

We know the heart of the stranger and we cannot allow ourselves to lose sight of these people, or allow statistics to blur them and their lives into a faceless “issue.”

"I left Minneapolis inspired in many ways, most of all feeling called to approach immigration with an abundance mindset."

Recently, I attended an anti-ICE protest near my home. Our government’s recent methods of terrorizing immigrants feel deeply at odds with the democratic values that I want my country to live by. As I approached, the first thing I saw was a large Palestinian flag; closer in, several protest leaders were wearing keffiyehs. In the...

Darkness, in Bo, was not merely the absence of light, but the collapse of moral vision — the inability to see the person beside you. The Israelites, by contrast, … were able to preserve connection within their homes. Connection is also light.

Laban is happy to use Jacob as a worker and use his own children as tools to extract more value from Jacob, all while telling himself a comforting narrative that he is just doing what is right in his country.

We’re connected to each other in surprising ways, even during this time of disruption and loss.

The Torah teaches us that we have a special duty, not only to avoid exploiting, but to actively care for the poorest and most vulnerable in our communities. As we celebrate Labor Day, let us do all we can to ensure that every person [especially immigrant workers] can live and work in safety and dignity.

No one’s mistakes should be the end of their lives; we all deserve the chance to change, to grow, and to live.

Here in America, where the majority of citizens are descendants of immigrants or immigrants themselves, we should remember what it is to be searching for home. We must work together to welcome all those who … need the security of citizenship.