Migrants and Refugees

As much as I love the Passover seder, it’s in the few days immediately afterward that I can more easily imagine the chaos of the Exodus from Egypt. Coming back from being with my family, unpacking and wondering what happened to half the things I brought with me, being unable to find anything in the...

In December I sat with M., a thirty-four year old man who is seeking asylum. Over the course of 3 ½ hours, M. told me what he had endured for many years in his country that propelled him to leave his home and his country to embark on a harrowing journey in search of asylum....

Commentary on Parshat Masei (Numbers 33:1 – 36:13) When I take my dog to the dog park, he loves to run from picnic table to picnic table and dive underneath them, seeking shade and safety. The picnic tables are a safe zone, a refuge, a sanctuary. Between 1980 and 1991, nearly one million Central Americans fled...

On October 5, supporters of immigration reform staged rallies in cities across the United States to advocate for a comprehensive overhaul of a system that routinely disregards basic dignity and respect. After Shabbat services that week, some congregants and I attended the New York-area rally on Cadman Plaza, just steps from our shul. When we...

”Looking up, Abraham saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said, “My lords, if it please you, do not go past your servant” (Genesis 18:2-3).   When I was 17 I learned about...

A few weeks ago, Hurricane Sandy blasted through the Caribbean, the United States and Canada. In her wake, more than 100 people have died along with untold damage to public infrastructure and personal property. For days the images poured in of families evacuating their homes in search of higher altitudes, of empty streets overflowing with...