Posts Tagged ‘welcoming’

welcoming

February 9, 2015
By bethmordecai
no comments.

DAY 954: We Live By Our Contact With The World Around Us

"וחי בהם" ולא שימות בהם (תלמוד בבלי עבודה זרה כח:ב על ויקרא יח:ה) "And you shall live by them" and not die by them (Babylonian Talmud Avodah Zarah 27b interpreting Leviticus 18:5) Dear Hevreh, Ever since our people left Egypt we have been a nation of "mixed multitudes" (Exodus 12:38) an assortment of individuals and traditions from different backgrounds. Some come to share their unique backgrounds (see Jethro) and some come to experience the uniqueness of Judaism (see Aramaeans eating the Passover sacrifice). No matter the reason though Judaism has always mixed together with people and traditions from different cultures. It is part of our DNA as a wandering people. Some would[...]

Category : Rabbi Rabbi's Journal Shabbat
Tag :

welcoming

September 19, 2014
By bethmordecai
no comments.

Parashat Nitzavim (נצבים)-Vayelekh (וילך) — Stranger Danger

Parashat Nitzavim/Vayelekh 2014/5774 (Triennial I) -- Stranger Danger In this week's Torah portion, Moses tells the Israelites that "you stand this day, all of you, before the LORD your God...even the stranger within the camp, from woodchopper to water drawer" (Deuteronomy 29:9-10). The Hebrew text does not intimate a separation between the "strangers" and the "Israelites," but the rabbinic commentator Panim Yafot (18th Century, Poland & Germany) points to how even in this text the strangers the Israelites must be wary of strangers. As we approach the High Holidays and open our communities to all people who seek Jewish wisdom, how does this text help us (and how does it NOT help us) understand how to welcome strangers into our communities? Join us[...]

Category : home Online Learning Online Parashah Class
Tag :