Dear Friends,
“You know the feelings of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9)
When we heard that thousands of Afghanis would be coming to the US as refugees, we knew what we had to do. After all, the commandment to welcome the stranger appears no less than 36 times in the Torah.
Five years ago we acted on this commandment and helped three refugee families get a fresh start in America. And that wasn’t the first time this congregation had stepped up in such a way. Now, five years later, we once again saw the opportunity to help and we didn’t hesitate to jump in. Alan Levine, one of the co-chairs of the effort five years ago, agreed to once again chair the effort along with Karen Mengden and Adam Joseph. And we, along with Congregation Beth El and Oheb Shalom Congregation, connected with HIAS, the agency whose sole focus is on helping to resettle refugees, and did all the preliminary work to “register” to help.
The training and background checks initially appeared daunting but they were completed in no time and, at the beginning of this month, we learned that a family would be arriving soon. So we went into high gear.
We launched a GoFundMe campaign and, within days, we were well on our way to the $50,000 goal. (As of this Shabbat message we have raised over $46,000.) A signup sheet was prepared to collect furniture and household goods. By the time I had a chance to look at it, most of the items on the extensive list had already been pledged. People from across our community stepped up to help. A meal train sign up that was posted the next day was fully subscribed within hours. No one wanted credit. They just wanted to do good. It was truly inspiring. And I was reminded, yet again, what a special community this is.
As soon as Religious School ended this past Sunday, I drove to the apartment we had procured for our new neighbors to drop off the items I had pledged. When I walked in, I was amazed, but not surprised, by what I saw. Members of all three congregations were hard at work making sure the apartment was ready for the family’s arrival the next day. Each of them had a singular focus — doing everything possible to give this family a new home that would be warm, welcoming and dignified.
On Monday, Alan and a small group of leaders went to the Army base in South Jersey where the family had been living for seven months and brought them to their new home. And while I know how much work went into making this a reality, the team made it look almost effortless. (It wasn’t.)
Then, on Tuesday, Rabbi Klein, Cantor Moses and I received an email from TSTI teens Amanda Fleisch, Maya Vijayvergiya, Ayla Katz, Lila Ebright, Scarlett Friedlander, and Susannah Litwin. On their own, they had decided to form Team Cookie to bake and sell cookies to help with the fundraising effort. This is what their “pitch” said:
Our temple, Temple Sharey Tefilo Israel has partnered with Oheb Shalom and Beth El to welcome an Afghan family to SOMA and help them begin new lives here. Working with HIAS, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, we are helping to raise money and give a refugee family what they need to start a new home. To achieve this goal we are having a bake sale!… All proceeds will go to resettling this family, and allowing everyone, from around the world, to have not just a house, but a home.
Their efforts raised almost $1,000. And while I am not surprised that our incredible teens would do such a thing, I am inspired by their commitment to acting upon the values their parents and our tradition have imparted to them.
None of this would have been possible if it were not for the countless people who have all done their part. Each act of kindness, no matter how large or small, played a role in making this happen. It truly DOES take a village and our village is nothing short of amazing.
If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? (Pirke Avot)
We are living in challenging times. The pandemic is not over. Antisemitism continues to plague our nation. And all of us are exhausted. At a time such as this, it would be completely understandable for us to turn inward and focus on our own individual or communal needs to the exclusion of all else. And while we do need to focus on the safety and security of our Jewish community, as Pirke Avot teaches us, we can never turn so far inward that we lose sight of the needs around us. It is never either/or.
This community understands that and, over the past few weeks, I have seen that commitment put into action in remarkable ways. So as Shabbat approaches my message to all of you today is quite simple —
Thank you!
Thank you for making sure we are the community we say we are.
Thank you for continuing to help ensure that TSTI remains strong, safe and secure.
And thank you for looking beyond the walls of our congregation and taking action to help make the world a better place.
I am grateful to serve this congregation. At a time when the world feels overly callous and harsh, the soul of this community continues to inspire me daily.
I wish you all a Shabbat Shalom and look forward to seeing you this evening either IN PERSON or on line as we celebrate our well-earned day of rest.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Daniel Cohen