The following offering comes to us from Dan Barash, member of the KSS Social Action Team. Dan’s words come at a perfect time — the end of the leap month Adar 1 and the beginning of Adar 2 — a time designated in our calendar for increasing joy. He reminds us that doing mitzvot, like welcoming the stranger, can provide a pathway to pleasure through activism.
People are strange when you’re a stranger
Faces look ugly when you’re alone
These lines of poetry come to us from the band The Doors, not the Torah, but they clearly reflect the feelings of loneliness and fear experienced by those who find themselves as strangers in a new land. In Leviticus we are told “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” There are over 35 references in the Torah to loving the stranger and those not in our tribe. Several, as in the example above, remind us of our own history as strangers in Egypt. And in the 20th Century we had the tragedy of many Jews being unable to flee Nazism because no country would take us. According to the United Nations, there are currently over 26 million refugees in the world.
The KSS Social Action team decided that helping organizations settle Afghan refugees in Columbus is a project we should undertake as it aligns with our Jewish values and meets a major local need. We have been partnering with the Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services (ETSS), a local social service agency that is responsible for settling 20-30 families in Central Ohio.
ETSS requested items like furniture, kitchen items, and bath items. Many KSS members reached into their wallets and closets to collect new and gently used items to contribute. Our home was the collection point for items, and it was wonderful to see folks unload overflowing boxes from their cars. These deliveries became an opportunity to schmooze and discuss the history of the items being contributed. Making such connections within the kehilah has brought unexpected joy to this experience. Our modest contributions not only help others but also provided an opportunity for meaningful connection. This experience taught me that helping others, even those in dire situations, need not be a grim undertaking.
ETSS continues to need assistance with Afghan refugee resettlement. Click here to order household items to be shipped directly to ETSS and look for updates on volunteer opportunities with English language learning and other services in the coming weeks!
Refugees are not the only strangers among us. I feel that many people find themselves disconnected from society for a myriad of reasons such as mental illness and racism. In fact, we are all strangers in this land. We live here by choice while the original native inhabitants of this land were forcibly removed, losing their homes, and becoming strangers new locations. As I engage in my own personal search for connection, I appreciate that KSS provides a spiritual home where nobody is a stranger.