Crusader Fortress & Tzfat Tiyul

Yesterday was a long all-day tiyul to a Crusader fortress and to the city of Tzfat. Our first stop was the Crusader fortress named Kokhav HaYarden (Star of the Jordan), more commonly known as Belvoir, meaning beautiful view.

True to its name, we did have a beautiful view. We could see all around us, all the way to Jordan and to the Golan Heights. For the Crusaders this height was strategic so the Crusaders could see any people down below, and shoot at any attackers. The Crusades put a lot of thought into the structure of the fortress, which I thought was really cool. The walls were smooth, flat, and really tall, making them impossible to climb up without being shot or having hot oil poured on you. There were lots of sharp corners in the hallways which meant that any attackers would have to leave one of their sides exposed as they maneuvered through the fortress with their shields. The Crusaders even designed a hidden staircase out of the fortress so they could leave and get food while under siege.

We started the day by learning about the history leading up to the Crusades. In the late 9th century in western Europe, tensions were growing between the Emperor and the Pope as both struggled to be the dominant power. In his famous speech, Pope Urban II claimed that the Muslims in Israel were violently oppressing the Christians, and that it was Christians’ god-given duty to march to Jerusalem and reclaim the city and the Holy Sepulcher. Urban claimed that anyone who went on the Crusade would be rewarded with wealth and everlasting life. Even though it was a false narrative, many people were inspired to go on the Crusades, and were willing to wipe out anyone who got in the way, including Jews. Jews were generally living well as merchants outside the feudal system. But as the Crusaders passed through Europe they ravaged thriving Jewish communities.

The Crusades can be seen as a turning point for the Jews living in Christian Europe during the Middle Ages because it marks the beginning of modern anti-Semitism. The first massacre of Jews, known as the Tatnu Massacre, occurred during the Crusades. The hateful feelings towards Jews continued after the Crusades. We learned about the various claims against Jews that arose after the Crusades, including blood libels, desecration of the host, and poisoning of the wells.

Next we went to Tzfat, one of the four holy cities in Judaism. Tzfat is known for being a center for Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. Kabbalah is all about transcendence onto the deeper, “secret” level of Jewish understanding. It’s centered around the connection between body and spirit, and connection to God through intense learning and meditation. Honestly it’s kind of confusing. But I guess I don't get it because I’m just not on their level.

We learned that Kabbalah emerged in Spain. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai wrote the Zohar, a hugely important book on Kabbalah in Spain. However, during the Spanish Inquisition, Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or were forcibly expelled from Spain. The theory was that the Spanish Inquisition happened because of Chevlei Mashiach, “birth pangs of the Messiah”: because the Jews underwent such a terrible thing in Spain, it was only logical that the Mashiach would soon be coming to fix the world. Some Jews went back to Israel, and by 1550 Tzfat had become the major center for Kabbalah.

The Rabbis of Tzfat tried to bring about the Mashiach in different ways. Yosef Caro believed that through strict practice of halacha, Jews could bring the Messiah. Caro wrote the Shulchan Aruch, one of the most important books of halacha, which is still referred to today. Moshe Cordovera established the philosophical foundation of Kabbalah. He came up with Pardes analysis, the four levels of textual understanding. To truly understand Kabbalah, you have to be on the “secret” level of Pardes. Cordovera also came up with the Ten Sefirot, the ten aspects of Kabbalah. You must touch all ten to connect to God and bring about the Messiah. Finally, Yitzchak Luria believed that Caro and Cordovera’s combined philosophies would bring about the Messiah. Luria also notable because he gave us Kabbalat Shabbat, which lets us joyously celebrate the coming of Shabbat.

I loved Tzfat; I think it’s a really beautiful city. I loved walking down the narrow streets and looking at all the beautiful Jewish art. Everything is painted blue, which was so pretty and gave everything a happy, airy vibe. The synagogues were really beautiful and I loved learning about the history of the artifacts in the synagogues. Finally, what does mysticism mean to you? How can you apply it to your life?

Evan shows off the fortress

Exploring the fortress 

A stained glass window with the 10 Sefirot

Learning in the Caro Synagogue

En Rafa Tiyul (Islam)

/.Last Thursday, we went to a small Arab Village called En Rafa. This village is located less than a kilometer away from Kibbutz Tzuba. In our opinion, by visiting this village, we were exposed to the coexistence between Muslims and Jews in Israel. When we arrived to En Rafa, we met a man named Mousa. We learned that Musa has Israeli citizenship and we saw that he is able to live in Israel in peace, despite the surrounding conflict between the Jews and Muslims. Mousa gave us a tour around the Arab village and he explained to us that there are not many problems with the Jewish neighbors. He said, if you look to the government, there are issues between Israelis and Arabs, but Arabs and Israelis are capable of living in coexistence. After Israel claimed this area, only a small group of Arabs stayed because they did not want to be under the Israeli government. For this reason, various members of Mousa’s reside in the West Bank due to this issue.

On our trip to this village, we were exposed to a lot of the historical background of Islam and we saw many important aspects of the religion. A women who resides in this village, Yasmin, explained to us significant features of the religion. She told us that Islam literally translates into “submission or surrender to the one God.” Islam was founded through the teachings of Muhammed. Muhammed received a message from the Angel Gabriel saying that there was only one God. Additionally, Muhammad received the Koran, the Islamic holy book, from Allah through Gabriel.

After the Islamic religion was developed, it spread like wildfire. People who followed this religion began to bring it to new areas through trade. However, this new religion spread into many areas of the Middle East, particularly where many Jews resides. In these areas, more and more people adopted the religion. Islamic rulers told non-Muslims that they could remain in their land as long as they paid a tax and respected the Muslim traditions. However, since so many people began to practice this new religion, the Jews in areas that were previously not a minority became one.

A particular place that is incredibly holy to Muslims is in Jerusalem. Muslims consider Jerusalem to be the place where Mohammed ascended into heaven after he died in Mecca. Additionally, the Muslims also built the Dome of the Rock and the Alaska Mosque at this time. These were places that Muslims would go to in order to venerate to the religion.

While we were in En Rafa, Yasmin took us to one of the Mosques in the village. Inside, she explained to us many interesting things about the religion. One of the main things we found to be the most interesting was the reasons behind why women have to wear a headscarf. Women are required to wear this article of clothing so that people can look and understand what they are actually saying, disregarding their looks and personal beauty. Talking to Yasmin helped clarify misinterpretations of this religion. We learned many new things from a Muslim perspective compared to what we thought we knew before.

After visiting this village and the Mosque, what is something you personally found interesting either about Islam in general or about the coexistence between Israelis and Arabs that live in Israel? What is a misconception about Islam and this issue that you were able to better understand?

Israel Museum Tiyul

Today we went on a tiyul to the Israel museum. Our main focus today was the diversity and uniformity of the different Jewish communities and the Jewish life in the Middle Ages. After the jewish people were expelled from spain, they spread out across europe, asia, and the world. One temple diagram we visited today was the Kadavumbagam Synagogue from India. This temple featured aspects of Sephardic jewish traditions, such as the bima located in the center of the temple instead of the front. It also contained Sephardic scrolls, that open like a book and then turn, instead of needing to be unrolled, such as the traditional torah scrolls. This temple also featured large windows, so women could watch the service from outside. This separation of women is also featured in the Italian Vittorio Veneto Synagogue. But in this case, women sat above men in the balcony. The Italian Synagogue was very elegant, showing signs of the christian church influence and emphasis on beauty. The Italian Synagogue also took after the Sephardic traditions by having pews turned toward the center for the torah reading and service, just as the Indian center bima was for. The third temple experience we viewed was that of Germany. This temple was very modest and easily mistaken for a barn if it was not for the elegant artwork on the inside. This Horb Synagogue was made out of wood, as was the Kadavumbagam synagogue. This has to do with the geographic differences, since wood and forests happened to be available to these temples, but not the Italian one. The Horb Synagogue was much more modest than the Italian one. It interested me to see Jerusalem depicted in the paintings on the walls of this german synagogue, which shows the jewish community in that time had not forgotten their land. The last temple diorama we visited was the Tzedek Ve-Shalom Synagogue in Suriname. This Synagogue was very different from the others, and you could see the cultural impact southern america had on the temple. The floors were made of wood but covered in sand, so that the common wooden shoes of the Surinamese people would not make unpleasant noise on the floor. It was powerful to see the ways the temples were similar, even so spread over the world, but also how the surrounding cultures had impacted the individual Synagogues.

Our traditions and styles may have differed slightly from place to place, but our Hebrew language kept us together. As we saw all the jewish books and scriptures that had been found all throughout the world, all were written in hebrew. Some of the art and the format in the books had been changed, but our language was not. Many artifacts were discovered to be not too foreign to our modern day culture as well. In Morocco, the holder of a prayer shawl was found with a prayer honoring thy mother and father in hebrew. This is very similar if not nearly the same as our modern day Talit. An ancient German stone used for breaking a glass on a wedding day was also uncovered. We still practice the tradition of breaking glass on a wedding today, to remember the destruction of the temple. No matter how dispersed we are, or how distant in time we are from each other, all jews will always continue the same general traditions, and we will always have history in common.

Kadavumbagan Synagogue from India, and the center Bima

Ceiling of the Horb Synagogue in Germany

Stone used to break glass during weddings in Germany

Bag used to carry prayer shawl in Morocco

How are american jews different and similar to jews around the world? How are we different and similar to our ancestors?

Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith

Shalom Kitat Dov! שלום כיתת דוב!

Continuing our discussion about Rambam, please read his Thirteen Principles of Faith on pages 17 and 18 of the source book. Please pick one (or two) that you most identify with and explain why in the comment section below. תודה רבה!

Oral Law Assignment

                          Oral Law Assignment

Leviticus 19.18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself.”

This verse spoke to me because I don’t hold grudges against people and always give them multiple chances. I always try to treat people even better than I treat myself.

However, if someone murdered my brother I would feel the need to get revenge and kill them.

Additionally, I don’t always love myself as much as I should, which could lead me to treat people badly at times. This complicates the commandment, because if I love them as much as myself, I would at times not be giving them the respect they deserve. By “love your fellow as yourself, the verse should be taken as love your fellow how you should love yourself. In my daily life i try to have a positive attitude and make people around me feel good about themselves and one of my favorite things is making people happy.

In the modern world you do have to learn to let things go and not let someone anger you to the point where you will do something harmful to them. This is the only way to continue succeeding. Everybody makes mistakes and messes up every now and then, especially with friends. It is good to forgive and forget in order to move on in life, instead of taking vengeance.

This picture represents happiness and optimism towards life. I think this goes along with treating people with love. Also it shows going with the flow and not holding grudges or feeling remorse. It just focuses on the hope in life like that bird flying in the sky just chilling having a good time.

Oral Law Assignment- Madison Holt

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I chose verse 33, “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens, you shall love him as yourself...” (Leviticus 19.33), because everyone needs a little reminder of this. We were all once wanders looking for a new place to settle in, so we must show compassion and welcome all immigrants. I think this Mitzvah can even be applied to a smaller scale, such as summer camp. I’ve been going to summer camp for the past 8 summers and every year there are new kids. When you get older in camp there are less new kids and many returning friend groups, which can be really intimidating for first-year campers. This past summer, there was only one new kid on my trip, and he went on the trip only knowing one person. At first, it was really hard for him to find his place and become comfortable, but from day one I introduced him to my friends and tried to find times in the day to just listen to what he had to say. There definitely were some kids who did not follow this mitzvah and were incredibly exclusive, which I just didn’t understand. I don’t understand why it was so hard for them just to be nice, to simply say hi when he walked by. You never know when you will be in this boy's situation, so they should’ve treated him the way they would’ve liked to be treated, they should've loved him as themselves.

I couldn’t find the exact image I wanted, but this is what I think of when I hear this commandment. Except there should be one change, people should not close off the circle, but leave room for anyone to join. Someone is less likely to join a closed circle, and therefore you are not following this commandment. An open circle is much more welcoming and less intimidating for someone who is not that close with you to join. It takes one readjustment of your body to follow this commandment. It really does not ask a lot, but it has extreme impact on the person you are welcoming in. At some point in your life, or even many, you will be in the place of the traveller or immigrant, hoping that someone will invite you into their circle. So just remind yourself of this mitzvah, and remember how much it can impact another person's life

Oral Law Assignment -Ben Sander

“You shall keep My Sabbath and venerate My sanctuary: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19.30).

Personally, my perspective on this Mitzvah is a direct message from God, acknowledging to the Jewish community that the Sabbath should be kept. In addition, God is notifying the Jewish community that he should be respected as he is our God. When God is speaking to the people of the Jewish community of the importance of Shabbath, he expressing how meaningful  the Shabbath is to him. God wants the Jewish community to look at the Shabbath day as a day of rest from the previous 6 days of work. God does not specifically states what or how the Shabbath dinner should look like as that, we get from our ancestors and traditions that were passed on. However, I believe that the Jewish community should look at the Shabbath dinner as a time to reflect and overlook the previous week with the people that love and support you. In my daily life, it is important to fulfill this mitzvah because personally, it gives me the time to highlight the highs and lows of the previous week and share it with people who I care about. The Shabbath dinner at our house takes no longer than 45 minutes, but in that time, it has such an important impact and aspect on my life.

The picture above shows that even through tough times of toughness, we still manage to come together as a family and celebrate the Shabbath.

Given that my two brothers had graduated college and they currently work away from home, for Shabbath dinner, there are only three seats; me and my parents. My parents and I all have extremely busy lives throughout the week which prevents us from simply asking about each other's day. In our family, we look towards Shabbath dinner because it's a time that it is just us; catching up on each other’s lives. Personally, I believe Shabbath dinner had made my family stronger as it made my family become more together; simply by sitting at a table for less than 45 minutes. Even though we may have some uninteresting conversation, what matters is that each person in the family takes a little chunk out of their weekend and spends it together, as a family. Ever since I can remember, I would always see Shabbath dinner as colossal waste of time and would not see the meaning of why are we doing this? Before I left Israel, sometimes I would had thought that Shabbath dinner was a waste of time and would be taking time away from hanging out with friends. However, now that I am spending the next four months of my life in Israel, it gives me another perspective of the importance of Shabbath dinner and why it’s extremely significant to my family.

Oral Law Assignment

For my Oral Law Assignment, I decided to choose the verse of Leviticus 19:33-34. The verse says "When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the Lord am your God." When I first read this, I thought of a picture that I did not take, but was on my computer. In the wake of Trump's immigration reforms there have been a lot of anti immigrant actions taken. The picture below depicts a woman entering the united states from a muslim nation surrounded by protestors in favor of her right of immigration. Living in an area with many immigrants I have often taken this bible verse to heart without even realizing it. I am very sympathetic of the everyday struggles of those who are not native to the country, often helping them to speak the language and do other simple tasks when I'm with them that are beneficial to the other party.

It is my belief that the people depicted above are doing exactly what they are commanded to. The signs read many variations of the simple phrase "Immigrants welcome." and if an immigrant is not a stranger, then I don't know what they are. It is our obligation as a jew and human beings to "love our neighbor as ourselves (v'ahavta l'reacha)" Those who are protesting in this picture aren't just protesting the bad decisions being made in washington, but rather are celebrating the diversity of the world and know that the world works best when we have immigrants in society. But immigrants can't always stay foreigners. They have to be able to be accepted into society and truly be treated as full on citizens, not second rate ones.

Oral Law Assignment

"When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden for you, not to be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before the Lord; and only in the fifth year may you use its fruit — that its yield to you may be increased: I the Lord am your God." (Leviticus 19:23-25). I chose this mitzvah because I really liked its message of respect towards the environment. I interpreted this mitzvah pretty literally: you cannot eat the fruit from the trees that you plant for the first three years after planting. In the fourth year you will use the fruit for joyous offerings to God and then finally in the fifth year, you will have the greatest yield yet and you can finally eat the fruit. I think this commandment teaches us to pay attention to the importance of the environment, and how much we depend on the environment to give us food. It forces us to make sure that trees are well cared for in the present so that they will have fruit for us in the future. The mitzvah also teaches us the value of patience, as we must wait to feed ourselves: we must first worship God in the fourth year and then eat in the fifth. I can still apply this mitzvah to my own life even though I don't have a farm. Before each meal I can say the blessing over the food to honor God before I feed myself. In addition I can be more conscientious of the environment by working to reduce the amount of trash I produce and learn how to best sustain the ecosystems around me.

This is a photo of Leah and me at the organic vegetable garden that we stopped at on the way to Eilat. We are observing the mitzvah in the traditional way in that the garden had been planted longer than five years before we ate from it. In the non-traditional sense, we were jubilantly appreciating the plants and learning how the environment of the Aravah can be a rich, sustainable source of plants.

Oral Law Assignment

The mitzvah I chose is verse 14, "You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the Lord." I think that this verse is really important literally, meaning that we should not literally place any physical obstacle in front of someone who is physically handicapped or insult those who are different than we are. However, I also think that this mitzvah can be deeper metaphorically. I think that in our society, many people are seen as outcasts or are treated poorly because they are different. If someone in the community is already struggling with an aspect of their life- whether that be physical, emotional, or mental- should not be given more obstacles from society. It is so easy to look at people who are suffering and cause them even more emotional pain, even if we don't mean to. This mitzvah is telling us that as a community, it is our job to make sure that someone who is less fortunate than others does not deserve to have their burden made even heavier just because they may seem different to us. I personally think that this is really important. I think that even in our modern society today, many people who are less fortunate are taken advantage of and seen as not as important to society, and therefore have many of their rights taken away. The injustice in this situation is clear: those who are already finding themselves in difficult situations should not be made to feel even worse by those around them. As Jews, it is our job to carry out this mitzvah and ensure that those in our society who are struggling are able to find their way without any literal or metaphorical obstacles in their path.

One of the things about this situation that I feel strongly against is the fact that many homeless people in America are unable to vote. The picture above depicts a man sitting on the street as people walk by (it is implied that the man is homeless.) This picture reminds me of the fact that even though every citizen in America is given the legal right to vote, there still remains many "obstacles" that stand in the way of these people being able to choose their leaders in government. This pertains especially to people who have moved out of their homes because of domestic violence issues, etc. who don't have a way of registering to vote under a specific home address. These are people in our society who are already struggling to survive, feed their families, and live free lives, but are unable to participate in the democratic process because of their situation. This is making a bad situation worse for people in our community who are already in a tough situation. In this case, putting a stumbling block in front of the blind means that people are stripped of their human rights, showing exactly why this mitzvah is so important. 

Oral Law Assignment

I chose Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself.” As I was reading the list of mitzvot, this commandment caught my eye. Ever since kindergarten, my parents instilled the belief of the “golden rule”. This commandment is saying to always give the benefit of the doubt. Holding a grudge on someone is unfair towards the other individual because it is not allowing the individual to repent and try to fix their mistakes. “Love your fellow as yourself” is a moral all individuals should live by. Treating someone the way they would want to be treated would solve almost every problem. For example, an individual would not steal from another because they would not want robbery done to them. I believe this “golden rule” is a full embodiment of all the mitzvot. Following this rule can be a guideline as a Jew in the modern world because it will help me think before I act. Instead of acting solely on instinct, I will think of how my actions might affect other people as well as how they would affect myself.

This picture is of our whole EIE group after climbing Masada. I believe this is a perfect example of "you shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countryman. Love your fellow as yourself" because as a group of 62 high school students, drama and tension exist between all of us. However, we are able to look past these differences, and not hold grudges against each other and love each other as individuals. Also, throughout the hike, we helped one another so everyone could achieve the difficult task of climbing Masada. Obviously, "you shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countryman. Love your fellow as yourself" is one of the most important commandments because it encompasses all of the commandments into a concise statement and is eseential in the creation of lifelong friendships like the ones created on EIE.

Oral Law Assignment

I chose the Mitzvah, "Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness," (Leviticus 19:29). Literally, this verse condemns prostitution as wicked, as well as commanding parents not to send their daughters into the world of prostitution. However, from my point of view, I see a deeper meaning than this that is on the surface. A large part of what this means to me includes the importance of valuing women. By using the phrase, "do not degrade," it is evident that women are to have pride and have something to bring to the table. Rather than living a difficult life of prostitution, this saves them from being treated as even more of a subordinate group. In this way, this can be related to a more modern situation, as women should be admired and be praised for their accomplishments as well as their potential.

This photo exemplifies exactly what this Mitzvah means to me. Women of the Wall strives to uphold these values and allow women to practice Judaism as equals with men. In this way, they care about the full potential that women should be able to have the tools to achieve, as well as not degrading them in comparison to me. Witnessing the holy work of Women of the Wall only a few days ago, I already feel more confident in  in my identity as a Jewish woman, and I also have more faith in the future of the Reform Jewish community. Hearing the Megillah recited by various women who are united behind a cause they are so passionate was amazing. To further enrich my experience, dancing and singing, and even just talking, to these women was so interesting to me. I loved being surrounded by my American friends as well as Israelis who I do not even personally know, but still knowing that we care about our futures as Jewish women. In essence, this Mitzvah resonates with me, not about prostitution itself, but about a meaning differing from that which is on the surface.

Oral Law Assignment

The mitzvah that I chose was Leviticus 19:9  “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edge of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit from your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.” I think that this Mitzvah has two meanings to it. On the surface, it talks about how we should always leave part of our land full of fruit so that people who are not able to get food are able to pick and eat it. On the deeper level, I think it also talks about giving to others in life in general. If we are lucky enough to have this plot of land flourishing with food, then we should help out the needy and not take what we have for granted. While I do not have a plot of fruit trees that I am able to give to others, there are many other ways I can do this mitzvah in my everyday life. Some ways are by volunteering my time at places, and giving food to food banks. I’m so lucky to have the freedom to do what I want in my life, and have a lot of freetime where I am able to make my own decisions, so instead of spending all my free time doing stuff for me, I donate much of my time to help those in need.

I chose this photograph because it is a picture of me and my friend at an orange grove. This orange grove is completely open to the public to come and pick as much fruit as you want. While it doesn’t relate to the mitzvah completely, it still has a lot in common because people who don’t have a large amount of food can come here and eat the oranges. The owners of the grove could choose to keep all their oranges for themselves, or sell them for money, but instead they chose to give it to others.

Women of the Wall

On planet earth, people are always being divided and split up; whether it be by religion, skin color, or our political opinions, however I think one of the most defining factors of the division is by our gender. In Israel, hundreds of people go to the Western Wall daily to pray. When we went to the wall as a class for Women of the Wall, I found it hard to pray because there was a second wall that took my attention away. This wall split up the Male and Female section, giving the women a fraction of the size the men got to pray.

Women of the Wall fights to give women the right to pray and be able to read from the Torah when they are at the Western Wall. On Monday for Shushan Purim, we stood there, in our little female section, huddled in a circle around the Megillah chanting the prayers of our people. The rain beat down on our heads but that didn't stop up because this needs to be changed. For thousands of years men overruled women, we were taught to shrink ourselves down and to shut our minds up, not being able to speak our opinions. Living in the 21st century women's rights have progressed extremely far forward because of moments such as women of the wall.

We still have a long way until we are able to reach gender equality. For example, why do women get a significantly smaller place to pray? Why do we feel like we have to look over a wall to see the other gender praying, and why are we doing a program to fight for women's rights, but yet we have a strict dress code we have to dress by. It’s little things, like women of the wall, that will help answer these questions and one day create gender equality.

For girls: How did it make you feel standing in the circle and hearing other women chant Megillah? What are your opinions on the strict dress code we are given. For the boys: how did it make you feel looking at all the girls praying together and being included in it? What can you do in your everyday life that will help gender equality?

Oral Law - Jessie H

“You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another.”

Although each mitzvot holds its own respective significant aspect, this one stood out to me in particular as it discusses a current ongoing moral code we continuously strive towards.  One can entail that along with stealing, all forms of deceitful or cruel actions one might inflict on another are regarded within the message. To me, I view this mitzvot to be describing honest interactions as the basis of humane success, a message that still needs ongoing emphasis in today’s society. A translation of transitioning this mitzvot into daily life could be through the phrases of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, or simply treating others as you would want to be treated. Personally, I think interpreting and carrying out this mitzvot is more about a general persona than specific actions. For example; I try to always be patient, honest, and kind when communicating with anyone. Whether that be trying to not judge someone upon meeting them, or being inclusive with those around me.  I believe you can also interpret this mitzvot to be advocating for the idea that we are often stronger working together, rather than only concerning ourselves with individual agendas. We should be looking to build one another up and come together, rather than be self-absorbed and isolated. Alongside this being a general principal goal for any Jew (along with it being moralistic, it is also clearly written in the Tanakh), this concept serves as a guideline for any individual generally seeking to carry out good actions, and in turn possibly influence the actions of those around them. As a Jewish person in the modern world, I see this mitzvot as an opportunity to not only encourage peacefulness within people, but acceptance of diverse differences between groups.  Coming from a culture not always regarded positively, it can be easy to mentally isolate your religion from other parts of your every day life, or even be hesitant to share with others all parts of yourself. It’s important as a Jew or any individual to instill pride and confidence in your identity, and in turn respect the identities of all others in an equal manner.

The photograph I created is an image of two of my friends sharing food at a meal. The message meaning to be conveyed is that even though everyone was hungry after a long bus ride, the people in the photo are treating one another respectfully and equally. Rather than eating before the other, or even stealing the other’s food, the two individuals are creating an open and kind environment.

Oral Law Assignment - Gali

I chose Leviticus 19:33-34: “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens.” The moment I saw this quote it really struck me. In my opinion, this Mitzvah can be fulfilled by any person. I consider this Mitzvah to be important to all people, not just Jews because being kind to others is a simple act and takes minimal effort. No matter where a person comes from or their personal background, it is always important to treat others the way you want to be treated. I think I can fulfill this act in my daily life by engaging others in a nice and friendly way despite my personal opinions of them. Everyday, I strive to be kind to others and make a helping hand, even if the person has not done anything nice for me. As a Jew in the modern world, this mitzvah can guide myself and other Jews to perform kind acts for the community, like tzedakah and גמילות חסדים.

My father is a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, LA. About 4-5 times a year, my father performs life saving heart surgery from children from third world countries who do not have access to proper medical care. The organization Heart Gift raises money for the child and his/her family to have a place to stay, food, entertainment, and other necessities and the hospital completely provides for the surgery itself. This photograph expresses the Jewish mitzvah/value because the children my father and this organization save are ultimately the “strangers” who reside in the land. The picture depicts my father and a baby boy from Uganda after his operation that ultimately saved his life. Although this boy and the other children that receive this operation come from different places and backgrounds throughout the world, they are treated as any other patient who comes to the hospital. My father and this organization voluntarily perform this deed from the goodness of their hearts in order to create a better community and world for all people.

Oral Law Assignment

Leviticus 19:33-34: “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the Lord am your God.” I chose this quote because it made the most sense to me but also resonates with me. I interpret this as “strangers” are those who might be less fortunate, or those who we might not understand because we seem them as “different”. Strangers also includes people we might not necessarily understand. We shouldn’t alienate these people or treat them any less than we would anyone else. Rather you should love others as you love yourself - no matter your differences. I can fulfill this mitzvah in my daily life by being kind and accepting to everyone, because you never know what internal struggles people might be going through. This verse definitely contributes to the modern Jewish world in the value of social justice in the reform movement. This line is one of many that guides many Jews to act kindly, and do good for others in the community, not just Jews, but everyone.

I chose this picture because I think it shows how we can welcome people who are different than ourselves and create a beautiful community. The verse I chose from the Tanach talks about how we should love others as we love ourselves, and that we should welcome strangers into our community as just another person. In the picture I chose, the statues of the kids are being welcomed by the real people, and the real people are welcoming the statues as well. Both groups overcome their differences being “strangers” to one another, and join together in one circle, become one group of people, one community.