Knowing the Soul of the Stranger

The Torah commands the Israelites to protect the stranger not once but repeatedly, grounding ethical responsibility in collective memory of their own displacement. Nechama Leibowitz observes that this repetition is intentional: some people are moved by personal experience, while others need a different kind of moral argument — suggesting that compassion alone may not be sufficient to build a just society. Using these ancient texts as a lens, this learning asks how contemporary American society navigates the tension between self-preservation and responsibility to others, particularly in the context of the challenges facing immigrant communities today.

A Sukkot Guide to Houselessness

How are Communities of Color and other vulnerable groups impacted by houselessness in America?

“Over the next four years the current Pandemic Recession is projected to cause chronic houselessness to increase 49 percent in the United States. Houselessness among working-age adults caused by the current recession is projected to peak in 2023, adding 603,000 working-age adults to those already without a place of their own to sleep in the United States.” Through this Sukkot guide, explore how various communities are being impacted by the current housing crisis and the systems in place which have led to the staggering statistics we see today.

Jewish Response to Housing Discrimination in America

As we build our sukkah and welcome guests into temporary shelters, this guide invites reflection on those who lack permanent homes in our communities. Through the lens of Sukkot, kavod ha’briyot, and the shmita year, explore the history of housing discrimination, systemic barriers that create homelessness, and concrete Jewish responses to housing injustice through respectful community engagement and direct action.

Sukkot: A Shelter of Peace

Explore the relationship between the holiday of Sukkot, and housing insecurity in America today.

During Sukkot we have a full week in which we can fulfill the obligation of “welcoming the stranger” into our temporary dwellings built to observe this holiday. This custom invites us to consider the needs of those who lack permanent shelter beyond the week of Sukkot. During this z’man simchateinu, season of joy, we are instructed to celebrate and provide so that everyone has what they need to celebrate Sukkot, regardless of their status in the community. How does this holiday invite us to consider housing insecurity in America today? This guide can be utilized during the High Holiday season to explore our relationship to our unhoused neighbors, in advance of or during Sukkot.

Ten Plagues of Housing Injustice

What modern plagues exist in our society that we ought to consider this Passover? Learn more about housing injustice in America today.

“We place a drop on our plates for each one to acknowledge that the joy of liberation cannot be completed while many continue to be oppressed.” During the Passover Seder, we recall events that took place as part of the Exodus from Egypt, one aspect of this is the ten plagues. Through this haggadah insert, supplement the traditional plagues and consider plagues of housing injustice affecting the American landscape today.

Bread of Affliction: Matzah, Hunger, and Race

This Passover, utilize this conversation guide to explore the relationship between vulnerable communities and lack of access to nutritious food.

“The barriers to buying, cooking, and eating healthy foods are real.” This Passover dinner conversation guide engages the oppression of the Israelites in the book of Exodus as a launchpad to discuss a lack of access to healthy and sustainable foods in modern communities. Utilize this guide in a group setting to discuss and explore your, and your community’s, relationship to food insecurity while considering the Passover season as an invitation to think about those experiencing food insecurity today.

This guide was created in partnership with Hazon, dedicated to creating healthier and more sustainable communities in the Jewish world and beyond.