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 Mitzvah because I think that it is a great mantra for how to live your life. The way that I interpreted it was to be open to everything and always have empathy for others. It preaches to love others as yourself. For me, this means that you should be open to everyone being as special as you, and when you meet someone, always expect to be amazed. The second part of this is somewhat more repeated in the Tanakh, but it has meaning for me, even if it is just a concluding phrase. It says that we were strangers in the land of Egypt. We should remember all of the hard times that we went through and try to help those who are in challenging situations themselves. Do not judge someone by how they are acting because we do not know what is going on in their life. We have all acted irresponsibly or rudely ourselves because of stress or tiredness and instead of being offended, we should remember this and try to help them with whatever is wrong.
This picture reflects the Mitzvot of being open to everything and having empathy for others through the people in it. This is my family friend Mohammed, his wife Wafa, my parents and I. The Mitzvot I chose are the reason that we are friends. Wafa met my grandmother in Germany while they were both learning German for the first time. They became very close friends, helping each other with problems and creating a bond that has lasted across generations to today. If either of them had been close minded the day that they met or had not tried to help the other, the friendship they created may never have happened and we would not know each other today.
No comments:
Post a Comment