Embracing the Foreigner

On Sunday night, I attended a program regarding the holiday of Shavuot, which begins tonight. My amazing friend, Nelli, hosted the program, where we discussed the Book of Ruth, one of the traditional readings for the festival.

The story of Ruth has to deal a lot with her conversion to Judaism. She said to her mother-in-law, Naomi, “Wherever you go, I will go. Let your people become my people and your G-d become my G-d.” Hence Ruth became the first convert to Judaism – a particularly important point, as she is the grandmother to King David, whose descendant is supposed to become to messiah who brings peace to the Jewish people.

An important part of this story is the lesson that we should embrace the foreigner and take them in, because every person has the potential to bring forth the messiah. And yet it is worth wondering – how well do we do this in our lives? At Passover seders, we say, “All those who are hungry, come and feast.” Yet how many of us really bring people in for our seders who are starving? And how many of us really embrace the strangers in our community?

I don’t like the idea of going through the motions in my Judaism. I feel like that Judaism comes with a form of obligation. The obligation is being true to what I say during holidays, like embracing those who are in need and the person who comes into a community and may feel lost and alone. After all, what is keeping a Yom Tov worth when you aren’t actually helping others? Shouldn’t we take care of each other?

I know plenty of Jews who fit this – they will follow every Jewish ordinance to a T, and yet when it comes to the things that we need to do, like embrace someone who is new, they turn their back. I find this very disturbing. Do they not understand that we are supposed to embrace others and not make them feel uncomfortable? Do they understand they are not supposed to embarrass? How can you say you are Jewish and not do your Jewish duty of making people feel loved and welcome?

I think of my wonderful friend Christina, who began dating my friend Paul shortly after my wedding. Paul told me before I met her that she wasn’t Jewish, but when I did, I found a girl who was so open, loving, funny, joyous and eager to embrace everything about Judaism. I took Paul aside and told him, “If you ever let her go, you would be an idiot.”

Others may not have been sure because she wasn’t born Jewish, but I knew from the moment she smiled and started singing that she, deep down, was what Judaism was all about. She even combines her Filipino heritage with Jewish stuff on her own food blog, Pinoyvey.com. It’s a recommended read.

The truth is that we need to embrace the stranger, and never make Judaism into an exclusive country club that no one can be a part of unless you’re one thing or another. In the Shavuot story, Ruth became a convert even though, in biblical times, Moabite women should not have been allowed to be with the Jewish people. Sometimes, we have to not follow the laws of Judaism in order to be truly Jewish. Being Jewish identifies us as something more than just religious people. It should define us as those who are willing to do what’s right, not just what we are commanded to do.

Since I am currently working on other things to get ready for the holiday, I will not be posting any new recipes. However, there are tons of dairy recipes on the blog, so feel free to scroll around. I'm listing some of my favorites below. Chag sameach!

Pesto Pinwheels

Lasagna Florentine

Spinach Macaron

Strawberry Gorgonzola Salad

Greek Orzo

Lentil Salad

Five-Minute Salad

Onion Tart

Biscochos