פרשת אחרי – קדושים
כאזרח מכם יהיה לכם הגר הגר אתכם ואהבת לו כמוך כי גרים הייתם | י"ט, ל"ד
The ger who dwells with you shall be like a native among you, and you shall love him like yourself
Rashi explains that one may not taunt a convert, by reminding him, “In the past you were an idolater and now you come to learn Torah that was given from the mouth of the Almighty?”
The requirement to display special love for a Jewish convert is constantly repeated in the Torah. According to the gemara (:בבא מציעא נט), there are thirty-six references to this in the Chumash alone!
Rav Avrohom Yaakov Pam zt”l illuminates the concept of “Loving a Stranger” in a new light.
In the past few decades, the Jewish world has experienced a phenomenon almost without parallel in Jewish history - the Baal Teshuvah movement. Hundreds of thousands of Jews who had been estranged from a Torah way of life have “returned” to mitzvah observance.
Many have had to overcome enormous obstacles along the way. Some have had to deal with the intense opposition of parents or spouses. For others it has meant sacrificing lucrative careers.
What brings these people back to emunah in Hashem? They realize that the society around them is totally devoid of spirituality and they feel the emptiness of a life revolving solely around money and גשמיות .
Baalei Teshuvah, much like the גרים who are specifically mentioned in the Torah, are a great blessing to the Jewish community. They often serve as role models in their devotion to the meticulous performance of mitzvos. It is incumbent upon us to help them smooth out the many “bumps” along the way. Let us assist them with shidduchim and employment opportunities, as they often lack the extended family structure and support system that “frum-from-birth” Jews take for granted.
We can awaken Rav Pam’s lesson in our classrooms. We have our own sort of "גרים". It could be the new student in our class that just moved into our city, or the student who changed schools and is a “stranger’ in our class. It could also mean our classmate who feels like a stranger because he/she has no friends and feels lonely and sad. We can urge our students to reach out to them. We can model the love and extended hand to these children for our students to learn from.
About the Author: Rabbi Yisroel Meir Rubinfeld
Rabbi Rubinfeld has been in the field of Torah education for over 3 decades and serves as an Executive School Consultant for Torah Umesorah. He provides an array of services to schools across North America, including teacher and principal mentorship, school and curricula evaluations, professional development and parent education.
Rabbi Rubinfeld's expertise includes classroom management and discipline, effective instruction, bullying, cultivating sensitivity in the classroom, impulse disorders (such as ADHD and ODD), and balancing the educational needs of mainstream and special needs children in the classroom.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is the also the founder and director of Torah Umesorah's Lilmod U'Lilamed department which provides professional development for teachers and principals throughout the year.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is a talmid of the distinguished Yeshivos of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim and Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.