{"id":53,"date":"2017-02-02T18:33:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T22:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/?p=53"},"modified":"2017-02-04T09:57:03","modified_gmt":"2017-02-04T13:57:03","slug":"open-the-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/2017\/02\/open-the-door\/","title":{"rendered":"Open the Door!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The Bible proclaims: \u201cThere shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger that dwells among you.\u201d (Exodus 12:49)\u00a0 Moreover, the Bible\u00a0commands, no less than 36 times, \u201cLove the stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many are the strangers who wish to make this great nation their home!<\/p>\n

And yet America remains divided.\u00a0 There are those who wish to open our country\u2019s borders to immigration.\u00a0 On the other side, there are those who wish to secure our borders, afraid that Muslim immigrants in particular will bring terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n

In case there is any doubt, I stand with those who wish to open our doors.\u00a0 I stand against President Trump\u2019s recent Executive Order banning immigration from seven Muslim countries for four months and in the case of Syrian refugees, indefinitely.\u00a0 In this great country of ours we are not meant to discriminate.\u00a0 And so on Saturday afternoon, I joined the protesters at JFK airport to raise my voice in support of my Muslim brothers and sisters. \u00a0(You can read more about my experience.)<\/a><\/p>\n

My stance should come as no surprise to those who have heard my sermons and read my writings.\u00a0 I remain deeply committed to the ideal that America is first and foremost a nation of immigrants.\u00a0 My family was welcomed here.\u00a0 I in turn must welcome others.\u00a0 I also believe that we have a moral obligation to welcome those, although certainly not all, who are seeking refuge from persecution and war.\u00a0 My family fled Czarist Russia.\u00a0 Others of my people fled a Holocaust scarred Europe.\u00a0 Some, the antisemitism of Arab nations.\u00a0 Others, the collapsing Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

Today millions flee war-ravaged Syria.\u00a0 They are of course not my people.\u00a0 And yet I find a kinship in their flight.<\/p>\n

Leon Wieseltier opined:<\/a><\/p>\n

[T]he most conspicuous characteristic of [refugees] is that they love life, and that they are prepared to endure unimaginable hardship, so as to preserve life, their lives and the lives of their loved ones, and the lives of their traditions and their communities. Nobody imperils their children in dangerous sea voyages, and treks across mountains unless they believe they are rescuing their children from an even greater danger that certainly awaits them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I do not wish to abandon my fellow refugees.<\/p>\n

For years we have remained indifferent to their plight.\u00a0 President Obama turned aside.\u00a0 He made pronouncements but did not offer assistance.\u00a0 His was the awesome power to do something to halt the devastation and destruction, to do anything to limit the suffering and death.\u00a0 Syria is now a decimated shell.\u00a0 Obama chose to do nothing.\u00a0 We became mere witnesses to Assad\u2019s barrel bombs and ISIS\u2019s ruthless murders.\u00a0 He offered eloquence but little action.\u00a0 He shed tears; he bowed his head, and allowed but a trickle of refugees to our shores.<\/p>\n

Wieseltier continues:<\/p>\n

I also learned that refugees are people who have felt abandoned by the world. It is a terrible, terrible feeling I can report, as the son of people who felt abandoned by the world. And all the rescue efforts, and all the resettlement efforts that will be made, and God knows, there are very, very few for us to boast about, will not erase, ever, that feeling that at some point the world abandoned them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Under Obama\u2019s watch nearly 500,000 were killed.\u00a0 During his presidency some 5 million became refugees.\u00a0 (And I am only speaking about Syria.)\u00a0 Let history be unforgiving in its judgment of President Obama and his failure to stand against this atrocity!\u00a0 These horrors are not President Trump\u2019s doing.\u00a0 And yet they have now become his responsibility.<\/p>\n

We must not remain indifferent.<\/p>\n

Turning aside is unforgivable.\u00a0 Barricading our doors is cruel. The tearful, and even eloquent, indifference of Obama has given way to the cruel, and too often boastful, indifference of Trump.<\/p>\n

To slam the door shut is to close the door to hope.<\/p>\n

And that is a most cruel thing.\u00a0 America-first darkens the world\u2019s hope.\u00a0 There are 5 million people who are watching their country burn from makeshift camps.\u00a0 They must look elsewhere for inspiration.\u00a0 There, they might gain fortitude.\u00a0 There is only one thing that can sustain them through the hunger, cold of winter, immeasurable suffering and unimaginable loss.\u00a0 That is hope.\u00a0 They can hope that there is something better, off in the distance\u2014and if not for themselves, then at least for their children.\u00a0 Barricading our gates extinguishes this hope.<\/p>\n

I worry, although the effect for the forsaken refugee remains the same, how the closing of our doors affects who we are. Our present coarseness threatens to erode our souls.<\/p>\n

That is why I protested.\u00a0 I protested not because I think President Trump is doing a worse job saving these huddled masses and wretched refuse, but instead because if nothing else I wish to protect that glimmering, hopeful ideal of America.\u00a0 Our president\u2019s vision threatens to obscure who we are meant to be.\u00a0 He closes the door to who we are.<\/p>\n

I protested to save us, to safeguard that vision of us, that shimmering vision of hope that propelled my grandparents to these shores.\u00a0 America, the goldene medina!\u00a0 America, the golden land.<\/p>\n

Elie Wiesel tells this story:<\/p>\n

One day a rabbi came to the sinful city of Sodom; he knew what Sodom was, so he came to save it from sin, and from destruction. He preached to the people. \u201cPlease do not be murderers; do not be thieves. Do not be silent and do not be indifferent.\u201d He went on preaching day after day, maybe even picketing. But no one listened. He was not discouraged. He went on preaching for years. Finally someone asked him, \u201cRabbi, why do you do that? Don\u2019t you see it is no use?\u201d He said, \u201cI know it is of no use, but I must. And I will tell you why. In the beginning I thought I had to protest and to shout in order to change them. I have given up this hope. Now I know I must picket and scream and shout so that they should not change me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I wish to open our doors if for no other reason than to safeguard who we are.\u00a0 Or at the very least, to protect who I wish to be.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bible proclaims: \u201cThere shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger that dwells among you.\u201d (Exodus 12:49)\u00a0 Moreover, the Bible\u00a0commands, no less than 36 times, \u201cLove the stranger.\u201d Many are the strangers who wish to make this great nation their home! And yet America remains divided.\u00a0 There are those who wish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2763,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nOpen the Door!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Bible proclaims: \u201cThere shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger that dwells among you.\u201d (Exodus 12:49)\u00a0 Moreover, the Bible\u00a0commands, no\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Open the Door!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Bible proclaims: \u201cThere shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger that dwells among you.\u201d (Exodus 12:49)\u00a0 Moreover, the Bible\u00a0commands, no\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/2017\/02\/open-the-door\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wheels of Faith: Coasting Uphill\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-02T22:33:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-02-04T13:57:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rabbi Moskowitz\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rabbi Moskowitz\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/2017\/02\/open-the-door\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/2017\/02\/open-the-door\/\",\"name\":\"Open the Door!\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-02T22:33:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-04T13:57:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/#\/schema\/person\/6e5313a344c66c628fc3b482a9e4963a\"},\"description\":\"The Bible proclaims: \u201cThere shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger that dwells among you.\u201d (Exodus 12:49)\u00a0 Moreover, the Bible\u00a0commands, no\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/2017\/02\/open-the-door\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/2017\/02\/open-the-door\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/2017\/02\/open-the-door\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Open the Door!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/\",\"name\":\"Wheels of Faith: Coasting Uphill\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/#\/schema\/person\/6e5313a344c66c628fc3b482a9e4963a\",\"name\":\"Rabbi Moskowitz\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wheelsfaith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a692720533ddae0bcb62f31f7d244bf?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a692720533ddae0bcb62f31f7d244bf?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rabbi Moskowitz\"},\"description\":\"Rabbi Steven Moskowitz is the spiritual leader of Congregation L\u2019Dor V\u2019Dor on Long Island\u2019s North Shore. 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