It is written in the holy Torah, “You shall rejoice in your festival, you, your son and daughter. Said the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘You have for members in your household- your son, your daughter, your manservant and your maidservant. I also have four, the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow. If you take care of mine together with yours it is a blessing. If not, the joy will be shattered.’ ~ P’sikta Haditah
You are like God’s child. That relationship also exists with everyone else. What that means is that we are all related. As such, the lines that connect is to other people are not random, they are familial. Every day we interact with our many cousins.
No castle has yet been built that can fully insulate those who live inside its walls from those outside. All lines connect and interconnect. We have co-workers. There are employees. Our spouse has friends. Our children meet new people continually. The lines of connection crisscross across our city, states and country.
Since there is no way to fully seal ourselves off from our numerous relatives, the prudent thing to do is accept them as our family and not treat them as unwelcome intruders.
Perhaps God’s ultimate message to us is to have a heart big enough to invite our extended family in. That makes the Holy One smile.
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