Adar, Refugee Shabbat, and the Two Coins

Tonight is a special Shabbat: It is the 7th annual Refugee Shabbat (HIAS) . Right now we are seeing terrifying scapegoating of immigrants and refugees. This is a Jewish issue. Biblically we are told “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). More than that, we are known as the wandering Jews,…