About one year ago, I left sunny, tranquil Los Altos for magnificent but strife-ridden Jerusalem. I took the United nonstop from SFO to Tel Aviv, unsure of what to expect from my first year of rabbinical school at Hebrew Union College. After one year in Israel, I have not only left with a great appreciation for my year, but I have come to understand a great deal about the American Reform Movement’s relationship to Israel, and how we’re getting it wrong.

This week’s double-parsha, matot-masei, is a fascinating reflection of how we, as progressive American Jews, relate to the land...

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the soul of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9).  Over and over again, the Bible commands us not to wrong those who are most vulnerable – the stranger, the widow, the orphan, the poor.  Do not wrong the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.  Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.  We are called on to protect the vulnerable because we know the souls of the vulnerable.  We know their hearts, and their hearts are...