{"id":40296,"date":"2017-12-15T17:38:16","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T23:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=40296"},"modified":"2017-12-15T17:38:16","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T23:38:16","slug":"off-the-pulpit-welcoming-the-stranger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/off-the-pulpit-welcoming-the-stranger\/","title":{"rendered":"Off the Pulpit: Welcoming The Stranger"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI DAVID WOLPE<\/p>\n

Billy Wilder, legendary Hollywood writer and director of such classics as \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d and \u201cSome Like it Hot\u201d was a refugee who left Germany for Paris as the Nazi party gained power.<\/p>\n

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Wilder knew that many waited for years, others were never admitted. He was terrified. He explained that he had almost no documentation because it was all left behind.<\/p>\n

The Counsel asked him, “What do you do?”<\/p>\n

“I write movies,” said Wilder.<\/p>\n

“Is that so?” said the counsel. They stared at each other for a long time.<\/p>\n

Finally, the Counsel stamped his passport and said, “Write some good ones.”<\/p>\n

He did.<\/p>\n

In a thousand small acts, an individual shows his heart and a nation shows its character. In a world that is driven by fear, many open hands have closed into a fist. Let us remember how important it is to also believe in the possibility of goodness and the power of welcoming the stranger.
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\n(Rabbi David Wolpe is the spiritual leader of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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