“Befriend the Stranger,” Rabbi Elaine Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings

July 31, 2026 | 17 Av 5786

Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection as we move toward Shabbat. You can also listen to it as a podcast.

Every translation is a paraphrase.

Anyone who has ever tried to translate from one language into another appreciates there are nuances of understanding. The Yiddish word mensch may translate as man, but we know it connotes humaneness, integrity, kindness, and goodness.

When, as part of the editorial team, we worked on translating the prayers for Mishkan T’filah, our weekly prayer book, as well on Mishkan HaNefesh, our High Holy Day machzor, we did not rely on literal translations. Often, they don’t make much sense and sound like a foreign language in English. Instead, we sought what we called a faithful translation, which we viewed to be truer to the essence and gradations of the inherent meaning.

It is also important to recognize translation variations when we read Torah. Our portion this week reminds us about our regard for the stranger.

[The Eternal] upholds the cause of the orphan and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing him with food and clothing. You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:13)

Two particular words catch my attention: befriend and stranger. If every translation is a paraphrase, what is the Hebrew and English conveying?

A stranger can connote fear or represent otherness. This is a person, as the English clearly declare,s who is strange to us. The Hebrew word, ger, means sojourner, temporary dweller, and newcomer. Abraham is called a ger when he journeys from Haran to Canaan. (Genesis 23:4) Moses named his son Gershom with the explanation that he has been a ger in a foreign land. (Exodus 18:20) Others outside of the ancient Israelites received the description of ger as well. Our Torah portion speaks of them and their treatment. They aren’t regarded as strange at all, but rather with the expectation to be befriended.

It is a curious choice for the translation because the Hebrew word is actually love. The Torah instructs us to love God, love our neighbor as we love ourselves, and love the stranger as we love ourselves. “Befriend” as its translation is more accessible. It offers a nuance of reaching out, of actively pursuing in a loving way. It does not bind us in an either/or mentality but one of openness.

Translations are paraphrases but they offer lessons as well. From centuries ago to these very days, we live among and with those who sojourn or dwell or newly arrive among us and with us. Our tradition demands from us that we provide for them and regard them in the same loving way as we do our neighbors, ourselves, and the Divine. They live among us and with us. Some have resided here for decades! To befriend the stranger is a sacred way of living for each one of us as citizens and residents of our communities and our country.Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום

Let me know what you think. Connect with me here.

Rabbi Elaine Zecher