Va’Yerah 5769 - Outreach, Inreach, Soul Reach

This past week was an experiment in how communities see themselves and others.  In an attempt to reach out to families where there are mixed faith backgrounds, Interfaithways contacted and requested that area synagogues make some part of their Shabbat weekends about interfaith families.  The question of outreach is one that is often troubling because unless it is done from the soul, it often struggles with the issue of authenticity. Where do we find authentic reaching of the soul to others?  We need only look to our Torah portion and to the work of Rabbi Alexander Schindler in the Judaism of the 20th century.