In modern times, how can we see holiness in one another? How do we find meaning in the mitzvah of hakhnasat orhim (translated as “welcoming guests” or “hospitality”)?
Our patriarch Abraham knew the paradoxical truth that to live the life of faith is to see the trace of God in the face of the stranger. It is easy to encounter the Divine Presence when God appears to the individual; what is difficult is to sense the Divine Presence when God comes disguised as three anonymous passersby, as Abraham encounters, or as strangers. Join Yiscah Smith for a session on how to open our hearts to the strangers in our midst.
Yiscah Smith is a thought leader, spiritual activist, and agent of change who addresses the spiritual practice of encountering the Divine spark within and beyond. She empowers others to carve their own paths, relying on Jewish spiritual teachings to inform and uplift her students and audiences.
Yiscah teaches Jewish contemplative practice and spiritual texts at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies and at Applied Jewish Spirituality. She founded Conscious Community Nachlaot, an organization in Jerusalem that hosts Shabbat in-person spiritual gatherings, virtual guided meditation sits, and spiritual text classes. Yiscah also works with individuals in her private spiritual mentoring practice and is an international speaker.
