We all come from somewhere: rabbi elle Muhlbaum

The invited rabbi, rabbi Elle Muhlbaum (EA/EA) is delighted to be part of the inaugural team of the clergy in Mishkan Congregation or! Rabbin Muhlbaum grew up in Cincinnati, graduated from Ohio State University and studied on the campuses in Jerusalem, Cincinnati and New York of the Institute of Religion of the Union Hebrew College. Ordered in 2016, Rabbin Muhlbaum first served at Beth-El Temple in Great Neck, then returned to the Great State in Ohio to join the team from Anshe Chess Fairmount Temple, who has since merged to become a Mishkan congregation or . Rabbin Muhlbaum loves the intersectional torah study, the creative and innovative ritual, pursuing social justice and engaging in miracles of the Jewish community. She and her husband, Cantor Vladimir Lapin, are the proud parents of two adorable children and their dog, Gus.

My last name is a German one. My grandfather’s family fled Berlin when he was a child, seeking to escape the growing waves of the Nazi regime.

There are fewer than 20 people known by my family name; Not everyone came out of Germany in time to get rid of death rooms.

My grandfather was a refugee. Finally, he and my grandmother moved to the United States and became citizens.

My partner came to the United States with his family in 1989 from the former Soviet Union. He was a refugee. Finally, he and his family became American citizens.

And now, in 2025, I look at my children-children to an immigrant, grandchildren of immigrants, great-grandchildren.

As a rabbi, much of my work has focused on teaching the values ​​that find their origins in the Hebrew Bible: “You will not oppress a stranger, because you know the feelings of the stranger, being yourself in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23: 9).

This verse is more than an appeal to empathy; It’s a reminder that we all come from somewhere.

In a few months, Jews from all over the world will gather around Seder tables and resume the story of the exodus of our people in Slave in Egypt.

We are told that each generation should consider and personalize the story as if they themselves are redeemed by this constriction and restriction in the narrow places of Egypt; it is our The story, as much as our ancestors.

At the time of writing, at the beginning of February 2025, I see the attempt to dismantle straight citizenship, violent visa of immigrants for mass deportations and invasion of hospitals, schools and sanctuaries.

I see the reduction of funds to the essential refugee relocation work.

And, perhaps the most disturbing, I see the dehumanization and demonization of immigrants and refugees as criminals.

I see myself in the story. I see my ancestors, my ancestors. I know what causes people to seek safety, freedom and belonging.

Our current administration rejects the idea that the United States is a nation founded and consolidated by immigrants, a nation that has laws and borders that must be safe. Deportation without an appropriate process must stop. Refugee relocation agencies should be restored. Birthright citizenship is a constitutional guarantee, and its elimination efforts must stop. Asylum seekers must have the right to plead their case.

I ask the Congress and the Trump administration to work together to make the immigration reform that supports our nation status of immigrants and ensures the security and well -being of the nation in the future.

We all come from somewhere; Some leave their homelands, others of your choice, others by need.

It is time to honor humanity, dignity and personality of immigrants, strangers in our midst.

Readers are invited to present essays of opinion pages on topics of regional or general interest. Send your 500 words essay to consider to Ann Norman to [email protected]. Essays must include a short bio and a writer’s header. Essays that reject today’s topics are also welcome.