By Eva Gabay

In this article I would like to just take some time out to write about the closeness and trust that I feel is so prominent among the Jewish People.

As we all know in the Jewish communities many times we find that there is a different level of trust and closeness there that we might not feel in other communities and groups. Now I'm not saying that there is no closeness or trust in other communities, but in my own personal experience and from what I've heard and seen, there is just something more here.

Take Shabbat for example. Let's say you have a family of seven who need are traveling to a town they have never visited and need to find arrangements for a place to sleep and eat Shabbos meals with. Well, it's no problem for another family who observes Shabbat to open their home to them. Even if they have never even met. We as Jews basically open our homes to people that we don't know all the time, we let complete strangers share meals with us and sleep in our beds, we accommodate them with anything they may need to make their stay more relaxing and enjoyable. And for what, we don't know them, we never even met these people. But, the idea here is that by doing this, not only have we also fulfilled many mitzvahs on our own part, besides that, it is just in our nature.

Our nature is to be hospitable, to be compassionate just as Hashem had done for us when we were strangers in the land of Egypt.

This is just one example of so many amazing ways the Jewish people show trust, share their portions, and open their hearts.

About two weeks ago I had went to a Judaica and Bookstore that I had never even heard of to pick up a book I had been looking for. I had my two year old nephew with me and as I was looking at the books he had noticed a few books of his own he was interested in. I also saw some music that looked good to get him. While I was there the I met the owner and another woman who were very nice and helpful to both me and my nephew as we tried to choose our books and good cd to get. When we finally chose our merchandise to purchase, I noticed that I had only brought enough to buy my book and two books for my nephew. I asked the owner if he could hold the cd for me up at the register and I would pick it up tomorrow. Upon paying for the books, the owner preceded to open the cd and hand it to me, saying "take the cd and pay me during the week whenever you get a chance to come down to the store". He had told me that he saw how excited my nephew was about the cd and didn't want to let him down. I was very thankful and accepted the cd.

As I left the store I was filled with a certain kind of feeling of thankfulness, not only for the cd, but a kind of thankfulness to Hashem for giving us the Jewish community in which we are apart of. Where there is trust for friends and strangers alike. And where there is an feeling within ourselves to honor that trust without fail.

Let's remember that we are a group of both familiar faces and strangers that are all part of one family.