July 2018 But the moment may be fleeting, which is fine, too. And who might be the strangers in our own lives? The idea is that mutual vulnerability fosters closeness. We were both semi-serious, self-aware, and relatively relaxed. Love is about innately knowing and truly supporting your partner's true being. In this episode, which originally aired in April 2017, Rabbi Rick Jacobs talks about what it means to move from strangeness to equality to, finally, closeness and love. May 2019           96 Grove St. Rutland, VT 05701, Love the Stranger                                                                                        Parashat Mishpatim. November 2018 It was perfect timing, set right around Valentine's Day, on one of those cold nights you wished for a cuddle buddy. February 2019 March 2019 Please consider supporting local, independent, progressive media with a one-time or recurring contribution. The 36 questions in the study are broken up into three sets, with each set intended to be more probing than the previous one. I made sure to keep an "open heart" sitting stance and started in my mind to wish Sam kindness, thanking him for his sincerity. December 2017 Neither Sam nor I had looked at the questions before. Copyright 2016 Union for Reform Judaism. (It's OK, they're still together). And who might be the strangers in our own lives? September 2018 “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress them, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20). “ When a stranger lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. In the pairings from the original study, facilitator and author Dr. Arthur Aron sometimes deliberately matched participants using the Meyers-Brigg personality type indicator. But as Dr. Elaine Aron (yes, his wife) wrote in a blog post: "We had not created the 36 questions to help you fall in love. JPS Tanakh 1917 Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. May 2018 Earlier in the day, one of my friends recalled she and her boyfriend asked these questions to each other years ago, and fell asleep halfway through. To do a good job of that we would have needed to do a study with people who, above all, came into it really wanting to fall in love.". November 2017 January 2019 The question's prompts (which ranged from the relatively benign "what would constitute a 'perfect' day for you" to the rather intense "of all the people in your family, whose death would you find the most disturbing?") It felt like a middle school dance, with small groups gathered around the room. ", When I got home, I poured myself a hot cup of Yogi Tea. No less than 36 times, the Torah commands just treatment of stranger, including the following: “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:34).