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Last week, for the first time in a long while, I stepped out of my “Bubble.” While I love my Bubble and the amazing people and places that fill it, I realized that I had been walking around with my eyes closed for many months.

With Janie Fishman, the lay leader who leads Temple Sinai’s refugee efforts, we drove 16.7 miles to what felt like the other side of the planet. We drove to Clarkston, Georgia.

For the past 40 years, Clarkston, a small town just east of Atlanta, has been a haven for those seeking safety from war and persecution. In fact, Clarkston is the most ethnically diverse square mile in the entire United States. Each year, approximately 1,500 refugees settle in Clarkston, receiving support from refugee resettlement agencies and businesses in the community.

Temple Sinai has become part of the Clarkston story. For many years, members of our community have traveled there each week to tutor refugees and immigrants in English.

We’ve provided sewing machines, organized baby showers, and served as buddies for pregnant women navigating the healthcare system. We’ve hosted summer camps, and this year, we’re helping to organize a Winter Festival—a special event for children who have nowhere else to go over the winter break. The festival will take place on Saturday, December 14, from 1:00 pm-4:00 pm at Memorial Drive Ministries, and we’ll be co-sponsoring a large inflatable bounce house for the kids to enjoy. We’ll need volunteers to help with the activity in two shifts: 12:00 pm-2:30 pm and 2:30 pm-5:00 pm. If you're interested in volunteering, please reach out to me directly.

Last week, as I walked through the streets of Clarkston, I was struck by a powerful contrast. The everyday challenges, the overwhelming tasks that often feel insurmountable to me, suddenly seemed trivial compared to the hardships these resilient families face daily. Women who, for the first time in their lives, are learning to write at age 40, having never held a pencil before.  Men who were doctors, lawyers, or government officials in their home countries, now struggling to secure even the most basic employment.

Yet, there is hope. Hope in the people we know who are eager to extend a hand. There’s promise in the air, filled with the rich aromas of freshly opened restaurants serving the flavors of Myanmar, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan. Hope blooms in the community garden, lovingly tended in the heart of the city. It’s in the rise of new businesses, like custom tailoring shops, and in the power of beautiful poetry that breaks your heart with every word.

So, why am I sharing this? Step out of your Bubble. Break your routine. See something new. Give of yourself. It might just be the exact thing you need to emerge from a rut and reboot your life.

Shabbat Shalom.