"I am a stranger and a resident amongst you" (Abraham to Ephron the Hittite, Genesis 23:4). The Jew is a "resident" in the world, for the Torah instructs us not escape the physical reality but to inhabit it and elevate it. At the same time, the Jew feels himself a "stranger" in the material world -- his true home is the world of spirituality, holiness and G-dliness from which his soul has been exiled and to which it yearns to return. Indeed, it is only because we remain a "stranger" that we can maintain the spiritual vision and integrity required to reside in the world and sanctify it as a "dwelling for G-d."
