Welcoming the Stranger

Last week we read the 10 commandments, the generalized moral statutes whose ultimate purpose was to  “ create a human being” (in the words of Aviva Zornberg, a brilliant Biblical scholar I was privileged to hear in Jerusalem). “Aviva Zornberg points out, the revelation at Sinai and the laws that follow have but one purpose, namely, how to be a human being, how to behave as a mensch. And how to behave as a human being is to respond to other human beings with sensitivity, compassion, generosity and openness.”

Mishpatim is often called the Book of the Covenant.  “The sedra of Mishpatim contains the civil and the criminal laws of the Torah.  It deals with torts, and accidents, and other things, which, in most cultures, are considered the domain of secular law.  The Torah deals with all of life, and since these things are part of life, the Torah deals with these things too.” 

Mishpatim is concerned with developing a just society.  Embedded in the code of law is a discussion of how we are to treat those in our midst who are “strangers.”  In Hebrew, a stranger, known as a ger, is a foreign born permanent resident in the midst of the Israelites. These individuals were not in a position to fall back on local family and clan ties.  As a result, the they were in a position of being easily able to fall victim to discrimination and exploitation.

In Mishpatim, we are told:  “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (22:20).  This statement was made for the individual Israelite to follow.  We are also told “You shall not oppress a stranger for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.”  (23:9)  This statement was made to those serving as judges in the community.  They were admonished not to pervert justice as a result of their lack of familiarity with the litigants.

The statements about fair treatment of the stranger occur 36 times in the Torah. These statements are tied intimately to our history.  We experienced slavery and bondage in the land of Egypt until we were brought out of our enslavement by G-d. It is part of our historical calling to remember our past and the feelings we had no matter how other peoples were treating those who were not part of their group.  Later on, in Deuteronomy 10:18-19 we are told that we are not only not to mistreat the strangers, but we must also love them, even as G-d does.  Basically, what this means is we must care for their basic needs when they are in our midst.  In addition, as Rabbi Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain reminds us, “ Strangers do not share with the native born a memory, a past, a sense of belonging. They are conscious of their vulnerability. Therefore we must be especially careful not to wound them by reminding them that they are not “one of us.”  Even our use of harsh or derogatory language about strangers can be quite damaging. When you think about it, the  commandment expressed in this week’s Torah reading, of “not oppressing someone is easier, and takes far less effort, than acting affirmatively to befriend them, to try to understand and love them.”

We live at a time where secular thinking has moved away from this way of viewing our obligations toward one another.  We are worried about security, worried about those who want to do us harm, and worried about the motivations of those who are strangers.  Questioning, doubting, and even hating the stranger seem more prevalent at times than helping the stranger. 

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, took up this theme and said in his book Covenant and Conversation: 

“Why should you not hate the stranger? – asks the Torah. Because you once stood where he stands now. You know the heart of the stranger because you were once a stranger in the land of Egypt. If you are human, so is he. If he is less than human, so are you. You must fight the hatred in your heart as I once fought the greatest ruler and the strongest empire in the ancient world on your behalf. I made you into the world’s archetypal strangers so that you would fight for the rights of strangers – for your own and those of others, wherever they are, whoever they are, whatever the colour of their skin or the nature of their culture, because though they are not in your image – says G-d – they are nonetheless in Mine. There is only one reply strong enough to answer the question: Why should I not hate the stranger? Because the stranger is me”. 

I know that when we think of this commandment, it might be easier to meet the stranger who is most like us…a Jewish sojourner from anywhere in the world.  I know that nearly 30 years ago our door was opened to Jewish strangers from the Soviet Union who are now like family to us and just last year we opened our door to Israelis working in the Knesset.  There is certainly a level of comfort to open one’s door to strangers who are somewhat like oneself.  But, as important as those actions are, it is equally important to open our doors to individuals who are not from similar backgrounds, who are not like us. 

Some people might have trouble relating to the idea that we were strangers in a strange land 3500 years ago.  But how many of you have researched your family’s history or heard stories about your family’s past from older family members?  I remember vividly the stories my grandfather told me about his imprisonment in Siberia at the age of 13 for speaking out against the Czar of Russia.  I heard his story of escaping from the prison island, making his way by foot to Lithuania, and being sent alone on a ship to America.  I know for a fact that he came here to find freedom and a better way of life.  I know for a fact that he faced obstacles like language deficiency and loneliness when he arrived, but that his love for this country was intense and his desire to work hard was just as intense.  His story left me with the absolute knowledge that being a stranger is not easy no matter how difficult living in one’s homeland originally was.

Whatever we do to be welcoming must not only be based on our experience during the times of the Torah but as modern day Jews who have also had that experience.  Using empathy, treating all with dignity and respect, will help us to live our lives as we are expected to be living them….as true mensches, individuals who live with integrity.

Let us never forget that we were once strangers and act accordingly.