The Purpose of Sinai was to learn to be a Mensch

We’re going to start by looking at the end of today’s parasha which is not in today’s section of our triennial reading.

Take a took at chapter 23 vs. 1-3 and 6-9.  We’ll read it aloud.

These verses are very explicit about our behavior when trying to establish a civilized nation.  The gist of these verses is that no one is above the law, not the rich, not the majority trying to have their way whether that way is following a path of righteousness or not.  “Fairness, equity, justice, even compassion and mercy are subject to a legal system that is administered without bias, either to the rich or the poor, the mighty or the weak. Everyone must stand equal before the law and the judges who apply and interpret the law must have no private or personal stake in the outcome of any legal proceeding.” (Azriel Fellner)

If you look at line 9 of the text (read it) you might think that it is out of place.  It is not talking about murder nor theft, it is talking about our treatment of the stranger in our midst.  Why do you think this verse is included here?

At the most profound level, as 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. When we can respond to those who are not like us, yet see their humanity as being no different than our own, then the Covenant of the Book will be fulfilled.

Not only are we not to take advantage of strangers in our midst, we are not to use derogatory language about them.  “A stranger, in particular, is sensitive to his or her status within society. He or she is an outsider. 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.” (Rabbi Sacks)

According to Nachmanides the command (to not oppress a stranger)has two dimensions. The first is the relative powerlessness of the stranger. He or she is not surrounded by family, friends, neighbours, a community of those ready to come to their defense. Therefore the Torah warns against wronging them because G-d has made himself protector of those who have no one else to protect them. This is the political dimension of the command.(Sacks)

The second reason, as we have already noted, is the psychological vulnerability of the stranger (we recall Moses’ own words at the birth of his first son: “I am a stranger in a strange land”). The stranger is one who lives outside the normal securities of home and belonging. He or she is, or feels, alone – and, throughout the Torah, G-d is especially sensitive to the sigh of the oppressed, the feelings of the rejected, the cry of the unheard. That is the emotive dimension of the command. (Sacks)

Name situations when we as a nation have forgotten how to treat the strangers in our midst:

Name situations where you feel we have remembered the strangers in our midst:

What part of your background allows you to feel the pain of the stranger?

Do you think most people remember their past before acting? 

Share a story about your family’s past when they were the strangers in society. What emotions does that story bring out in you?  How does it influence your thoughts and actions?