SAN DIEGO — On the heels of last week’s revelation and the Ten Commandments, our Torah portion this week, Mishpatim, provides us with more laws and policies, advising us on how to live a Jewish life. One of these assertions can be found in Exodus 22, when the Torah instructs us not to “wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
It is not usually for the Torah to repeat some of the laws and principles for emphasis. For example, the most famous unit of law in the Torah, the Ten Commandments, are repeated twice. But, when our Torah portion this week tells us not to oppress the stranger, it is just one of approximately thirty six times that the Torah tells us that as Jews, we have a responsibility to care for them. Rabbi Sacks suggests that the emphasis that the Torah places on the stranger, and our directive to be kind to the stranger, is a reflection of the experience of what it means to be Jewish. He says that “To be a Jew is to be a stranger.” We see this from Abraham’s journey, from our time as slaves in Egypt, from wandering in the desert, and from living in the diaspora. He continues “Why should you not hate the stranger? – asks the Torah. Because you once stood where he stands now…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 color 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.”
May we always remember the many lessons that we have learned as strangers throughout history. May we recognize and take seriously our responsibility to advocate and fight for strangers everywhere, and for those still seeking redemption from their own Egypt.
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Rabbi Joshua Dorsch is spiritual leader of Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego. He may be contacted via joshua.dorsch@sdjewishworld.com