YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT A PERVERSION OF JUSTICE WITH MEASURES, WEIGHTS, OR LIQUID MEASURES. YOU SHALL HAVE TRUE SCALES, TRUE WEIGHTS, A TRUE EPHAH, AND A TRUE HIN. I AM THE LORD, YOUR GOD, WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT.

(Vayikra 19:35-36)

 

It forbids us even to have an imperfect weight or measure in our possession, it forbids us to be careless in measuring or weighing our material even if there is no immediate idea of trading with it, if there is the slightest possibility of its being bought or sold, it commands us not only to exercise the utmost care in the manufacture of weights and measures, but to be most conscientious in keeping them in good condition and repair, to take meticulous precautionary measures against any change in weights, scales, and measures due to wear... The reference to the Exodus from Egypt, with which this command of honesty in measures concludes, shows what an important position in the sphere of the Lawgiving it occupies. It is on the basis of the redemption from Egypt and all that which it made known to us of God's management amidst the earth, in the midst of the life of nations on earth, as well as all that which thereby established for all time our special relationship to God, and our duty towards Him, that God makes the demand: You shall not commit a perversion of justice, etc. true scales, true weights, etc. Hence, we find in the Torat Kohanim on our verse: "I am the Lord, your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt upon this condition: I brought you out of the land of Egypt on the condition that you accept upon yourselves the commandment regarding [fair] measures, for everyone who accepts the commandment regarding measures accepts [the veracity of] the Exodus from Egypt, and anyone who rejects the commandment regarding measures rejects the Exodus from Egypt." The "Law of Measures" is considered as being on a level with the laws of arayot [prohibited sexual relations]... Just as in arayot we see the foundation of personal morality and family life, so in the laws of measures is the foundation of social life... It wants to make the feeling for right and the respect and consideration for right and honesty to be a fundamental trait of the Jewish national character.

(Rabbi S.R. Hirsch on Vayikra 19:35-36, following the Levy translation)

 

The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native

Debbie Weissman

In memory of my father and teacher,

Dr. Nahum Weissman, z'l

who passed away on the seventh day of Pesach 5753

There are tens of times that the Torah warns us not to exploit the stranger. It even tells us to love him, as we read in parashat Kedoshim, When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not taunt him. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. (Vayikra 19:33). It would appear that here the plain meaning of the word ger ["stranger"] is "a person strange or different to you," i.e., a non-Israelite. It is well known that the halakhic interpretation significantly restricted these commandments' range of application, sometimes to the ger tzedek [convert] and sometimes to the ger toshav - a gentile who has taken upon himself the seven Noahide laws. Neither of these is similar to our status in Egypt.¹ There we were essentially "foreign workers."

Every contemporary discussion of the status of the State of Israel's non-Jewish citizens makes use of the category of ger toshav. Sometimes there is an attempt to claim that Moslems, and even Christians, have taken the Noahide commandments upon themselves, and that we must therefore allow them "quarter" [haniya] in the Land (as opposed to idolaters, regarding whom Devarim 7:2 commands us, give them no quarter.) Even so there are difficulties because they are prohibited from residing in Jerusalem and some commentators insist that they must recognize the right of the Jewish People to the entire Land of Israel, and in any case, the status of ger toshav cannot be granted in the absence of the Sanhedrin.² Despite all this, those who support a more "liberal" approach to members of Israel's non-Jewish minorities usually mention the category of ger toshav.

The very discussion of these matters, in which the Arabs of the Land of Israel are referred to as "strangers" can give rise to a certain unease. They certainly see themselves as natives. The term is arrogant and insulting and therefore it also not conducive towards improving good-neighborly between us.

 

Is it possible to suggest a more useful alternative approach?

It is interesting to note that the expression ger toshav is first heard from Abraham's mouth: Ger ve'toshav ani imakhem - I am a stranger and an inhabitant with you (Bereishit 23:4). Vayikra 25:23 uses it to describe the status of the Israelites vis-à-vis the Holy One blessed be He: The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land belongs to Me, for you are strangers and [temporary] residents with Me.

The Maggid Me'Dubonov writes:

Between you and I - says the Holy One blessed be He - there is always a relationship of strangers and residents. If you view yourselves as strangers in the world, remembering that your presence here is only temporary, as in an entrance hall, then I shall reside in your midst and my Divine Presence shall always be with you. However, if you see yourselves as permanent residence in the world - than I will be as a stranger amongst you. In any event, you and I are like gerim and toshavim: either you are the strangers and I the resident, or you are the residents and I the stranger.³

Our self-recognition as strangers in the world may lead us not only to theological modesty but also to ecological awareness accompanied by humility towards creation and a sense of responsibility not to ruin or destroy it. These are important and positive in themselves. Suppose we started to view both ourselves and the Arabs as strangers and temporary residents in the same land, a land which at the end of the day belongs to God. Would this influence our political and social stances, and in what ways? Some Israeli Jews have already suggested that both our people and the Palestinian people share in common the historical experience of being refugees. This approach could serve as the basis for mutual empathy.

Bradley Burston wrote in his article, "Confessions of a Jewish Refugee":

It was the experience of exile that forged the Jews and the Palestinians both. We are who we are, in no small part, for the hardships and longings and insecurities that displacement from home confers... For the Jews, the insecurity manifests itself as fear, fear of being annihilated, fear of being cast out of here by force. For the Palestinians, the insecurity finds expression in humiliation, a profound loss of honor that stretches over the decades that the state of Israel has existed... We are, all of us here, Jew and Arab, victims of our refugee mentality, the one we cannot shake, the one that makes us into villain and victim both.⁴

It would be useful for both sides to strive for acquaintance with and recognition of the other's narrative, narratives of suffering and exile. However, I do not want to concentrate on the broader conflict between the Jewish People and the Palestinian People. I want to talk about those Arabs who are citizens of the State of Israel. Lately, and especially since Yisrael Beiteinu joined the government, I have become aware of a problem to which few people - even those of the left - have spoken about. This is an issue that rests in the heart of the dilemma of a "Jewish and Democratic State." Can non-Jewish citizens enjoy equal rights in a Jewish state? If not, how can it be called democratic? Can Jewish tradition teach us anything relevant to the solution of this dilemma?

Certain verses of the Torah oppose the term ger to the term ezrah [citizen/native]. For instance, in Vayikra 24:22 we read:

One law shall be exacted for you, ger and ezrah alike, for I am the Lord, your God

As used in the Torah, the word ezrah means "native" and it refers to males alone. For example, when it is written, every ezrah of Israel shall dwell in Sukkot (Vayikra 23:42), it is understood that the commandment of sukka applies to Jewish males and not to women. In today's Hebrew, the category of ezrah is much broader. As a political concept it is quite new, based - at least in the 20^th century - upon the notion of universal equality before the law, an idea which applies to men and women, Jews and non-Jews. I believe that when Rav Uzziel composed his famous responsa on the rights of women to vote and to be elected he paved the way for an expansion of the notion of ezrahut ["citizenship].⁵ Regarding women, the rabbi writes:

Well, let us assume that they are neither qahal [community] nor edah [congregation], and were counted neither in census nor as "family" or anything. But are they not creatures, created in the Divine Image and endowed with intelligence? And do they not have concerns that the representative assembly, or the committee it will choose, will be dealing with? And will they not be called upon to obey these bodies regarding their property as well as the education of their sons and daughters?

The same logic clearly applies to Arab citizens.

Let us return to the verse with which we began: The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God. Perhaps a double recognition can serve as the foundation upon which true equality can be built for Israeli Arabs: on the one hand, we are all gerim and toshavim in the Hassidic-theological sense mentioned above, and we share a common responsibility to protect the environment. On the other hand, we are all ezrahim in the modern sense of citizenship, all of us sharing the rights we posses as human beings created in the divine image.

In the end of June 206 I participated in a debate with Rabbi Shlomo Kimhi, an educator who lives in Efrat, on the future of Judea and Samaria. We disagreed on many points. However, in conclusion to this article I shall mention something I learned from him that can certainly contribute to the understanding of our topic. Rabbi Kimhi quoted a passage from the Torah commentary Or HaHayim (by Rabbi Hayim ben Atar, Morroco 18^th Century). It explains that the word ezrah is composed of two words, ah - "brother" and zar - "stranger." An ezrah is a zar who becomes an ah.

1. In order to avoid the danger - God forbid - of "revealing improper aspects of the Torah" I will emphasize that my article is only intended to suggest a direction of thought at the theoretical level. Greater people than I will have to derive its implications for halakhic practice.

2.  Rabbi Haim Steiner: www.Yeshiva.org.il, "Yeshivat Lo Yehudim B'Eretz Yisrael."

3.  As quoted in A.Z. Friedman (editor) Ma'ayana shel Torah (Tel Aviv: Pe'er) Vayikra volume, pg. 147.

4.  Haaretz April 05, 2007 Nisan 17, 5767 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=%20705562&contrassID=2

5.  Mishpatei Uziel, number 44 (1940). English translation from http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/1_2_debate.pdf

Debbie Weissman is a member of Kehillat Yedidya in Jerusalem and works in education and interfaith dialogue.

 

The Scape-goat as a Symbolic Bearer of Sins

From this argument of our Sages I deduce that he-goats were always brought as sin-offerings, by individual persons and also by the whole congregation, viz., on the Festivals, New-moon, Day of Atonement, and for idolatry, because most of the transgressions and sins of the Israelites were sacrifices to spirits (se‘irim, lit., goats), as is clearly stated, They shall no more offer their sacrifices unto spirits (Vayikra 17: 7). Our Sages, however, explained the fact that goats were always the sin-offerings of the congregation, as an allusion to the sin of the whole congregation of Israel: for in the account of the selling of the pious Joseph we read, And they killed a kid of the goats (Bereishit 37:31). Do not consider this as a weak argument; for it is the object of all these ceremonies to impress on the mind of every sinner and transgressor the necessity of continually remembering and mentioning his sins. Thus the Psalmist says, And my sin is ever before me (Psalms. 51: 3). The above-mentioned sin-offerings further show us that when we commit a sin, we, our children, and the children of our children, require atonement for that sin by some kind of service analogous to the sin committed...

The goat [of the Day of Atonement] that was sent [into the wilderness] (Vayikra 26:20, seq.) served as an atonement for all serious transgressions more than any other sin-offering of the congregation. As it thus seemed to carry off all sins, it was not accepted as an ordinary sacrifice to be slaughtered, burnt, or even brought near the Sanctuary; it was removed as far as possible, and sent forth into a waste, uncultivated, uninhabited land. There is no doubt that sins cannot be carried like a burden, and taken off the shoulder of one being to be laid on that of another being. But these ceremonies are of a symbolic character, and serve to impress men with a certain idea, and to induce them to repent; as if to say, we have freed ourselves of our previous deeds, have cast them behind our backs, and removed them from us as far as possible. (RaMBaM, Guide for the Perplexed 3:46, Friedlander trans.)

Whoever gives, gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and the corners to the poor in the appropriate manner, is deemed as if he had built the Holy Temple and offered up his sacrifices within it.

(Rashi on Vayikra 23:22, Judaica Press translation)

 

Do Gifts for the Poor Serve the Interests of the Giver? Of the Receiver? Of the World?

For God wants his Chosen People to be bedecked with every good and precious virtue, and that they possess blessed souls and magnanimous spirit. I have already written that deeds influence the soul, making it good and allowing God's blessing to rest upon it. There is no doubt that when someone leaves part of his produce out in the field so that the needy may take it freely, his soul shall be satisfied and his spirit blessed and proper, and that God will satisfy him with His bounty and his soul shall dwell in goodness.

(Sefer Ha-Hinukh Mitzvah #213)

 

You shall leave them for the poor and the stranger - It is evident that these laws are not made for the direct purpose of the actual maintenance of the poor. Even the poor man himself has to leave his gleanings, the forgotten sheaf, and the edge of the field from his own field for other poor people! It is clear that, at once at the harvest, at the moment when a person takes home that which Nature and his own hard-work has yielded to him, and puts the proud and far-reaching words "my own" in his mouth, these laws are to remind every member of the Nation, and to demand an act of recognition from him, of the fact that this "my own" includes for everybody the duty of caring for others who are needy... that in God's holy state the care for the poor and the stranger without property is not a matter which is left to the greater or lesser soft-hearted feelings of sympathy... but is raised to a God-given right to the poor, and a God-ordained duty to the owners of property from God.

(Rabbi S.R. Hirsch on Vayikra 19:10, Isaac Levy translation)

 

The Election of Israel - a Moral Challenge with a Universal Goal

And I have distinguished you from the peoples, to be Mine If you are separated from them [through your observance of Torah], you will be Mine, but if not, you will belong to Nebuchadnezzar and his ilk. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah says: How do we know that a person should not say, "I find pork disgusting," or "It is impossible for me to wear a mixture [of wool and linen]," but rather, one should say, "I indeed wish to, but what can I do-my Father in heaven has imposed these decrees upon me?" Because Scripture says here, "And I have distinguished you from the peoples, to be Mine"-your very distinction from the other peoples must be for My Name, separating yourself from transgression and accepting upon yourself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.

(Rashi Vayikra 20:26)

 

So that in no wise does Jewish thought look on the choice of Israel as a rejection of the rest of humanity. It regards the choice of Israel only as a beginning, only the restarting of the spiritual and moral rebuilding of Mankind, only the first step to that future where In that day many nations will attach themselves to the Lord and become My people, and I will dwell in your midst (Zechariah 2:15), where many nations will attach themselves to God, and become His people, and Israel's sanctuary will not only be the central heart of Israel but the center of Mankind who have found their way to God.

(Rabbi S.R. Hirsch on Vayikra 20: 26, following Levy translation)

 

 

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