Parshat Ki Tavo
“God will make you the
head and not the tail, you will be only top, you will not be bottom – if you
hearken to the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today, by
taking care and by observing them.”
(Devarim
28:13)
“And to set you most high above all the nations…” – Said Rabbi Levi, “What is this “elyon” [“most high”]? It is like this thumb [Trans. note: Also called “elyon”]. If you are meritorious, you will be above four fingers, and if not, you will be beneath four fingers. “The Lord your God will make you most high” – on condition; and if not, “the ger in your midst will rise high above you, higher and higher.” “Blessed be you in your coming-in,” on condition - on your coming into synagogues and houses of study. “And blessed be you in your going-out” – from synagogues and houses of study. “Blessed be you in the town, and blessed be you in the field.” It would have seemed logical to say “Blessed be you in the field and blessed be you in the town,” for with the produce one brings from the field is he blessed in the town! But what is taught by “Blessed be you in the town, and blessed be you in the field?” Should the opportunity of performing a mitzvah present itself in the city, say not “I was commanded only in the field, to set aside heave offerings and tithes outside [the town]”. Said The Holy One, Blessed Be He, “In the town, too, open your hand.” An alternative explanation: “Blessed be you in the town” – through those mitzvot which you perform in your house in the town, such as sukka, mezuza, and parapet. “Blessed be you in the field” – such as lekket, shichcha, and peah. Another possible explanation: Let man not say, “Had The Holy One, Blessed Be He, given me a field, I would have given tithes from it. But now that I have no field, I give nothing.” Said The Holy One, Blessed Be He, “See what I wrote in my Torah, ‘Blessed be you in the town’ – those who dwell in the town; ‘And blessed are you in the field’ – those who have fields.”
(Tanchuma, Ki Tavo, 4)
WHO IS THE GER WHOM WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE?
Danny Statman
The
Torah, in many places, warns us against harming gerim, and commands us
to love them. Our parasha also deals with this matter; a curse is laid upon
whoever casts aside the case of a ger: “Damned be he that casts aside
the case of a ger, an orphan, or a widow!” (27:19) The ger is also mentioned at
the beginning of the parasha as one who is to share in all the good which will
be given us: “You are to rejoice in all the good things that the Lord your
God has given you and your household,
you and the Levite and the ger that is in you midst.” (26:11)
Who is this ger whom we are obliged to treat with such concern? The repeated juxtaposition of the ger with the orphan and the widow hints at his low and vulnerable social standing. Because there is no one to concern himself with the orphan and widow, they are in danger of receiving unjust verdicts; so, too, the ger. Therefore, the Torah damns “he that casts aside the case of a ger, an orphan, or a widow!” Mistreatment of orphans and widows, as well as of gerim, is also mentioned by the prophets. Yechezkiel, for example, says: “Every one of the princes of Israel in your midst used his strength for the shedding of blood. Fathers and mothers have been humiliated within you; gerim have been cheated in your midst; orphans and widows have been wronged within you.” (Yechezkiel, 22:6-7) In order to comprehend the source of the ger’s vulnerability and his need for constant defense, we must examine the nature of the gerim mentioned in Scripture.
In
his work, The History of the Israelite Religion, Yechezkiel Kaufman claims that the gerim
mentioned in Scripture are foreigners who were attached to the Israelite people
through a gradual process of assimilation. Most of them were survivors of the battles for the conquest
of the Land, some came from other nations. During the period of the Exodus from
Egypt and the conquest of the Land, tribes or clans – such as the Kinim
and the Rechavim – joined Israel. The Bible records names of individual gerim
from other nations who served Israel’s monarchs: Doeg the Edomite, Uriah the
Hittite, Tselek the Amonite, Amassa ben Yeter the Ishamaelite, etc. David had a
troop of Gittites stationed in Yerushalayim; they were considered to be
gentiles, “And the king said to Ittai the Gittite . …go back and stay with
the new king for you are a ger” (Kings II 15:18) – yet they swear in the name of God (Ibid. v. 21)
The
Bible classifies the gerim as an intermediary group – between the ‘nochri’ – the foreigner – and ‘Yisrael’ (or the ‘ezrach’ – one of pure Israel descent1). The ger was distinguished from the nochri by his intention of joining the Jewish
people, and assimilating into it. His ‘conversion’ was primarily a
cultural-national conversion which
usually resulted in religious, or quasi-religious, conversion.
A clear
example of this kind of conversion may be found in the Scroll of Ruth. Ruth
returns with Naomi to Beit Lechem, not because she has discovered the God of
Israel, but out of love for her mother-in-law:
“But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave
you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever
you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus and more may the
Lord do to me if anything but death parts me from you.”
(Ruth,
1:16, 17)
First
of all “For wherever you go, I
will go”; only later, “your people shall be my people”; and only as a result, “your God my God.” When Boaz praises Ruth, he does not praise
her for her religious conversion, but for her willingness to accompany her
mother-in-law and take care of her, emigrating to a foreign land:
“Boaz said in reply: ‘I have been told of all
that you did for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, how you
left your father and mother and the land of your birth and came to a people you
had not known before.”
(Ibid.
2:11)
From the Ruth
narrative, we again learn of the inferior socio-economic status of the ger. Boaz encourages Ruth to
glean from his field, assuring her that “I have ordered the men not to molest you.” From this we infer that had Boaz not so ordered his workers, they would
certainly have molested Ruth and disturbed her. Indeed, Ruth’s self-awareness
at this point is that of a foreigner: “Why are you so kind as to single me out, when I am a foreigner?”
Gerim owned no property of their own – at best they had bread and a garment
(“Loving the ger, by giving him
food and clothing” - Devarim10:18).
Therefore, they would glean in the fields alongside the orphans and the
widows. Some of them worked for the landowners – thus the term “sachir toshav” – a resident hired worker. According to the Biblical Encyclopedia, entry
‘ger’, a ger in the Bible – especially in the
Torah – indicates a member of the inferior class which we described
above.
It is obvious
why the gerim were in need of special protection. Who
provides this protection? None other than The Holy One, Blessed Be He, himself,
who declares himself one who “loves
the ger”, and repeatedly commands
the Children of Israel to love the ger and not to harm him. The device which is to
assist them in behaving properly towards the ger is the memory of their
own gerut in Egypt. “And you shall love the ger, for you were gerim in the Land of Egypt.” (Devarim
10:19)
Thus understood, the obligation to love the ger expresses a noble socio-ethical concept – concern for the weak and
vulnerable classes in society. Against the exploiters (“gerim have been cheated in your midst”) and the murderers (“The widow and the ger they kill, and they
murder orphans” (Tehillim 94:6), stands God and proclaims that he “loves the ger”, he is “the judge of the widows and the father of
orphans.” As Moshe Weinfeld elucidated (Mishpat U’tzedaka B’Yisrael Ubaamim, Yerushalayim, 5735), the term ‘ladoon’ – to judge – and likewise, lishpot mishpat – to judge
justly – means establishing equality and justice in society, primarily
saving the exploited from his exploiter. “Judge of widows” means
that He defends the widows against those who deprive them, not that He brings the widows to justice. From this
follows the demand that the people emulate the way of God, rallying to the
defense of the weak:
3. Judge the
wretched
and the orphan, vindicate the lowly and the poor.
4. Rescue the
wretched and the
needy save
them from the
hand of the
wicked.
But this important socio-ethical message became
blurred in the post-Biblical halacha, which understood the ger – whom we are charged to love and protect
– as the
“ger tzedek”, one who willingly converts to Judaism. This
interpretation is hardly compatible with the passage, “And
you shall love the ger, for you were gerim in the Land of Egypt.” The Rambam records the halacha in his
Mishneh Torah:
Loving the ger who comes to
enter beneath the wings of the Shechina involves two positive commandments;
one, it is included in re’im – fellows, [in the general rule “Love your
fellow as yourself”], and one, because he is a ger, and the Torah
said “You shall love the ger” – He commanded love for the ger as He commanded
love for Himself, as is written: “And you shall love the Lord your God”. The Holy One,
Blessed Be He, himself loves gerim, as is written, “And
loves the ger.” (Hilchot
Deot 6:4)
This
interpretation of ‘ger’ makes it difficult to understand the
repeated admonishments against exploitation and murder of gerim,
and
the need for God to appoint himself as their champion. The standing of true
converts in Jewish history was never so low as to necessitate such
defense. Secondly, and more
important, such interpretation erases from the world of normative halacha the
important moral obligation of concern for the weaker classes, even for those
who are not Jewish, (more accurately – in the context under discussion –
particularly those who are not Jewish).
Now those non-Jews who have joined us and dwell in our midst do not
receive special protection, even they are the most in need of it.
It
seems to me that ways must be found to revive the Biblical halacha, and to
apply the concept of ‘ger’ to the non-Jews living among us; their ‘ger’
status
makes them vulnerable to various forms of harassment and injury. This possibility never arose
during the long years of exile, in which the only gerim which Jews knew
were the religious converts. Now that we have been privileged to have our own
state which serves as a home also for non-Jews, the return to the Biblical
concept is reasonable and desirable. Just as Boaz was thoughtful enough to
order his workers not to molest Ruth the gentile, so must we be concerned – at
least through governmental and other agencies – that today’s gerim not be harmed.
1. In modern Hebrew usage, the word ‘ezrach’ means ‘citizen’.
Professor
Danny Statman teaches in the Dept. of Philosophy in Bar-Ilan University
“You are to take from the premier part of all the fruit of the soil” – The recitation of the Bikkurim text is also an expression of humility, because he carries the basket on his shoulder; it also expresses recognition of God’s goodness and favors. The service of God includes the remembrance of difficult times and tribulations even in times of prosperity.
(Rambam, Guide for the
Perplexed, III, 39)
“Look down from your holy abode, from heaven. . .” – The
meaning is as follows: It is written “the father of orphans, the champion of
widows, God, in His holy abode (“maon”).” There are those who pity orphans,
but they [the orphans] are not to be found in his house, but in an inferior
house [the orphanage]. Not so God,
Blessed Be He, – He raises
them as sons in his “holy maon”, and therefore the Israelite who brings
the bikkurim recites “I have also given it to the Levite, to the ger,
to the orphan and to the widow” … and therefore “Look down from your
holy maon”1. Chazal said (Haggiga,
Chapter II, 12b:2): “(One of the skies is) “Zevul”
(in which Yerushalayim, the Temple, and the altar are built) of Michael (the
great minister who stands and offers
sacrifices upon it, as is written, (I
Kings, 8:13) “I have now built for You a stately House [‘zevul’],
a place where you may dwell forever.”
And from where do we know that it3 is called heaven? For
it is written (Yeshaayahu 63:15) “Look
down from heaven, and see from Your glorious and holy zevul” – (another sky
is) “maon” – a chamber housing the groups of ministering angels who sing
praises during the night, and are quiet during the day out of respect for
Israel). So we see that the site of the orphans is higher than that of the
sacrifices.4 And so say our Sages in Tractate Sukka (p.
49b): “The doing of charitable deeds is greater than all the sacrifices,
as is written, (Proverbs 21:3) “To do
what is right and just is more desired by the Lord than sacrifice.”
1. Referring to that maon of The Holy One, Blessed Be He in which he takes care of the orphans. The Israelite declares that the orphan was given care in his home, not in inferior homes
2. The Sages argued whether there are two skies or seven. One of the seven is ‘zevul’.
3. This maon (abode) of the stately house (zevul)
4. Maon being higher than zevul.
(Rabbi Meir Simcha of
Dvinsk, Meshech Hochma, Devarim 26:15)
A SPECIAL PEOPLE: FATE OF PERSECUTION,
ARBITRARY CHOICE, OR DESTINY
“And God seeks the pursued” – Rav
Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yosi: God always seeks the pursued: you find the
tzaddik pursuing the tzaddik, “And God seeks the pursued”; the wicked
pursuing the tzaddik, “And God seeks the pursued”; the wicked pursuing the wicked, “And God
seeks the pursued” – [Tanchuma, Emor 9,:
you find that even when the tzaddik pursues the wicked, , “And God seeks the pursued”]. Know
then, that so it is, – in every case, God always seeks the
pursued.”
Rabbi Yehuda, son Rabbi Simon, said in the name of Rabbi Yosi, son of
Rabbi Nehorai: The Holy One, Blessed Be He, always seeks the blood of the
pursued from the pursuers. Know that this is so [from the following examples]:
Hevel was pursued by Cain, and The Holy One, Blessed Be He chose only Hevel, as
is written (Bereishit 4) “God
had regard for Hevel and his gift.”
Noah was pursued by the people of his generation, and The Holy One,
Blessed Be He, chose only Noah, as is written, “For you I have seen as
righteous before me”. Avraham was pursued by Nimrod, and The Holy One,
Blessed Be He, chose Avraham, as is written, (Nehemiah 9) “You
are the Lord God who chose Avram”. Yitzhak was pursued by the Plishtim, and The Holy One,
Blessed Be He, chose Yitzhak, as is written, (Bereishit 26) “And they said, We have seen, yes, seen, that
God has been with you.” Yaakov was pursued by Esav, and The Holy One, Blessed Be He, chose Yaakov, as is
written, (Tehillim 135) “For the
Lord has chosen Yaakov for Himself,
Israel, as His treasured possession.” Yosef was pursued by his
brothers, and The Holy One, Blessed Be He, chose Yosef, as is written, (Ibid. 81) “He imposed it as a
decree upon Yosef when he went forth against the Land of Egypt.” Moshe was pursued by Pharaoh, and
The Holy One, Blessed Be He, chose Moshe, as is written, (Ibid.
106) “Had
not Moshe His chosen one confronted Him in the breach”. David was pursued
by Shaul, and The Holy One, Blessed Be He, chose David, as is written, (Shmuel
I, 10) “Do
you see the one whom the Lord has chosen?” Israel was pursued by the nations, and The Holy One, Blessed
Be He, chose Israel, as is written, (Devarim 7) “It is you that the
Lord your God chose for Him as a treasured people”.
Rabbi Elazar son of Rav
Yosi ben Zimra said, “Even as regards offerings, so said The Holy One, Blessed
Be He: “The ox is pursued by the lion, the lamb by the leopard, the sheep by
the wolf – Do
not bring offerings from the pursuers, but from the pursued, as is written, (Vayikra 22) “Ox or lamb or goat, etc.”
(Midrash Rabba, Kohellet,
3)
“And the Lord has declared you
this day to be for him a specially treasured people.” The meaning of Israel’s being a specially-treasured people is that even
should there appear another nation which would better its ways, and try to cleave
to the Shekhina, it will not reach the level of Israel, and in this sense
Israel is called specially-treasured, and this is their greatness. And “As He
promised you” – refers to the revelation at Mr. Sinai, as is written, (Shmot
19:5) “And you
will be for me a specially-chosen treasure from among all the nations.”
(Ohr HaHayyim, Devarim 26:18)
It is well known that
Israel was deserving of receiving the Torah only after they had crossed the Sea
of Reeds and had traveled in the desert, for at the Sea of Reeds they achieved
perfect faith in God and in the prophecy of Moshe, His servant, as is written, “And they believed in God and in Moshe, His servant”. Before
they attained this faith, as long as they had doubts about Moshe’s prophecy, it
is clear that they were not worthy of receiving the Tora… After they achieved
this faith at the Sea of Reeds, they become worthy of receiving the Torah. They still had to sojourn through the
desert, a land unsowed, in order to develop there the trait of contentment [with
little], for “This is the path of Torah: Eat a piece of bread with salt…” and “The Torah was given only to those
who ate the manna” (Mechilta Beshalach –
VaYisa 2) for from the descent of the manna they learned the
path of contentment which is essential for those who receive the Torah. In addition to this, the roots of faith
were deepened by means of the
miracles which were performed for them in the desert, such as the miracles at the
Sea of Reeds. They were taught
that for two thousand years the world was desolate as a desert as long as it
lacked Torah; therefore they had to accept the Torah in, order to fill the
world’s deficiency. Before they
received the Torah, Israel was [just another] part of the nations and were as
yet not differentiated from the rest of the nations by their unique perfection,
therefore they were termed “B’nei Yisrael” – Children of Israel – only
by receiving the Torah – then did God separate them from all the nations to be for Him a
specially-treasured nation.
(Kli Yakar, Shemot 13:17)
Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine
(Coordinator), Itzhak Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein
Translation: Kadish Goldberg
This weekly publication was made possible by:
The New Israel Fund
The Moriah Fund
To our readers:
We will be happy to have you
actively participate in “Shabbat Shalom” by:
·
Letters to the
editor
·
Publication of
Divrei Torah (in coordination with the editorial board)
· Membership in Oz V’Shalom – Netivot Shalom and payment of dues.
For details, contact Miriam Fine 02-973-0196
If you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider contributing towards its publication and distribution.
1 Hebrew edition distributed in Israel $1000
1 English edition distributed via email $ 100
Issues may be dedicated in honor of an event, person, simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English email.
Tax-exempt contributions to OzveShalom may be made through the New Israel Fund or through P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.
Contributions should be marked as donor-advised to OzveShalom/Netivot Shalom.
New Israel Fund, POB 53410, Jerusalem 91534 (Please include Israeli address and telephone number)
New Israel Fund, POB 91588, Washington, DC 20090-1588, USA
New Israel Fund of Canada, 801 Eglinton Ave. West, Suite #401, Toronto, Ontario M5N 1E3 Canada
New Israel Fund of Great Britain, 26 Enford Street, London W1H 2DD, United Kingdom
P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, New York 10017 USA
Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts which have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom`s programs include both educational and protest activities. Seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences and weekend programs are held for students, educators and families, as well as joint seminars for Jews, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Protest activities focus on issues of human rights, co-existence between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of particular religious relevance.
9,000 copies of a 4 page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom`s educational forums draw people of different backgrounds, secular and religious, who are keen to deepen their Jewish knowledge and to hear an alternative religious standpoint on the subjects of peace and social issues.
Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom fills an ideological vacuum in Israel’s society. Committed both to Jewish tradition and observance, and to the furthering of peace and coexistence, the movement is in a unique position to engage in dialogue with the secular left and the religious right, with Israeli Arabs and with Palestinians
Our activities are funded by donations, volunteer efforts and one part time employee.