Texts on Protest

ByAJWS Staff

AJWS On1Foot

What different narratives of protest emerge from these texts? What are the dangers of staying silent?

Psalms 146:7-9

עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט לָעֲשׁוּקִים נֹתֵן לֶחֶם לָרְעֵבִים ה' מַתִּיר אֲסוּרִים: ה' פֹּקֵחַ עִוְרִים ה' זֹקֵף כְּפוּפִים ה' אֹהֵב צַדִּיקִים: ה' שֹׁמֵר אֶת גֵּרִים יָתוֹם וְאַלְמָנָה יְעוֹדֵד וְדֶרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים יְעַוֵּת:

Psalms.146.7-9

Who secures justice for those who are wronged, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free; The LORD restores sight to the blind; the LORD makes those who are bent stand straight; the LORD loves the righteous; The LORD watches over the stranger; He gives courage to the orphan [JPS translation]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. Why is it important to list these attributes of God?
2. How can we seek to emulate these attributes?

Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 68a (part)

כתובות ס״ח א:ג׳

ת"ר: המסמא את עינו, והמצבה את בטנו, והמקפח את שוקו - אינו נפטר מן העולם עד שיבא לידי כך. המקבל צדקה ואין צריך לכך, סופו אינו נפטר מן העולם עד שיבא לידי כך

Ketubot 68a:3

Our Rabbis taught: if a man pretends to have a blind eye, a swollen belly or a shrunken leg, he will not pass out from this world before actually coming into such a condition. If a man accepts charity and is not in need of it, his end will be that he will not pass out of the world before he comes to such a condition. [USY]

Suggested Discussion Questions

Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 5:17

כל מחלוקת שהיא לשם שמים סופה להתקיים ושאינה לשם שמים אין סופה להתקיים

Pirkei_Avot.5.17

A debate for the sake of heaven will endure; but a debate not for the sake of heaven will not endure. [Translation by Hillel and Panim]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. What kind of debate might be considered to be “for the sake of heaven?”
2. What can it mean for an argument to endure and be good? How can an argument that endures contribute to peace?
3. Under what circumstance is it helpful to have the various sides of a position continue to hold onto their positions?

Abraham Joshua Heschel, "A Prayer for Peace," 1971 from Abraham Joshua Heschel, Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity (New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1996), p. 231-232.

Translation	Original
edit-field-translation-0-value	Prayer is our greatest privilege. To pray is to stake our very existence, our right to live, on the truth and on the supreme importance of that which we pray for. Prayer, then, is radical commitment, a dangerous involvement in the life of God. In such awareness we pray…We do not stand alone. Millions of Americans, millions of people all over the world are with us. At this moment, praying for peace in Vietnam, we are spiritually Vietnamese. Their agony is our affliction, their hope is our commitment. God is present wherever men are afflicted. Where is God present now? We do not know how to cry, we do not know how to pray! Our conscience is so timid, our words so faint, our mercy so feeble. O Father, have mercy upon us. Our God, add our cries uttered here to the cries of the bereaved, crippled, and dying over there. Have mercy upon all of us. Help us to overcome the arrogance of power. Guide and inspire the President of the United States in finding a speedy, generous, and peaceful end to the war in Vietnam. The intensity of agony is high, the hour is late, the outrage may reach a stage where repentance will be too late, repair beyond the nation’s power. We call for a covenant of peace, for reconciliation of America and all of Vietnam. To paraphrase the words of the prophet Isaiah (62:1): For Vietnam’s sake I will not keep silent, For America’s sake I will not rest, Until the vindication of humanity goes forth as brightness, And peace for all men is a burning torch.

Translation

Original

edit-field-translation-0-value

Prayer is our greatest privilege. To pray is to stake our very existence, our right to live, on the truth and on the supreme importance of that which we pray for. Prayer, then, is radical commitment, a dangerous involvement in the life of God. In such awareness we pray…We do not stand alone. Millions of Americans, millions of people all over the world are with us. At this moment, praying for peace in Vietnam, we are spiritually Vietnamese. Their agony is our affliction, their hope is our commitment. God is present wherever men are afflicted. Where is God present now? We do not know how to cry, we do not know how to pray! Our conscience is so timid, our words so faint, our mercy so feeble. O Father, have mercy upon us. Our God, add our cries uttered here to the cries of the bereaved, crippled, and dying over there. Have mercy upon all of us. Help us to overcome the arrogance of power. Guide and inspire the President of the United States in finding a speedy, generous, and peaceful end to the war in Vietnam. The intensity of agony is high, the hour is late, the outrage may reach a stage where repentance will be too late, repair beyond the nation’s power. We call for a covenant of peace, for reconciliation of America and all of Vietnam. To paraphrase the words of the prophet Isaiah (62:1): For Vietnam’s sake I will not keep silent, For America’s sake I will not rest, Until the vindication of humanity goes forth as brightness, And peace for all men is a burning torch.

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. According to the author, what is the relationship between prayer and social justice?
2. What power dynamics does he address?
3. What themes emerge from this text?

Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 67b-68a

כתובות ס״ז ב:י״ב-י״ג

מר עוקבא הוה עניא בשיבבותיה, דהוה רגיל כל יומא דשדי ליה ארבעה זוזי בצינורא דדשא. יום אחד אמר: איזיל איחזי מאן קעביד בי ההוא טיבותא. ההוא יומא נגהא ליה למר עוקבא לבי מדרשא, אתיא דביתהו בהדיה, כיון דחזיוה דקא מצלי ליה לדשא נפק בתרייהו, רהוט מקמיה עיילי לההוא אתונא דהוה גרופה נורא, הוה קא מיקליין כרעיה דמר עוקבא, אמרה ליה דביתהו: שקול כרעיך אותיב אכרעאי. חלש דעתיה, אמרה ליה: אנא שכיחנא בגויה דביתא ומקרבא אהנייתי

Ketubot 67b:12-13

Mar Ukba had a poor man in his neighborhood into whose door-socket he used to throw four zuz everyday. One day [the poor man] thought: ‘I will go and see who does me this kindness.’ On that day [it happened] that Mar Ukba was late at the house of study and his wife was coming home with him. As soon as [the poor man] saw them moving the door he went out after them, but they fled from him and ran into a furnace from which the fire had just been swept. Mar Ukba’s feet were burning and his wife said to him: “Raise your feet and put them on mine.” As he was upset, she said to him, “I am usually at home and my benefactions are more direct.” [Translation by Shuli Passow]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. Why was Mar Ukba upset?
2. How does his wife’s response explain why only his feet burned?
3. What can this text teach us about the importance of different forms of community service?

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, "Halakhic Man." trans. by Lawrence Kaplan. (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1983), pp. 105-106

Translation	Original
Man, the creature, is commanded to become a partner with the Creator in the renewal of the cosmos; complete and ultimate creation — this is the deepest desire of the Jewish people. The Scriptural text “And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Bereshit 2:1) — the Targum, the Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch, translates va-yekhulu, “were finished,” as ve-ishtakhlelu, “were perfected” — is both a profound expression of the soul of the people and the most fervent desire of the man of God. This lofty, ontological idea illumines the path of the eternal people. When a Jew on the Sabbath eve recites [this passage as part of] the Kiddush, the sanctification over the wine, he testifies not only to the existence of a Creator but also to man’s obligation to become a partner with the Almighty in the continuation and perfection of His creation. Just as the Almighty constantly refined and improved the realm of existence during the six days of creation, so must man complete that creation and transform the domain of chaos and void into a perfect and beautiful reality. [Lawrence Kaplan translation]

Translation

Original

Man, the creature, is commanded to become a partner with the Creator in the renewal of the cosmos; complete and ultimate creation — this is the deepest desire of the Jewish people. The Scriptural text “And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Bereshit 2:1) — the Targum, the Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch, translates va-yekhulu, “were finished,” as ve-ishtakhlelu, “were perfected” — is both a profound expression of the soul of the people and the most fervent desire of the man of God. This lofty, ontological idea illumines the path of the eternal people. When a Jew on the Sabbath eve recites [this passage as part of] the Kiddush, the sanctification over the wine, he testifies not only to the existence of a Creator but also to man’s obligation to become a partner with the Almighty in the continuation and perfection of His creation. Just as the Almighty constantly refined and improved the realm of existence during the six days of creation, so must man complete that creation and transform the domain of chaos and void into a perfect and beautiful reality. [Lawrence Kaplan translation]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. In what ways are continuing the work of creation? In what ways are perfecting God's creations?
2. This model assumes not the world is finished and broken, but rather that it is unfinished. How does this speak to the common feeling that our actions don't make any real change?
3. What is the beautiful and perfect reality you'd like to see? How do we get there?

Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 7b

Gittin.7b

Even a poor person who receives tzedakah must give from what he receives.

Suggested Discussion Questions

Babylonian Talmud, Baba Batra 9a - 2

Translation	Original
It was taught: If there is a begger who goes from door to door, we pay no attention to him. A certain poor person who used to beg door to door came to Rav Pappa [asking for money]' but he ignored her. Rav Samma the son of Rabbi Yeiva said to Rav Pappa: If you do not pay attention to him, other people will not pay attention to him!Is she then to die?! But, [replied Rav Pappa] has it not been taught, "If there is a beggar who goes from door to door, we pay no attention to him?" Rav Samma answered: We do not pay attention to [the beggar's request for a large donation] but we do listen [to his request for] a small donation. [Translation Rabbi Elizabeth Richman]	אם היה מחזיר על הפתחים - אין נזקקין לו. ההוא עניא דהוה מחזיר על הפתחים דאתא לקמיה דרב פפא, לא מזדקיק ליה. א"ל רב סמא בריה דרב ייבא לרב פפא: אי מר לא מזדקיק ליה, אינש אחרינא לא מזדקיק ליה, לימות ליה? והא תניא: אם היה עני המחזיר על הפתחים - אין נזקקין לו! א"ל: אין נזקקין לו למתנה מרובה, אבל נזקקין לו למתנה מועטת

Translation

Original

It was taught: If there is a begger who goes from door to door, we pay no attention to him. A certain poor person who used to beg door to door came to Rav Pappa [asking for money]' but he ignored her. Rav Samma the son of Rabbi Yeiva said to Rav Pappa: If you do not pay attention to him, other people will not pay attention to him!Is she then to die?! But, [replied Rav Pappa] has it not been taught, "If there is a beggar who goes from door to door, we pay no attention to him?" Rav Samma answered: We do not pay attention to [the beggar's request for a large donation] but we do listen [to his request for] a small donation. [Translation Rabbi Elizabeth Richman]

אם היה מחזיר על הפתחים - אין נזקקין לו. ההוא עניא דהוה מחזיר על הפתחים דאתא לקמיה דרב פפא, לא מזדקיק ליה. א"ל רב סמא בריה דרב ייבא לרב פפא: אי מר לא מזדקיק ליה, אינש אחרינא לא מזדקיק ליה, לימות ליה? והא תניא: אם היה עני המחזיר על הפתחים - אין נזקקין לו! א"ל: אין נזקקין לו למתנה מרובה, אבל נזקקין לו למתנה מועטת

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think the Rabbis object to beggars going door to door?
2. Why, according to Rav Samma, is it impossible to totally ignore beggars?
3. How do you respond to beggars on the street? What do you think is the ideal way to respond?

Exodus 1:13-22

וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ: וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת חַיֵּיהֶם בַּעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה בְּחֹמֶר וּבִלְבֵנִים וּבְכָל עֲבֹדָה בַּשָּׂדֶה אֵת כָּל עֲבֹדָתָם אֲשֶׁר עָבְדוּ בָהֶם בְּפָרֶךְ: וַיֹּאמֶר מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם לַמְיַלְּדֹת הָעִבְרִיֹּת אֲשֶׁר שֵׁם הָאַחַת שִׁפְרָה וְשֵׁם הַשֵּׁנִית פּוּעָה: וַיֹּאמֶר בְּיַלֶּדְכֶן אֶת הָעִבְרִיּוֹת וּרְאִיתֶן עַל הָאָבְנָיִם אִם בֵּן הוּא וַהֲמִתֶּן אֹתוֹ וְאִם בַּת הִיא וָחָיָה: וַתִּירֶאןָ הַמְיַלְּדֹת אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וְלֹא עָשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֲלֵיהֶן מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם וַתְּחַיֶּיןָ אֶת הַיְלָדִים: וַיִּקְרָא מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם לַמְיַלְּדֹת וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶן מַדּוּעַ עֲשִׂיתֶן הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וַתְּחַיֶּיןָ אֶת הַיְלָדִים: וַתֹּאמַרְןָ הַמְיַלְּדֹת אֶל פַּרְעֹה כִּי לֹא כַנָּשִׁים הַמִּצְרִיֹּת הָעִבְרִיֹּת כִּי חָיוֹת הֵנָּה בְּטֶרֶם תָּבוֹא אֲלֵהֶן הַמְיַלֶּדֶת וְיָלָדוּ: וַיֵּיטֶב אֱלֹהִים לַמְיַלְּדֹת וַיִּרֶב הָעָם וַיַּעַצְמוּ מְאֹד: וַיְהִי כִּי יָרְאוּ הַמְיַלְּדֹת אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וַיַּעַשׂ לָהֶם בָּתִּים וַיְצַו פַּרְעֹה לְכָל עַמּוֹ לֵאמֹר כָּל הַבֵּן הַיִּלּוֹד הַיְאֹרָה תַּשְׁלִיכֻהוּ וְכָל הַבַּת תְּחַיּוּן:

Exodus.1.13-22

The Egyptians ruthlessly imposed upon the Israelites the various labors that they made them perform. Ruthlessly they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field. The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, saying, "When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the birth stool: if it is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, "Why have you done this thing, letting the boys live?" The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth." And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and increased greatly. And because the midwives feared God, God established households for them. Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, "Every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live." [JPS translation]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. Who are the players in this text – seen and unseen?
2. What were the midwives able to do, even with little power given to them?

Exodus 2:11-15

(יא) וַיְהִי בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וַיִּגְדַּל מֹשֶׁה וַיֵּצֵא אֶל אֶחָיו וַיַּרְא בְּסִבְלֹתָם וַיַּרְא אִישׁ מִצְרִי מַכֶּה אִישׁ עִבְרִי מֵאֶחָיו: (יב) וַיִּפֶן כֹּה וָכֹה וַיַּרְא כִּי אֵין אִישׁ וַיַּךְ אֶת הַמִּצְרִי וַיִּטְמְנֵהוּ בַּחוֹל: (יג) וַיֵּצֵא בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי וְהִנֵּה שְׁנֵי אֲנָשִׁים עִבְרִים נִצִּים וַיֹּאמֶר לָרָשָׁע לָמָּה תַכֶּה רֵעֶךָ: (יד) וַיֹּאמֶר מִי שָׂמְךָ לְאִישׁ שַׂר וְשֹׁפֵט עָלֵינוּ הַלְהָרְגֵנִי אַתָּה אֹמֵר כַּאֲשֶׁר הָרַגְתָּ אֶת הַמִּצְרִי וַיִּירָא מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמַר אָכֵן נוֹדַע הַדָּבָר: (טו) וַיִּשְׁמַע פַּרְעֹה אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וַיְבַקֵּשׁ לַהֲרֹג אֶת מֹשֶׁה וַיִּבְרַח מֹשֶׁה מִפְּנֵי פַרְעֹה וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְיָן וַיֵּשֶׁב עַל הַבְּאֵר:

Exodus.2.11-15

Some time after that, when Moses had grown up, he went to his kinsfolk and witnessed their labors. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsmen. He turned this way and that and, seeing no one about, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, he found two Hebrews fighting; so he said to the offender, "Why do you strike your fellow?" He retorted, "Who made you chief and ruler over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses was frightened, and thought: Then the matter is known! When Pharoah learned of the matter, he sought to kill Moses; but Moses fled from Pharoah. He arrived in the land of Midian, and sat down beside a well. [JPS]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. What does this formative story in our tradition teach us about the importance of advocacy and intervention?
2. What are the various responses to Moses' act: was it just?
3. What are the consequences of intervening like Moses did? Was this a responsible action?

Esther, 1:10-12

בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי כְּטוֹב לֵב הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּיָּיִן אָמַר לִמְהוּמָן בִּזְּתָא חַרְבוֹנָא בִּגְתָא וַאֲבַגְתָא זֵתַר וְכַרְכַּס שִׁבְעַת הַסָּרִיסִים הַמְשָׁרְתִים אֶת פְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ: לְהָבִיא אֶת וַשְׁתִּי הַמַּלְכָּה לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּכֶתֶר מַלְכוּת לְהַרְאוֹת הָעַמִּים וְהַשָּׂרִים אֶת יָפְיָהּ כִּי טוֹבַת מַרְאֶה הִיא: וַתְּמָאֵן הַמַּלְכָּה וַשְׁתִּי לָבוֹא בִּדְבַר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר בְּיַד הַסָּרִיסִים וַיִּקְצֹף הַמֶּלֶךְ מְאֹד וַחֲמָתוֹ בָּעֲרָה בוֹ:

Esther.1.10-12

On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he ordered Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs in attendance on Ahaseurus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing a royal diadem, to display her beauty to the peoples and the officials; for she was a beautiful woman. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command conveyed by the eunuchs. The king was greatly incensed, and his fury burned within him. [JPS]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. What model does Queen Vashti provide for feminism and activism? What precedence did she set by refusing the king?
2. As a result of her refusal, Queen Vashti was banned from the palace. To what extent must we gauge consequences before acting to defend our own sense of justice?
3. How is this story viewed in the Jewish tradition? Is Vashti a heroine? A traitor? A feminist?

Esther 4:14

כִּי אִם הַחֲרֵשׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי בָּעֵת הַזֹּאת רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה יַעֲמוֹד לַיְּהוּדִים מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר וְאַתְּ וּבֵית אָבִיךְ תֹּאבֵדוּ וּמִי יוֹדֵעַ אִם לְעֵת כָּזֹאת הִגַּעַתְּ לַמַּלְכוּת:

Esther.4.14

On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father's house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis. [JPS translation]

Suggested Discussion Questions

1. What are the dangers involved in remaining silent?
2. What morals of activism emerge from the story of Esther?
3. What social justice themes emerge from this text?