From the American Jewish World Service Education Module on, "Addressing Global Poverty: International Aid, Debt Relief, and Trade Justice"
*Universe of Obligation is "the circle of individuals and groups toward whom obligations are owed, to whom rules apply, and whose injuries call for amends." (Accouting for Genocide, Helen Fein, Free Press, 1979, p. 4)
-What do you think the phrase "as is appropriate to the poor person" means?
-What do you think should be the limits of "providing the giver can afford it?" Does it mean "can afford it without being inconvenienced?" Or "can afford it without becoming impoverished?" Or something else? What is the extent of our obligation to the poor?
-The seccond verse uses the phrase, "any who sees a poor person..." What does this imply about the dimensions of our universe of obligation? Are we only obligated to help poor people we can see? Does the existence of photography and televisionc hange the dimensions of our universe of obligation? Does it change who we feel about poor in other places?
-What does our experience in Egypt have to do with the way we are supposed to treat strangers? To what degree is it possible "to know the heart of a stranger," if we personally and individually have not been in Egypt? To what degree can a shared historical or cultural memory of slavery impact how we act in the present?
-This text is phrased in the negative- it's about failing to prevent someone from sinning. Does it imply anything about failing to help someone do the right thing?
-The text is also framed in such a way that a person's obligation is to prevent the perpetration of a sin, not to protect the victim of that sin. Does that matter?
- The phrase "can prevent" suggests that this obligation falls only on people with power and authority. Are we off the hook if we don't have the power to intervene?