שאת-זכר לא תשכב משכבי אשה תִעבה הוא
"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable."
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| On another occasion it happened that a certain non-Jew came before Shammai and said to him, “I will convert to Judaism, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.” Shammai chased him away with the builder's tool that was in his hand. He came before Hillel and said to him, "Convert me." Hillel said to him, “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary; go and learn it.” [AJWS translation] |
שוב מעשה בנכרי אחד שבא לפני שמאי, אמר לו: גיירני על מנת שתלמדני כל התורה כולה כשאני עומד על רגל אחת. דחפו באמת הבנין שבידו. בא לפני הלל, גייריה. אמר לו: דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד - זו היא כל התורה כולה, ואידך - פירושה הוא, זיל גמור.
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1. What other social justice themes emerge from this text?
What are the attitudes of this text toward migration, immigrants, and immigration? (Pay attention to the attitude of the narrator of the text and other attitudes that might be mentioned within the text.)
Does this text seem to consider migration a normal or an unusual phenomenon? What are some of the reasons these texts give for why people might become immigrants? Do they still hold true for modern life?
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| When one is taking a walk through the street at night, and a man - already visible from a distance because the street rises in front of us and the moon is full - runs toward us, we will not tackle him, even if he is weak and ragged, even if someone is running behind him and screaming, but rather we will let him continue running. Because it is night, and it isn't our fault that the street is rising before us in the full moon, and besides, maybe these two have staged this chase for their own entertainment, maybe both of them are pursuing a third, maybe the first man is being pursued even though he is innocent, maybe the second man wants to kill him and we will become accomplices to the murder, maybe the two of them know nothing about one another and each is going independently to his bed, maybe they are sleepwalkers, maybe the first man is armed. And after all, don't we have a right to be tired, haven't we drunk a lot of wine? We are happy when the second man has also vanished from sight. |
Wenn man in der Nacht durch eine Gasse spazierengeht, und ein Mann, von weitem schon sichtbar — denn die Gasse vor uns steigt an und es ist Vollmond -, uns entgegenläuft, so werden wir ihn nicht aufpacken, selbst wenn er schwach und zerlumpt ist, selbst wenn jemand hinter ihm läuft und schreit, sondern wir werden ihn weiterlaufen lassen. Denn es ist Nacht, und wir können nicht dafür, daß die Gasse im Vollmond vor uns aufsteigt, und überdies, vielleicht haben diese zwei die Hetze zu ihrer Unterhaltung veranstaltet, vielleicht verfolgen beide einen dritten, vielleicht wird der erste unschuldig verfolgt, vielleicht will der zweite morden, und wir würden Mitschuldige des Mordes, vielleicht wissen die zwei nichts voneinander, und es läuft nur jeder auf eigene Verantwortung in sein Bett, vielleicht sind es Nachtwandler, vielleicht hat der erste Waffen. Und endlich, dürfen wir nicht müde sein, haben wir nicht so viel Wein getrunken? Wir sind froh, daß wir auch den zweiten nicht mehr sehn.
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1. Does this happen to you? What are other examples, that may not be as explicit, of not intervening when we notice injustice?
2. What do we often refrain from seeking justice in such a circumstance?
3. In U.S. law, it is not required for one to intervene. Jewish law states otherwise however, obligating one to intervene so long as their is not great risk. What is your stance?
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| Just as the pupils are required to honor the teacher, so the teacher out to be courteous and friendly towards their pupils. The sages said: “Let the honor of your student be as dear to you as your own” (Pirkei Avot, 4:15). One should be interested in their pupils and love them, for they are the spiritual children who give pleasure in this world and in the world to come. [Translation by CAJE. Edited for gender neutrality] |
כשם שהתלמידים חייבין בכבוד הרב כך הרב צריך לכבד את תלמידיו ולקרבן, כך אמרו חכמים יהי כבוד תלמידך חביב עליך כשלך, וצריך אדם להזהר בתלמידיו ולאוהבם שהם הבנים המהנים לעולם הזה ולעולם הבא
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Does this text seem to consider migration a normal or an unusual phenomenon? What are some of the reasons these texts give for why people might become immigrants? Do they still hold true for modern life?
What do you see as the implications of the fact that Judaism essentially begins with its founder’s immigration story (Abraham’s)?
1. What does this text teach us about the relative value of human life?
2. Is it ever useful or just to draw distinctions between people?
3. How could this text be used to create better immigration policies?