Jewish texts support the Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights. Read on to see what they have to say . . .
Jewish tradition teaches us to seek out a study partner - to study in chevruta, in pairs - when studying Jewish texts. This study partner can help us to turn the texts we study to see them in a different light, challenging us to think outside of our reality and helping us as both teacher, friend, and student. Please find a partner with whom to discuss the following texts. The chevruta relationship should be one of mutuality; as you study with your partner, be sure to give each other equal space to express your thoughts on the text. While you should challenge each other, respect each other's opinion and your mutual right to disagree.
As you read through the texts, think about the following questions:
1.) Who are the players in this text - seen and unseen?
2.) What power dynamics are at play?
3.) How does this text apply to the relationship between employers and domestic workers?
4.) What do we learn about the Jewish attitude towards employer-employee relationships from this text?
5.) Do our practices and policies reflect the values expressed in this text? In what ways could we change our policies to reflect this text?
These questions are only a jumping off point! Please feel free to share any reflections that the text stir in you.
"Study leads to action." Talmud, Megillah 40b
THE DOMESTIC WORKERS' BILL OF RIGHTS CHAMPIONS WORKERS' RIGHT TO DIGNITY: The Bill amends NY State Labor Law to ensure a method for domestic workers to enforce [the standards set forth by the bill] in court.
(NOTE: Pirkei Avot - "The Ethics of Our Fathers" - is a compilation of rabbinic ethical sayings and teachings compiled during the Mishnaic period from about 70-200 CE.)
1. What are the punishments for inflicting damage on an animal? What about another human? Why?
2. What is the punishment for killing another person? What does this teach us about murder?
3. Wealthy countries have a history of inflicting harm on poor countries in order to take their natural resources, their cheap labor, and often their lives. How can we hold our own governments accountable for their actions across the globe?
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From Political to Moral Consciousness (pps. 17-19) The Jewish people’s narrative has several possible starting points. While Abraham is the first Jew for bringing the idea of monotheism into the world, it is the Exodus story that represents the beginning of Jewish national consciousness. A group of slaves that might not have had much in the way of ethnic homogeneity shared a common predicament (slavery) and a common oppressor (the Egyptians). What shapes the national consciousness of the people that the Bible calls “the children of Israel” (b’nai yisrael) is the pairing of that enslavement experience with the Israelites’ escape to freedom. Their consciousness was forged not only by an experience of common suffering, but, more importantly, by a shared experience of redemption… With the Exodus story, all the elements of political consciousness were now in place: a common history (Egyptian slavery), a founding myth (being redeemed from the Egyptians by a God more powerful than any other), and a leader (Moses). The Exodus dimension of Jewish existence would continue to be central to the Jewish people throughout their long history. For a time, it would play itself out in the form of political sovereignty, as it did with the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judea. In the twentieth century, the Exodus dimension would manifest again with the creation of the modern state of Israel. But the Exodus consciousness described here transcended conventional political arrangements. The Jewish people manifested this consciousness during their wandering in the desert, in their early settlement in the land of Israel arranged by tribal affiliation, and during the two millennia that Jews existed in the diaspora. Exodus consciousness caused Jews to identify with each other regardless of the fact that they might be living thousands of miles apart, under different political regimes, speaking different languages, and developing variations on Judaism that often synthesized elements of traditional Jewish practice with the specific gentile culture in which they lived. This consciousness also meant that Jews took care of one another, not only when they lived in close proximity, but even when they became aware of Jews in distress in other locales. During the time that Jews lacked political sovereignty, they became a community of shared historical memory and shared destiny. They believed that the fate of the Jewish people, regardless of temporal domicile, was linked. This is what explains the success of the Zionist movement, the historically unprecedented resurrection of national identity and political sovereignty after 2,000 years of dispersion. The Exodus consciousness of the Jewish people was the glue that held the Jewish people together. It was the secret to Jewish survival. For the children of Israel, however, there was a dimension of national identity that transcended political consciousness—an encounter with sacred purpose that would create a direct connection between the slaves who experienced the Exodus from Egypt and the vision that drove the patriarch, Abraham.
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1. With what part of Judaism do you identify most strongly? Religion? History? Ethnicity? Something else?
2. Religions challenge its adherents to consider their “sacred purpose” in life. Have you considered yours? Is it in any way connected to Judaism? Are there values in Judaism that might provide inspiration or support for your own life purpose?
3. Do you think that all nations have a sense of “sacred purpose”? Does America have a counterpart teaching?
THE DOMESTIC WORKERS' BILL OF RIGHTS CHAMPIONS FAIR PAYMENT PRACTICES: The Bill amends NY State Labor Law to ensure time-and-a-half at the regular rate for every hour over 40 hours per week; paid time off for vacations and holidays; paid sick days; severance pay in accordance with number of years worked.
(NOTE: The Talmud provides commentary on the Mishnah (another rabbinic text). The Talmud records rabbinic conversations about ethics, law, history, and customs, providing the basis for Jewish law. Two Talmuds were codified by the Rabbis - one in the Land of Israel and one in Babylonia. This text comes from the Babylonian Talmud.)
What is duress?
Why is something done under duress exempt?
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Transcript: I speak to you as an American Jew. As Americans we share the profound concern of millions of people about the shame and disgrace of inequality and injustice which make a mockery of the great American idea. As Jews we bring to this great demonstration, in which thousands of us proudly participate, a two-fold experience -- one of the spirit and one of our history. In the realm of the spirit, our fathers taught us thousands of years ago that when God created man, he created him as everybody's neighbor. Neighbor is not a geographic term. It is a moral concept. It means our collective responsibility for the preservation of man's dignity and integrity. From our Jewish historic experience of three and a half thousand years we say: Our ancient history began with slavery and the yearning for freedom. During the Middle Ages my people lived for a thousand years in the ghettos of Europe. Our modern history begins with a proclamation of emancipation. It is for these reasons that it is not merely sympathy and compassion for the black people of America that motivates us. It is above all and beyond all such sympathies and emotions a sense of complete identification and solidarity born of our own painful historic experience. When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence. A great people which had created a great civilization had become a nation of silent onlookers. They remained silent in the face of hate, in the face of brutality and in the face of mass murder. America must not become a nation of onlookers. America must not remain silent. Not merely black America, but all of America. It must speak up and act, from the President down to the humblest of us, and not for the sake of the Negro, not for the sake of the black community but for the sake of the image, the idea and the aspiration of America itself. Our children, yours and mine in every school across the land, each morning pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and to the republic for which it stands. They, the children, speak fervently and innocently of this land as the land of "liberty and justice for all." The time, I believe, has come to work together - for it is not enough to hope together, and it is not enough to pray together, to work together that this children's oath, pronounced every morning from Maine to California, from North to South, may become a glorious, unshakeable reality in a morally renewed and united America. Rights Owner: Prinz, Jonathan J. Description: Rabbi Joachim Prinz, a refugee from Germany, was a leading Jewish social justice figure in the mid-20th century. Prinz delivered the previous speech at the March on Washington. In it Prinz describes the oppression of Jews through out history as a reason many participated in Civil Rights Movement, and his belief that the greatest problem to be solved in the fight against oppression was that of silence amongst the onlookers.
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For discussion questions and related lesson plan, see http://jwa.org/teach/livingthelegacy/civilrights/march-on-washington-for-jobs-and-freedom
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| Be careful not to afflict any living creature, whether animal or bird, and all the more so, one should not afflict a person, created in the image of the Divine. If you want to hire laborers and you find that they are poor, they should be [regarded as] the poor members of your household, and do not degrade them, rather give them their orders in a respectful manner, and surely pay their wages. [translation by Uri L'Tzedek] |
השמר מלצער בע"ח הן בהמה הן עוף, וכ"ש שלא לצער אדם שהוא עשוי בצלם המקום. אם אתה רוצה לשכור פועלים ומצאת עניים יהיו עניים בני ביתך, ואך אל תבזה אותם, אך דרך כבוד תצוה להם, ותשלם שכרם משלם…
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THE DOMESTIC WORKERS' BILL OF RIGHTS CHAMPIONS THE WELL-BEING OF DOMESTIC WORKERS: The Bill amends NY State Labor Law to ensure employer choice to provide health care coverage or a wage supplement.
Additional Discussion Questions1. What is the rationale for not afflicting human beings?
2. How does a recognition that people are created in God's image affect how you relate to others?
(NOTE: Sefer HaYirah, written by Rabbeinu Yonah, or Yonah ben Abraham Gerondi/Yonah of Gerona - is a Jewish ethical work of the Middle Ages.)
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| What is the difference between monetary crimes and capital crimes? Monetary crimes are judged by three judges and capital crimes by 23 judges. In a monetary case, the trial opens either with a statement about merit (of the accused) or a statement of guilt; but capital cases only open on the merits, and not with statements of guilt. In a monetary case, we follow the majority, even a majority of 1, for a guilty verdict and for an innocent verdict; but in capital cases, we follow a majority of 1 for an innocent verdict and a majority of two for a guilty verdict. We appeal monetary decisions – whether the accused was found innocent or guilty; but we only appeal a capital decision in order to find the accused innocent, but not to find the accused guilty. [Translation by Uri L’Tzedek. Edited for gender neutrality] |
מה בין דיני ממונות לדיני נפשות דיני ממונות בשלשה דיני נפשות בעשרים ושלשה, דיני ממונות פותחין בין לזכות בין לחובה דיני נפשות פותחין לזכות כמו שביארנו ואין פותחין לחובה, דיני ממונות מטין על פי אחד בין לזכות בין לחובה דיני נפשות מטין על פי אחד לזכות ועל פי שנים לחובה, דיני ממונות מחזירין בין לזכות בין לחובה ודיני נפשות מחזירין לזכות ואין מחזירין לחובה
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1. How does Rambam understand the differences between monetary and capital crimes?
2. Does Rambam incline towards treating the defendant of a capital crime as innocent or guilty? Why?
3. Should we as a society ever use capital punishment? Why? If so, how should we go about evaluating the innocence of the accused?
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(Number Seven from Pillar B: Ethics) Social Justice. Judaism seeks the attainment of a just society by the application of its teachings to the economic order, to industry and commerce, and to national and international affairs. It aims at the elimination of man-made misery and suffering, of poverty and degradation, of tyranny and slavery, of social inequality and prejudice, of ill-will and strife. It advocates the promotion of harmonious relations between warring classes on the basis of equity and justice, and the creation of conditions under which human personality may flourish. It pleads for the safeguarding of childhood against exploitation. It champions the cause of all who work and of their right to an adequate standard of living, as prior to the rights of property. Judaism emphasizes the duty of charity, and strives for a social order which will protect men against the material disabilities of old age, sickness and unemployment.
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1. To what extent does this Platform advocate social change? What is innovative about this platform's understanding of Jewish social justice, as embodied by the Reform movement?
2. Is this Platform excluding other categories of social justice? Would you add anything?
3. What is specifically Jewish about the Columbus Platform's understanding of social justice? Would this pillar hold true for any community?
(NOTE: The Mishnah is the first written record of Jewish oral law, codified by Rabbi Yehudah Ha'Nasi around 200 CE.)
1. Why do you think that these particular decisions require a special number of judges?
2. How does requiring seventy-one judges to wage war compare to the way that we declare war in America?
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DESCRIPTION: An excerpt from Pauline Newman’s unpublished memoir in which she recalls the beginning of the 1909 garment workers’ strike. MEMOIR EXCERPT: Despite these inhuman working conditions the workers – including myself – continued to work for this firm. What good would it do to change jobs since similar conditions existed in all garment factories of that era? There were other reasons why we did not change jobs – call them psychological, if you will. One gets used to a place even if it is only a work shop. One gets to know the people you work with. You are no longer a stranger and alone. You have a feeling of belonging which helps to make life in a factory a bit easier to endure. Very often friendships are formed and a common understanding established. These, among other factors made us stay put, as it were… During the early part of November an unknown (to me) source provided the money for calling a mass meeting of the shirt waist makers in the historic Cooper Union hall. The place was packed. There were many prominent speakers among them the President of the American Federation of Labor – Samuel Gompers, and Mary Dreier of the Women’s Trade Union League. The workers were urged to join the union and put an end to their exploitation. In the midst of all the admirable speeches a girl worker – Clara Lemlich by name, got up and shouted “Mr. Chairman, we are tired of listening to speeches. I move that we go on strike now!” and other workers got up and said “We are starving while we work, we may as well starve while we strike.” Pendimonium [sic] broke lose [sic] in the hall. Shouts, cheering, applause, confusion and shouting of “strike, strike” was heard not only in the hall but outside as well. There were many workers who could not get into the hall. There were no loud-speakers in those days, but word was carried to them and they joined in the cry for a strike. As one of them said, “Why not, we have nothing to lose and we may have something to gain.” It was the 22nd of November when the strike was called. I remember the day – a grey sky, chilly winds and the winter just around the corner. However, neither the cold wind nor the cloudy sky prevented the strikers from cheering their own courage and daring as they left shop after shop to join their co-workers on the streets of New York. Despair turned to hope – marching from virtual slavery to the promise of freedom and decency. Five thousand, ten thousand, twenty thousand filled every hall available. That day was indeed a red letter day for the strikers and for the union. On this day young women laid the foundation for the powerful, constructive and influential union in the American Labor Movement, the ILGWU. As women they never did get the credit for what they contributed to the building of the present structure known all over the world as the most progressive labor organization in existence. That, however, did not prevent them from proving (and in those days to prove was essential) that women without experience can and did rise from their slumber to fight for a happier existence with determination and without fear. During the weeks and months of the strike most of them would go hungry. Many of them would find themselves without a roof above their heads. All of them would be cold and lonely. But all of them also knew and understood that their own courage would warm them; that hope for a better life would feed them; that fortitude would shelter them; that their fight for a better life would lift their spirit. They were ready and willing to endure hardship of any kind until victory was in sight. And fight they did. RIGHTS: Pauline Newman, Pauline Newman Papers, Box 1, folder 3, pages 17, 23-24. Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University
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For discussion and related lesson plan, see http://jwa.org/teach/livingthelegacy/labor/from-suffering-to-action-from-individual-to-collective
1. What are some of the reasons the Torah makes a point of mandating that workers be paid as soon as possible?
(NOTE: Proverbs is a part of the K'tuvim - or Writings - section of the Hebrew Bible.)
1. What does this text teach about Jewish views on the death penalty?
2. What does Rabban Gamaliel imply?
3. Which rabbi to you agree with?
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| It is not in the nature of humans, reared in slavery, in bricks and straw and the like, to wash their hands of their dirt and suddenly rise up and fight with the giants of Canaan. God in His wisdom contrived that they wander in the wilderness until they had become schooled in courage, since it is well known that physical hardships toughen and the converse produce faintheartedness. A new generation was born which had not been accustomed to slavery and degradation. [Hebrew translated from Judeo-Arabic] |
כי כמו שאין בטבע האדם שיגדל על מלאכת עבדות בחמר ובלבנים והדומה להם ואחר כן ירחץ ידיו לשעתו מלכלוכם וילחם עם ילידי הענק פתאום, כי אין בטבעו שיגדל על מינים רבים מן העבודות ומעשים מורגלים, שכבר נטו אליהם הנפשות עד ששבו כמושכל ראשון, ויניחם כלם פתאום, וכמו שהיה מחכמת השם להסב אותם במדבר עד שילמדו גבורה, כמו שנודע שההליכה במדבר ומיעוט הנאות הגוף מרחיצה וכיוצא בהם יולידו הגבורה והפכם יולידו רך לבב, ונולדו גם כן אנשים שלא הרגילו בשפלות ובעבדות
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1. What does this philosophy imply about oppression and the will of the oppressed to liberate themselves?
2. Need people be "schooled in courage," as the Children of Israel were in the desert, or should the oppressed be assisted by others? How do you interpret this anecdote?
3. How does this text understand generational divides? Need one have exposure to liberation in order to seek one's own liberation or do human's inherently believe that they deserve freedom? Give examples.
(NOTE: Jeremiah is a part of the Nivi'im - or Prophets - section of the Hebrew Bible.)
1. What are the differences between the way that monetary and capital cases are judged? What values emerge from these differences?
2. Is it fair that the law skews in favor of the defendant in capital cases?
3. Is capital punishment ever a fair or wise option? When?
1. In what ways are slaves portrayed as property in this text? In what ways are they portrayed as people? Does gender make a difference?
2. What do you think this text says about slavery in general? How might this text inform our notions of person-hood today?
שָׁמוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ: שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ כָּל מְלַאכְתֶּךָ: וְיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת לַה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה אַתָּה וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ וְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתֶךָ וְשׁוֹרְךָ וַחֲמֹרְךָ וְכָל בְּהֶמְתֶּךָ וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ עַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ כָּמוֹךָ: וְזָכַרְתָּ כִּי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וַיֹּצִאֲךָ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה עַל כֵּן צִוְּךָ ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת:
Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Adonai your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Adonai your God; you shall not do any work-- you, your son or your daughter, or your male or your female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or your stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and Adonai your God freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore Adonai your God commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. [JPS translation, edited for gender-neutrality]
THE DOMESTIC WORKERS' BILL OF RIGHTS CHAMPIONS DOMESTIC WORKERS' RIGHT TO TIME OFF: The Bill amends NY State Labor Law to ensure up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave; paid time off for vacations and holidays; and paid sick days.
Additional Discussion Questions1. According to this text, who is the Sabbath for?
2. What is the connection between observance of the Sabbath and being freed from slavery?
3. How does the Jewish experience in Egypt impact the way Jews treat those who work for them?
(NOTE: Deuteronomy is one of the 5 Books of the Torah.)
1. This source from the book of Genesis connects the severity of murder with the image of God. What might you imagine is the relationship between applying the death penalty for murder and the image of God reference that follows?
2. Might one justify, "not killing the murderer" for the same reason?
3. The verse that follows connects the contexts of murder and God's image to the blessing or command to be fruitful and multiply. What might be the relationship between murder, the capital crimes court and reproduction?
עֹשֶׂה מִשְׁפַּט יָתוֹם וְאַלְמָנָה וְאֹהֵב גֵּר לָתֶת לוֹ לֶחֶם וְשִׂמְלָה: וַאֲהַבְתֶּם אֶת הַגֵּר כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם:
1. In what ways does this text suggest that we mimic God?
2. What is God's responsibility to us and what is our responsibility to others? What are the different sources of these responsibilities?
3. This text reminds the reader of Israelite slavery. In what ways is a history of slavery connected to doing justice and loving the stranger?