The historical experience of the Jewish people has helped to acculturate Jews into the communal ethic of righteousness and justice. The admonition to “care for the stranger, for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exod, 22:21) was not only about Egypt, just as the Passover seder was not just about Egypt. It was about the persecution of Jews in every era and in almost every place they lived. It developed in Jews a commitment to come to the aid of fellow Jews when circumstances made it possible. It developed in Jews an instinctual sympathy for others who similarly came to experience persecution and oppression.
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. Why does God tell us to care for the stranger because we were once strangers in the land of Egypt?
2. Why do we have a Passover seder every year? What does this teach us about how we relate to our history of persecution?
3. How does the shared Jewish identity with persecution influence our social justice work?
Time Period: Contemporary (The Yom Kippur War until the present-day)