“…the Torah cautions us regarding our behavior toward the stranger no less than 36 times, the most repeated injunction in the Torah. Empathy is an outgrowth of experience… We are bidden to put ourselves in the position of the stranger by remembering how it felt when we were strangers in another land.”
Suggested Discussion Questions:
What is the overall attitude of here toward how we are supposed to relate to the stranger? What are some of the underlying reasons for why we’re supposed to behave this way?
What protections, rights, and privileges did the Bible envision for gerim? What rights or protections might these translate into in contemporary American society? How might American society look different if we made more policy decisions based on the Jewish values expressed in these texts?
Time Period: Modern (Spinoza through post-WWII)