My family has benefited tremendously from the professional and nurturing childcare provided to us by the caregiver who has worked in our home. And I became involved in the campaign for the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in appreciation for the contributions she has made to my family over these years, and all the time, energy and loving care thousands of other caregivers have provided to other families. These hardworking individuals have long deserved the same respect that any other professional deserves.
--Donna Schneiderman, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice
How does Donna relate to her experience of being an employer? How does she relate to her employee?
How is this similar/different from other motivations you hear from people regarding their commitment to justice?
What might some pro/cons be of this approach?
בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג), וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם. לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַחְנוּ חַיָּבִין לְהוֹדוֹת, לְהַלֵּל, לְשַׁבֵּחַ, לְפָאֵר, לְרוֹמֵם, לְהַדֵּר, לְבָרֵךְ, לְעַלֵּה, וּלְקַלֵּס, לְמִי שֶׁעָשָׂה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ אֶת כָּל הַנִּסִּים הָאֵלּוּ, הוֹצִיאָנוּ מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵרוּת, מִיָּגוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה, וּמֵאֵבֶל לְיוֹם טוֹב, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹר גָּדוֹל, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה. וְנֹאמַר לְפָנָיו, הַלְלוּיָהּ:
In every generation a person must see oneself as though they [personally] had gone out of Egypt, as it is stated, “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the HaShem did for me when I came forth out of Egypt’” (Exodus 13:8). Therefore we are obligated to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, lavish, bless, extol, and adore The One Who Made all these Miracles for our ancestors and for us--- brought us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to a festival, from darkness to great light, and from servitude to redemption. Let us say before God, "Halleluyah!"
In Torah, we are reminded again and again that "we were strangers" in Egypt. Our mishnah refocuses us on the experience of *leaving* Egypt--of yitziat mitzrayim. What is the spiritual impact of focusing on being strangers versus focusing on the experience of liberation? How might these different foci shape our commitments to justice?
How is this focusing similar/different from what Donna expressed above?
(34) May my prayer be pleasing to God; I will rejoice in the HaShem. (35) May sinners disappear from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless HaShem, O my soul. Halleluyah!
הנהו בריוני דהוו בשבבותיה דרבי מאיר והוו קא מצערו ליה טובא הוה קא בעי רבי מאיר רחמי עלויהו כי היכי דלימותו
אמרה ליה ברוריא דביתהו מאי דעתך משום דכתיב יתמו חטאים מי כתיב חוטאים חטאים כתיב ועוד שפיל לסיפיה דקרא ורשעים עוד אינם כיון דיתמו חטאים ורשעים עוד אינם אלא בעי רחמי עלויהו דלהדרו בתשובה ורשעים עוד אינם בעא רחמי עלויהו והדרו בתשובה:
There were these hooligans in Rabbi Meir’s neighborhood who caused him a great deal of anguish. Rabbi Meir prayed for [God to have] mercy on them, that they should die.
Brurya, Rabbi Meir’s wife, said to him: What is your thinking? Is it based on what is written: “Let חטאים cease from the land” (Psalms 104:35)? But is it written, let sinners (חוטאים) cease?” Let sins (חטאים) cease, is written! One should pray for an end to their transgressions, not for the demise of the transgressors themselves. Moreover, go to the end of the verse,: “And the wicked will be no more.” If, as you suggest, transgressions shall cease refers to the demise of the evildoers, how is it possible that the wicked will be no more, i.e., that they will no longer be evil? Rather, pray for God to have mercy on them, that they should repent.
Rabbi Meir saw that Berurya was correct and he prayed for God to have mercy on them, and they repented.
This is the first time the word "halleluyah" shows up in Tanakh/the Hebrew Bible.
How does Brurya transform the meaning of the word as she imagines a redeemed world? How would you describe the kind of world that she is imagining for us through her midrashic interpretation?
How might this vision of justice shape our own approach to building a better world? What holds us back from living into this approach? How might we work with that?
How might these two examples of halleluyah--from the Mishnah and the Psalm--inform each other as we think about the "path of halleluyah?"