(כ) וְגֵר לֹא תוֹנֶה וְלֹא תִלְחָצֶנּוּ כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.
(20) And a stranger shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
(ט) וְגֵר לֹא תִלְחָץ וְאַתֶּם יְדַעְתֶּם אֶת נֶפֶשׁ הַגֵּר כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.
(9) And a stranger shalt thou not oppress; for you know the heart of a stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Studies on the Haggadah: Teachings from Nechama Leibowitz
“…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.”
- How do these sources speak to our responsibilities to asylum seekers?
- How do our experiences inform the way we respond to the needs of others?
(טז) לֹא תַסְגִּיר עֶבֶד אֶל אֲדֹנָיו אֲשֶׁר יִנָּצֵל אֵלֶיךָ מֵעִם אֲדֹנָיו. (יז) עִמְּךָ יֵשֵׁב בְּקִרְבְּךָ בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ בַּטּוֹב לוֹ לֹא תּוֹנֶנּוּ.
(16) Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a bondman that is escaped from his master unto thee; (17) he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it liketh him best; thou shalt not wrong him.
- How does this source relate to asylum seekers?
- What exactly are our responsibilities to someone seeking asylum at our gates according to this source?
- What does this source say about where asylum seekers should be able to seek refuge?
God gathered the dust [of the first human] from the four corners of the world - red, black, white and green. Red is the blood, black is the innards and green for the body. Why from the four corners of the earth? So that if one comes from the east to the west and arrives at the end of his life as he nears departing from the world, it will not be said to him, "This land is not the dust of your body, it's of mine. Go back to where you were created." Rather, every place that a person walks, from there she was created and from there she will return."
התחיל לקבץ עפרו מד' פנות העולם אדום שחור לבן ירקרק. אדום זה הדם שחור אלו הקרבים ירקרק זה הגוף. ולמה מד' פנות העולם שאם יבא מן המזרח למערב ויגיע קצו להפטר מן העולם שלא תאמר הארץ אין עפר גופך משלי חזור למקום שנבראת אלא כל מקום שאדם הולך משם הוא גופו ולשם הוא חוזר.
- How can we move toward a more global view of human migration?
Occupy Judaism's Daniel Sieradski responds to the Jerusalem Post.