Part I: Yaakov/Jacob the Wandering Aramean (or Syrian Refugee)
(41) Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him, and Esau said to himself, “Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.” (42) When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. (43) Now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. (44) Stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury subsides— (45) until your brother’s anger against you subsides—and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you both in one day!”
“And he came upon the place” - Of the conditions for prophecy is that one be wise and strong and prosperous and courageous in one’s heart, as Chazal wrote, as opposed to Yaakov, who, behond, comes upon the place and stays there for the night [on the outside]; “for the sun had set,” for he was afraid to walk at night to go into the settlement, and he did not have the strength of spirit; corresponding to his level of wealth, he “took of the place’s stones and placed them under his head,” and he did not have a pillow or comforter to sleep on, because he left his father’s home with only his staff, or, according to Chazal, that Eliphaz took all of his assets. Relative to the level of his wisdom to prepare himself for deep thinking and attention, he slept “in that place” and did not prepare himself for this prophecy…
רַבִּי לֵוִי וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר זִמְרָא אָמַר עֲשָׂאָן כְּמִין מַרְזֵב וְנָתַן תַּחַת רֹאשׁוֹ, שֶׁהָיָה מִתְיָרֵא מִן הַחַיּוֹת...רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר אוֹתָן הָאֲבָנִים שֶׁנָּתַן יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ תַּחַת רֹאשׁוֹ נַעֲשׂוּ תַּחְתָּיו כְּמִטָּה וּכְפַרְנוֹס, מָה רְטִיבָה הִרְטִיב (שיר השירים א, יז): קֹרוֹת בָּתֵּינוּ אֲרָזִים וגו'. צַדִּיקִים וְצַדִּיקוֹת נְבִיאִים וּנְבִיאוֹת שֶׁיָּצְאוּ מִמֶּנּוּ. וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אָמַר כָּאן שָׁכַב אֲבָל כָּל אַרְבַּע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה שֶׁהָיָה טָמוּן בְּבֵית עֵבֶר לֹא שָׁכָב. וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה אָמַר כָּאן שָׁכַב, אֲבָל כָּל עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה שֶׁעָמַד בְּבֵיתוֹ שֶׁל לָבָן לֹא שָׁכָבץ.
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Elazar in the name of Rabbi Yossi ben Zimra said: “he made [the rocks] in the form of a drain-pipe around his head, for he was afraid of wild beasts…
Rabbi Berachya in the name of Rabbi Levi said, “Those same rocks that Yaakov placed under his head, he also placed under him as a bed and support.
“And he laid down in that place” - Rabbi Yehudah said, “He slept here/now, but all 14 years he was isolated in Beit Ever (studying Torah before heading to Haran), he did not sleep. And Rabbi Nechemia said, “He slept here/now, but all 20 years he stood in the house of Lavan, he did not sleep.”
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld, My Father was a Syrian Refugee
If Avraham was the first Jewish immigrant, Yaakov was the first Jewish refugee. He leaves behind his parents home and returns to Haran, to his mother’s homeland, fleeing for his life. Yaakov does not leave as a prince. He does not travel as the undisputed heir of a wealthy farmer. He does not plan a comfortable itinerary.
וַיֵצֵ֥א יַעֲק֖ב מִבְאֵ֣ר שָ֑בַע וַיֵ֖לְֶ חָרֽנָה׃ וַיִפְגַ֨ע בַמָק֜ום וַיָ֤לֶן שָם֙ כִי־בָ֣א הַשֶ֔מֶש וַיִקַח֙ מֵאַבְנֵ֣י הַמָק֔ום וַיָ֖שֶם מְרֽאֲשֹתָ֑יו וַיִשְכַ֖ב בַמָק֥ום הַהֽוא׃
Rabbi Meir Leibish Malbim, in his 19th century commentary on the Torah writes that Yaakov stopped to sleep for the night, outside, not in any town or settlement, and not an any sort of inn, because the daylight hours had ended and he was scared of traveling at night. He makes his bed with a pillow made of stones because he had nothing else with him to make his bed. He had a staff, a walking stick, and the clothing on his back, and perhaps nothing else.
Yaakov had loving parents who sent him to Haran, ostensibly, to find a wife. But Yaakov was in mortal danger from the jealous anger of his brother Esav and when he started his journey he must have done so in great haste without any time to gather his possessions or even to collect provisions for the journey.
Yaakov is too weary to prepare for a prophetic encounter with God. But he merits a vision that appears to him in a dream. When Yaakov finally collapses in exhaustion he has a dream of a ladder that reaches to the very heavens. The quintessential moment of Yaakov’s relationship with God is as a refugee.
Decades later when Yaakov returns to Eretz Yisrael, he makes reference to this moment.
כִ֣י בְמַקלִ֗י עָבַ֙רתִי֙ אֶת־הַיַרדֵ֣ן הַזֶ֔ה.
It was with my staff alone that I crossed the this Jordan River. Yaakov recognizes that his refugee experience was definitional for him in an important way.
And we can see how Lavan stigmatizes Yaakov and takes advantage of him as a foreigner. Lavan is one of the great scoundrels of the Torah. He is warm and friendly on the surface, but just below the surface is great cunning and great malice. Lavan takes advantage of Yaakov’s naiveté and switches his older daughter Leah in place of Rachel, the beloved younger daughter on whose behalf Yaakov had labored for seven years.
This is the sort of scam that one only tries on tourists…or refugees. When Yaakov confronts his father-inlaw, Lavan replies:
וַיֹ֣אמֶר לָבָ֔ן לא־יֵעָשֶ֥ה כֵ֖ן בִמְקומֵ֑נו לָתֵ֥ת הַצְעִיר֖ה לִפְנֵ֥י הַבְכִירֽה׃
We don’t do things that way here. Around here, the older sister gets married first. We don’t give the younger privileges over the older. Lavan is almost certainly being insincere. He makes this claim in the process of winning another seven years of labor from Yaakov. But he is also speaking the truth. Who is the younger who was privileged over the older sibling? That was Yaakov! Lavan is pointing to a dark episode in Yaakov’s own recent past and is using that as an excuse for his own mistreatment of Yaakov. “Since Yaakov his a foreigner,” Lavan reasons, “he won’t understand the way we do things here.” And since Yaakov came from a home where younger sibling usurp the place of older siblings, its crucial to make sure that doesn’t happen here.
Yaakov is able to transcend all of Lavan’s deceit and he overcomes his refugee status to become quite wealthy and he eventually returns to Eretz Yisrael as a wealthy man. But his time as a refugee is definitional to who Yaakov was. Furthermore, Yaakov’s experience as a refugee becomes definitional to who we are as the Jewish people.
Part II: When Others Seek Refuge
(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.
Why Here? Why Us? (Streets Paved with Gold)
And thus it appears to me: If they are fleeing to the settlement because of fear and danger, the members of the settlement cannot prevent them from lending and earning their livelihood and the expenses of their households until the crisis has passed. And proportionately to the amount of money that they do business with, they should be taxed with the members of the city as it says, “if they are included in the kings taxes, they cannot be prevented. And is no distinction between a case where you can’t prevent them ever and this case where they will leave when the crisis has passed. Because the tax is levied based on the population…(translation by Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff)
וא"ר יהושע בן לוי אין עגלה ערופה באה אלא בשביל צרי העין שנאמר (דברים כא, ז) וענו ואמרו ידינו לא שפכו את הדם הזה וכי על לבנו עלתה שזקני ב"ד שופכי דמים הם אלא לא בא לידינו ופטרנוהו ולא ראינוהו והנחנוהו לא בא לידינו ופטרנוהו בלא מזונות לא ראינוהו והנחנוהו בלא לוייה
And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: When a person is found slain between two cities and it is not known who killed him, a heifer whose neck is broken is brought. This occurs only because of miserly people. As it is stated: “And they shall speak and say: Our hands have not shed this blood” (Deuteronomy 21:7). But did it enter our hearts to think that the Elders of the court are murderers? Why it is necessary for them to publicize that they did not kill him? Rather, they must declare: It is not so that this victim came to us and we dismissed him, and it is not so that we saw him and left him. In other words, he did not come to us and we in turn dismissed him without food, and we did not see him and then leave him without an escort. It is miserly people who do not provide others with food and cause them to travel to places where they might be murdered.
...משום גדולת וקדושת ארץ ישראל עשה אותה הכתוב כעיר מקלט לענין זה כדי שכל העולם יתאוו לשבת בה וישתוקקו אליה...ועל מה שכתב הר"ן ז"ל בסברת הרמב"ם ז"ל קשה לי טובא...דנמצאו כל העבדים בורחים לארץ ישראל ומלאה הארץ זימה...ויש לתרץ...וכיון דמפקיעין שעבודו אין זה עבד אלא גר וליכא זימה...
Because of the greatness and holiness of the land of Israel the Torah made it like a city of refuge in this matter, so that everyone will desire to live in it, and will pine for it...And regarding that which the Ran wrote about the explanation of the Rambam, I have great difficulty...Because we find that all slaves will escape to the land of Israel and land will be filled with immoral behavior...And since we remove his ownership, this person is no longer a slave but rather a convert and there is no more immoral behavior.
What's it to me? (When my property or life may be in danger)
תניא רבי אליעזר הגדול אומר מפני מה הזהירה תורה בל"ו מקומות ואמרי לה במ"ו מקומות בגר מפני שסורו רע מאי דכתיב וגר לא תונה ולא תלחצנו כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים
It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: For what reason did the Torah issue warnings in thirty-six places, and some say in forty-six places, with regard to causing any distress to a convert? It is due to the fact that a convert’s inclination is evil, i.e., he is prone to return to his previous way of living. What is the meaning of that which is written: “And you shall not mistreat a convert nor oppress him, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20)? We learned in a baraita that Rabbi Natan says: A defect that is in you, do not mention it in another. Since the Jewish people were themselves strangers, they are not in a position to demean a convert because he is a stranger in their midst.
...וכתב הרא״ש והניצול חייב לפרוע למציל מה שהוציא דאין אדם חייב להציל נפש חבירו בממונו היכא דאית ליה ממונא לניצול וכתב הגהות מיימון עבר על לא תעמוד וכו' בירושלמי מסיק אפי' להכניס עצמו בספק סכנה חייב עכ״ל. ונראה שהטעם מפני שהלה ודאי הוא ספק:
...And the Rosh wrote, "The one being saved is obligated to pay back the one who saved them for what it took for them to save them, since one is not obligated to save another with their money wherever the one being saved has money." And the Hagahot Maimoniyot wrote that if one does not save them, they have violated "Don't stand idly by on the blood of your neighbor," and the Yerushalmi concludes, "Even to put one's own life in jeopardy one is obligated to do [to save their fellow]." And it would seem to be that the reason for this is because the one being saved is in certain danger and the one saving is only in possible danger."
(א) מטרח ואגורי כו'...וע"ע בכ"מ מביא בשם הגמי"י דמחויב להכניס עצמו בספק סכנה להציל חבירו וע"ש שכ' משום דהאחר ודאי והוא ס' והמחבר בח"מ השמיטו וע"ש בסמ"ע כיון שהפוסקים הרי"ף והר"מ והרא"ש לא הביאו זה ע"כ השמיטו המחבר ג"כ. ולדידי גוף דין הגמ' צ"ע כיון דהוא רק לאו ואינו עושה מעשה כלל בהעברת הלאו למה יתחייב להכניס עצמו בס' סכנה והלא וחי בהם כתיב ופ"נ דוחה הכל אפילו ס' פ"נ ואי משום פ"נ דאידך זה דוקא בעושה מעשה כמבואר בראשונים דימסור עצמו ולא יהרוג לחבירו משום מאי חזית אבל אם רוצים להפילו על חבירו א"צ למסור עצמו דאדרבא דלמא דמא דידיה סומק טפי אם כן ה"ה בס' סכנה ג"כ א"צ
And it's explained further in a few places that it's brought in the name of the Yerushalmi that one is obligated to place oneself in possible danger to save their fellow, and it's explained there that the reason is because the other is in certain danger, and he is only in possible danger, and the Mechaber (Shulchan Aruch) in Choshen Mishpat left this teaching out since the Rif, Rambam, and Rosh did not bring this either. And for me, the essence is of the Gemara's law needs elucidation: since this is only a negative-prohibition and one is not acting at all in transgressing, why should one be required to actively place themselves in possible danger? Do we not have a command "to live by [the commandments]" [and not die by them]? And saving a life (pikuach nefesh) takes precedence over everything, even the possibility of saving a life, and if one is to save the other for pikuach nefesh when one is taking a concrete action, that one give of themselves - on the contrary. Who says his blood is redder? If so, this should also apply in the place of possible danger where one should not need to put their life in danger when they don't take a concrete action...but, truly, this law that is brought in the name of the Yerushalmi - we need to receive it with fear and seriousness...even if the Rishonim did not hold like this.
(א) שצריך לחזור אחד הידור מצוה בקנית האתרוג ובו סעיף אחד:
אם קנה אתרוג שראוי לצאת בו בצמצום כגון שהוא כביצה מצומצמת ואח"כ מצא גדול ממנו מצוה להוסיף עד שליש מלגיו בדמי הראשון כדי להחליפו ביותר נאה ויש מי שאומר שאם מוצא שני אתרוגים לקנות והאחד הדור מחבירו יקח ההדר אם אין מייקרים אותו יותר משליש מלגיו בדמי חבירו: הגה מי שאין לו אתרוג או שאר מצוה עוברת אין צריך לבזבז עליה הון רב וכמו שאמרו המבזבז אל יבזבז יותר מחומש אפי' מצוה עוברת [הרא"ש ורבינו ירוחם נ"י ח"ב] ודוקא מצות עשה אבל לא תעשה יתן כל ממונו קודם שיעבור [הרשב"א וראב"ד] [וע' לקמן סוף סי' תרנ"ח בהגה]:
(1) If one bought an Esrog which is barely the proper size, e.g. it is barely the size of an egg, then found a larger esrog it is a Mitzvoh to buy the second Esrog if it is up to a third more expensive then the price of the first one. There are those who say that if one finds two Esrogim for sale and one is nicer then the other he should spend up to a third extra for the nicer Esrog. Rema: One is not obligated to spend an exorbinant amount for an Esrog or any other transient Mitzvoh as we are taught "He who wishes to spend shoud not spend more than a fifth of his wealth" this is true even though if he misses the opportunity for the Mitzvoh he will not be able to make it up later. (Rosh and Rabbeinu Yeruchem). This is only true by a positive commandment. To avoid transgressing a negative one must give away all of their money (Rashba and Raavad) See the end of Siman 658 (in the comment of the Rema)
Communal Responsibility
Shevet HaLevi 5:175
And I thought, according to that which the Ran wrote in Sanhedrin....that we only learn to save someone from a pursuer if it's clear as day (i.e. the person is drowning in the river), but we don't learn this if there is a doubt about the danger. But from the verse "don't stand idly by," we learn that this also applies when there is a doubt, which I've explained elsewhere. The Ran is not referring to a 50/50 doubt, because we could have learned that from another verse, but rather this verse comes to teach even if there is a remote, even the slightests possibility (safek u'safek sefeka, ve-afilu safek rachok) is included in do not stand idly by....
And now, regarding the question, in my humble opinion, there are two considerations here: that if one happens upon the situation and is the only one who can help, like if someone is drowning in the river, etc., according to the Chatam Sofer, this depends on the machloket regarding a negative prohibition that is violated passively if one needs to spend all their money to avoid violating it...And the poskim wrote that the halacha is like the Rivash [who says one must give up their money]...
When the matter is not dependent on the individual alone, and the whole community is included, it's obvious to me that the individual on their own does not need to give up all their money, even if the mitzvah is obligatory on the community. The Beit Din or those senior representatives should encourage the public to support, but the individual is nonetheless not obligated.
On the Refugee Crisis by Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks
The influx of refugees overwhelming parts of Europe is a massive crisis, but it is at just such times that it is worth remembering that the Chinese ideogram for “crisis” also means “opportunity”. Now is a unique opportunity to show that the ideals for which the European Union and other international bodies such as the United Nations were formed are still compelling, compassionate and humane...
It is all too easy to say that this is not our problem and, besides, it is happening a long way away.
Yet nothing in our interconnected world is a long way away. Everything that could go global does go global, from terror to religious extremism to websites preaching paranoia and hate. Never before have John Donne’s words rung more true: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” Therefore, “never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee”...
I used to think that the most important line in the Bible was “Love your neighbour as yourself”. Then I realised that it is easy to love your neighbour because he or she is usually quite like yourself. What is hard is to love the stranger, one whose colour, culture or creed is different from yours. That is why the command, “Love the stranger because you were once strangers”, resonates so often throughout the Bible. It is summoning us now. A bold act of collective generosity will show that the world, particularly Europe, has learned the lesson of its own dark past and is willing to take a global lead in building a more hopeful future. Wars that cannot be won by weapons can sometimes be won by the sheer power of acts of humanitarian generosity to inspire the young to choose the way of peace instead of holy war.
(י) פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים קוֹדֵם לְפַרְנָסַת עֲנִיִּים וְלִכְסוּתָן. וְאֵין לְךָ מִצְוָה גְּדוֹלָה כְּפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים שֶׁהַשָּׁבוּי הֲרֵי הוּא בִּכְלַל הָרְעֵבִים וְהַצְּמֵאִים וַעֲרוּמִּים וְעוֹמֵד בְּסַכָּנַת נְפָשׁוֹת. וְהַמַּעֲלִים עֵינָיו מִפִּדְיוֹנוֹ הֲרֵי זֶה עוֹבֵר עַל (דברים טו-ז) "לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת לְבָבְךָ וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת יָדְךָ" וְעַל (ויקרא יט-טז) "לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ" וְעַל (ויקרא כה-נג) "לֹא יִרְדֶּנּוּ בְּפֶרֶךְ לְעֵינֶיךָ". וּבִטֵּל מִצְוַת (דברים טו-ח) (דברים טו-יא) "פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת יָדְךָ לוֹ". וּמִצְוַת (ויקרא כה-לו) "וְחֵי אָחִיךָ עִמָּךְ". (ויקרא יט-יח) "וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ". (משלי כד-יא) "וְהַצֵּל לְקֻחִים לַמָּוֶת" וְהַרְבֵּה דְּבָרִים כָּאֵלּוּ. וְאֵין לְךָ מִצְוָה רַבָּה כְּפִדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים:
(10) Redeeming captives takes precedence over feeding and clothing the poor. And there is no commandment as great as redeeming captives, for a captive is among the hungry, thirsty, naked, and is in mortal danger. And one who averts one eyes from redeeming him/her violates, "You shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand," and, "Do not stand by your brother's blood," and "You shall not work him with hard labor before your eyes," and has neglected the commandment, "You shall surely open your hand to him," and the commandment, "And your brother shall live with you," "And you shall love your fellow as yourself," "Save those who are take to death," and many like these. And there is no great commandment like redemption of captives.