(יב) וַיְהִ֤י הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ לָב֔וֹא וְתַרְדֵּמָ֖ה נָפְלָ֣ה עַל־אַבְרָ֑ם וְהִנֵּ֥ה אֵימָ֛ה חֲשֵׁכָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה נֹפֶ֥לֶת עָלָֽיו׃ (יג) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאַבְרָ֗ם יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי־גֵ֣ר ׀ יִהְיֶ֣ה זַרְעֲךָ֗ בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ לֹ֣א לָהֶ֔ם וַעֲבָד֖וּם וְעִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑ם אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה׃
(12) Now it was, when the sun was coming in , that deep slumber fell upon Avram, and here, a fright [and] great darkness falling upon him! (13) And he [God] said to Avram: Know, yes, know that your seed will be sojourners in a land not theirs; they will put them in דervitude and afflict them for four hundred years.
ויאמר לאברם, הודיע לו שכמו שבאיש הפרטי יעברו עליו בנעוריו כמה יסורים ומכאובים, אם בעת הולדו אם אח"כ מצמיחת השנים והחלאים הנקרים בילדים, למען יזכך חומרם וירגישו אור נפשם כמ"ש בחובה"ל כן האומה אשר בחר יהוה לסגולתו שם אותה תחלה בכור הברזל לצרף סיגי החומר ולזככה ולטהרה ע"י עוני ומכאובות, (וכמ"ש באורך בס' ישעיה סי' כח, עמש"ש ויסרו למשפט אלהיו יורנו), הודיע לו כי דור בניו טרם יזכו אל המדרגה הזאת שיהיו כולם לב וסגולה והעם אשר ידבק בם הענין האלהי, ידוכא חומרם ע"י קושי השעבוד וכור עוני, וזה יהיה בג' מדרגות, שתחלה גר יהיה זרעך, וזה התחיל תיכף בלדת יצחק, שהיה גר בארץ לא לו...
And he said to Abram, He informed him that just as a private person will go through some suffering and pain in his youth, either at the time of their birth or later, due to the growth of years and the ailments that befall children, in order that their substance may be purified and they may feel the light of their souls, as it is said in the Book of Exodus, so the nation that the Lord has chosen for His virtue will first be placed in the crucible of iron to combine the dross of the substance and to purify and purify it through poverty and pain, (and as it is said in the light of Isaiah 32:28, Amashsh, and will be brought to the judgment of His God, He will teach us), He informed him that the generation of his sons will not yet attain this stage, that they will all be of heart and virtue, and the people to whom the divine matter will cling, their substance will be oppressed by the difficulty of slavery and the crucible of poverty, and this will be in three stages, that at first your seed will be a stranger, and this began immediately with the birth of Isaac, who was a stranger in a land that was not his, ...
(יח) שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הי אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק׃ (יט) לֹא־תַטֶּ֣ה מִשְׁפָּ֔ט לֹ֥א תַכִּ֖יר פָּנִ֑ים וְלֹא־תִקַּ֣ח שֹׁ֔חַד כִּ֣י הַשֹּׁ֗חַד יְעַוֵּר֙ עֵינֵ֣י חֲכָמִ֔ים וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף דִּבְרֵ֥י צַדִּיקִֽם׃ (כ) צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף לְמַ֤עַן תִּֽחְיֶה֙ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ֣ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־ה" אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃ {ס}
(18) You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. (19) You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. (20)Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that your God is giving you.
כדתניא צדק צדק תרדף אחד לדין ואחד לפשרה כיצד שתי ספינות עוברות בנהר ופגעו זה בזה אם עוברות שתיהן שתיהן טובעות בזה אחר זה שתיהן עוברות וכן שני גמלים שהיו עולים במעלות בית חורון ופגעו זה בזה אם עלו שניהן שניהן נופלין בזה אחר זה שניהן עולין.
As it is taught: “Justice, justice, shall you follow,” one for strict judgment and one for compromise. How so? Like two boats that encounter one another while traveling on the river: if each goes to pass the other simultaneously, both of them sink; if they go one after the other, both of them may pass. And similarly, when two camels encounter one another while ascending Beit Ḥoron: if both go to ascend simultaneously, both of them fall; if they go one after the other, both of them may ascend.
Justice, justice you shall pursue...Justice alone is not enough, because there are many types of justice, just as there are many kinds of truth. Every regime has its own justice. The Torah, therefore, stresses, "Justice justice you shall pursue," namely the musar (ethic) of justice, where both the means and the end are just.
Derashot El Ami (19th-20th century Poland & Palestine)
Derashot El Ami (19th-20th century Poland & Palestine)
"The Torah is the world’s great protest against empires and imperialism. There are many dimensions to this protest. One dimension is the protest against the attempt to justify social hierarchy and the absolute power of rulers in the name of religion. Another is the subordination of the masses to the state – epitomised by the vast building projects, first of Babel, then of Egypt, and the enslavement they entailed. A third is the brutality of nations in the course of war ... Undoubtedly, though, the most serious offence – for the prophets as well as the Mosaic books – was the use of power against the powerless: the widow, the orphan and, above all, the stranger.
"To be a Jew is to be a stranger. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this was why Abraham was commanded to leave his land, home and father’s house; why, long before Joseph was born, Abraham was already told that his descendants would be strangers in a land not their own; why Moses had to suffer personal exile before assuming leadership of the people; why the Israelites underwent persecution before inheriting their own land; and why the Torah is so insistent that this experience..."
Lord Dr. Rabbi Jonathan Sachs: https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/mishpatim/loving-the-stranger/ 2008
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Our tradition claims 36 times the Torah cites our experience of oppression in Egypt. While the exact phrase "do not oppress" may not appear in every instance, the prevention of oppression, especially towards vulnerable groups like strangers, widows, and orphans, is strongly emphasized throughout the TANAKH.
"To be a Jew is to be a stranger. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this was why Abraham was commanded to leave his land, home and father’s house; why, long before Joseph was born, Abraham was already told that his descendants would be strangers in a land not their own; why Moses had to suffer personal exile before assuming leadership of the people; why the Israelites underwent persecution before inheriting their own land; and why the Torah is so insistent that this experience..."
Lord Dr. Rabbi Jonathan Sachs: https://rabbisacks.org/covenant-conversation/mishpatim/loving-the-stranger/ 2008
_________________________
Our tradition claims 36 times the Torah cites our experience of oppression in Egypt. While the exact phrase "do not oppress" may not appear in every instance, the prevention of oppression, especially towards vulnerable groups like strangers, widows, and orphans, is strongly emphasized throughout the TANAKH.
(ו) אֲנִ֧י ה״ קְרָאתִ֥יךָֽ בְצֶ֖דֶק וְאַחְזֵ֣ק בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְאֶצׇּרְךָ֗ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֛ לִבְרִ֥ית עָ֖ם לְא֥וֹר גּוֹיִֽם׃ (ז) לִפְקֹ֖חַ עֵינַ֣יִם עִוְר֑וֹת לְהוֹצִ֤יא מִמַּסְגֵּר֙ אַסִּ֔יר מִבֵּ֥ית כֶּ֖לֶא יֹ֥שְׁבֵי חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃
(6)I GOD, in My grace, have summoned you, And I have grasped you by the hand.I created you, and appointed youץ A covenant people, a light of nations— (7) Opening eyes deprived of light, Rescuing prisoners from confinement, From the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
(א)לברית עם. לקיום כל עם ועם כי בעבורך מתקיים כל העולם וכל ברית הוא ענין קיום וכן תהיה גם כן לאור גוים, כמו שאמר והלכו גוים לאורך, והאור הוא התורה שתצא להם מציון, וישראל יהיו קיום האומות על שני פנים האחד שיהיה שלום בעבורם בכל הגוים כמו שאמר על המשיח ודבר שלום לגוים, ואמר והוכיח לעמים רבים, וכתתו חרבותם לאתים וגו', השנית כי בסבת ישראל יהיו הגוים שומרים שבע מצות וילכו בדרך טובה כמו ויורנו מדרכיו ונלכה באורחותיו וגו':
A Covenant with the Nation: To sustain the existence of all the nations because through you, the world is continuing to exist. The idea of a covenant is a pact that sustains an existence, and so the brit itself will be a light unto the nations like it says: "The nations will go by your light". The light is the Torah that goes out of Zion. Israel will sustain the nations of the world through two ways: One is that there will be peace amongst all the nations because of the Jewish people. Referring to the Messiah, it says "he will speak words of peace to the nations, and he will rebuke many nations, and their swords will be beaten into plowshares." The second reason is that because of the Jewish people, the other nations will keep the seven Noahide laws and they will go in a good path, like it says: And He will teach us His ways and we shall walk in His paths"
וּבְאוֹתוֹ הַזְּמַן לֹא יִהְיֶה שָׁם לֹא רָעָב וְלֹא מִלְחָמָה. וְלֹא קִנְאָה וְתַחֲרוּת. שֶׁהַטּוֹבָה תִּהְיֶה מֻשְׁפַּעַת הַרְבֵּה. וְכָל הַמַּעֲדַנִּים מְצוּיִין כֶּעָפָר. וְלֹא יִהְיֶה עֵסֶק כָּל הָעוֹלָם אֶלָּא לָדַעַת אֶת ה״ בִּלְבַד.
In that era, there will be neither famine or war, envy or competition for good will flow in abundance and all the delights will be freely available as dust. The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know God.