D’Var Torah
Parshat Bo 5786

In our parsha – parshat Bo – we first encounter the characteristic multi-faceted literary style of the Torah: the intertwining of story and command – law and narrative – ethos and nomos –  halakha and aggadah.

Up until this point, the Torah has presented us with a narrative which could be read almost like any story. We follow the unfolding of interesting events in the lives of various characters from one generation to the next. 

• Sure, every once in a while there is a comment that implies that the Torah is not like any story
  • A moment of historical contextualization
  • A commandment which is meant for future generations
    • When Avraham is told to circumcise himself and his household at the end of Lekh L’kha, we read that this is a decree for all future generations of Avraham’s descendants
• Besides these small moments where the Torah winks at us – suggesting that these stories are meant to have importance for future generations, Bereishit and the first 11 chapters of Shemot present a continuous story.

Then, in chapters 12 and 13, in the midst of the dramatic narration of the Exodus – just between the 9th plague (Darkness) and the 10th plague (the death of the firstborns of Egypt), Moshe is commanded to relay instructions to the children of Israel which are to apply for all future generations. 

• We are commanded
  • to mark the month of Nisan as the month of our departure from egypt
  • To celebrate Passover through eating Matzah and maror – and through removing Chametz from our homes 
  • We are to offer the first-born of each animal as a gift to G-d and to make a financial gift to G-d in honor of the first born child of each woman. 
  • We are told to remember this story through tying it to our hearts and head – the first mention of Tefillin
  • We are commanded to teach about the Exodus to our children and our grandchildren

In short, we are meant to orient our lives around the remembering of the Exodus from slavery in Egypt, through the annual celebration of Pesach, through the daily practice of wearing Tefillin, and each time we are blessed with new life. 

• From here on out, this is an essential character of Torah (both the written Torah and the Oral Torah – the TaNaKh and the Talmud)
  • We recount stories of our collective past not simply to know what happened in the past but to actively shape our consciousness so that we can live in a way that is informed and shaped by those experiences.

This week – we are living in an historic moment in which American rabbis are demonstrating what it can look like to take this seriously. 

This week, the Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform Rabbinic and Synagogue organizations released a rare joint statement against “violent immigration enforcement.”

The statement begins by quoting a pasuk – a verse which clearly invokes the memory of oppression and redemption from Egypt to inform the ethos and policies of ancient Israelite society:

ואהבת את-הגר כי-גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים

Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt 

(Deuteronomy 10:19)

Adding our voices to millions of others across the United States, leaders of the Reform, Conservative/Masorti, and Reconstructionist Movements of Judaism condemn, in the strongest terms, the violence with which the Department of Homeland Security is enforcing American immigration law—above all, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as in cities and towns across the nation.

Many Americans are deeply disturbed as they see their neighbors targeted for detention and deportation in their homes, at work, at their schools, and at their houses of worship. They are deeply concerned about numerous accounts of the use of intimidating and violent detention tactics, dangerous and unhealthy holding facilities, lack of appropriate warrants or due process, and wrongful apprehension of US citizens or individuals with proper visas based on appearance or language. 

In response, some are taking nonviolent steps to warn and protect their neighbors from this immigration enforcement overreach. The right to protest and speak freely are fundamental American rights, protected by the United States Constitution. Too often, though, nonviolent protest and civil disobedience is being met with violence.

The United States is a nation of laws, and as Americans we expect that our laws will be enforced with clarity and consistency. We are pained by reports and videos indicating that in carrying out their assignment, members of law enforcement are engaging in behavior that escalates confrontation, risking the safety of those suspected of having violated the law, of bystanders and protesters, and their own safety. Candidates for law enforcement must be properly vetted, fully and carefully trained, and held accountable when they do not meet appropriate standards. Such accountability includes investigating complaints fairly, transparently, and impartially, particularly but not only, in cases of officer-involved shootings. To that end, we call on the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting death by an ICE officer of Renee Good, z”l.

The statement then goes on to invoke another verse from Devarim and to refer to the way the Sages of the Talmud read this verse:

Our sages taught that the Book of Deuteronomy’s directive צדק צדק תרדף (Tzedek, tzedek tirdof), “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (16:20), implies that the law must be enforced through a fair process, and that one should pursue justice whether it would be to one’s advantage or to one’s loss.^[i]

Immigrants are members of our congregations, our families, and people with whom we interact in our broader communities. American Jews cherish our own families’ immigration stories. We recall that, like many being expelled from America today, we or our ancestors came to this country to escape oppression and find opportunity. That is why so many Jewish congregations, rabbis, cantors, and lay leaders have engaged in a variety of legal actions to protect immigrants in our midst. We grieve an American promise that seems to be no more.

We who lead the North American Reform, Conservative/Masorti, and Reconstructionist Jewish Movements stand with the members and leaders of Jewish communities in Minneapolis—and before that, in the Chicago area and other cities in the United States—who have confronted Immigration and Customs Enforcement nonviolently, legally, but resolutely. We fear that additional communities will need to be prepared to do the same in the months ahead.

We call on President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to pursue immigration enforcement and their response to protest through just and non-violent means, upholding our nation’s highest values and commitment to due process and the rule of law. 

The second verse quoted in this Cross-Denominational Statement is often a favorite one for Jewish Social activism, after all, it says the word “justice” twice. Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof. 

Indeed, this verse has resonated with many Jews over the generations, and if you survey the classical commentaries and Midrashim on this verse, you will encounter a range of different ways of understanding why the word tzedek is repeated twice. 

• Some emphasize that justice needs to be pursued even for those without the social power to advocate for themselves. 
• Others emphasize that it is the responsibility of litigants to find the most ethically upstanding court to consider the case – not one that is biased and therefore likely to side with their opinion. 

While there are a range of traditional readings of this verse, they all agree that this repetition of the word tzedek clearly communicates the importance of the pursuit of justice for the sake of establishing a society that truly honors G-d and the Torah. 

This can be seen clearly through the rest of the verse: 

צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף לְמַ֤עַן תִּֽחְיֶה֙ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ֣ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹ אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃ {ס}   

Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the ETERNAL your God is giving you.

The pursuit of justice for strangers and citizens alike is considered by the Torah to be a condition for life in the Promised Land. 

In our Torah portion, we can identify the first time when this equal treatment before the Law is commanded in Exodus 12:20:

תּוֹרָ֣ה אַחַ֔ת יִהְיֶ֖ה לָֽאֶזְרָ֑ח וְלַגֵּ֖ר הַגָּ֥ר בְּתוֹכְכֶֽם׃

There shall be one law for the citizen and for the stranger who dwells among you.

Amidst the very first set of mitzvot that we receive in the Torah which are to be applied to all of the future people of Israel is this principle of the equality of the non-native and native in the eyes of the Torah. 

In case it is not clear enough here that this is an ethical imperative of the Exodus story, in Deuteronomy there is a verse which explicitly claims that the reason we must love non-natives/immigrants/strangers is because of our collective memory of slavery in Egypt.

This verse is the opening of another coalition statement this week released by 50 Twin-Cities Rabbis serving in Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Modern-Orthodox, and Independent synagogues and community organizations:

.וַאֲהַבְתֶּם אֶת־הַגֵּר כִּי־גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם

Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Deuteronomy 10:19)

Their statement continues: 

As rabbis and cantors across Minnesota, we write out of collective concern for what is happening in our beloved state. No matter how you understand the need for immigration reform and border security, the actions of federal agents in our home are having a devastating impact on the people of our communities. This is a moment that requires us to stand united with our fellow Minnesotans.

We grieve the tragic death of Renee Nicole Good z’l, fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on January 7th in front of her wife and horrified neighbors. We mourn for Renee’s death and the heartbreak her family and loved ones are experiencing.

Alongside our grief is horror: horror that our fellow Minnesotans are terrified to leave their homes and even to answer their doors. Many people are not going to the jobs they rely on to afford their basic needs, or to attend worship services. Parents are scared to send their children to school. Schools, daycare centers and businesses are afraid to open, as ICE makes arrests on their doorsteps. Community members who are eager to help are fearful, in the wake of Renee Good’s killing, that they, too, may be targeted, harassed, or even killed. Our tradition repeatedly teaches us to love the stranger, remembering that we too have known the experience of being immigrants in a new land.

And alongside that horror is resolve: resolve to take action – as individuals and as a collective – to bear witness and make a difference. Right now we witness agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wreaking havoc across our state. These actions have no home here. This is not what we know to be good and right as Minnesotans across the political spectrum who protect each other, the stranger in our midst, and our shared human dignity. 

We know this moment is overwhelming and can make us feel helpless in the face of a monumental challenge. Even as we need to ensure our own physical and mental wellbeing, we can’t let our fears stop us from taking the first step of action.  We take strength from the prophet Jeremiah,

אַ֠תָּ֠ה אַל־תִּירָ֞א עַבְדִּ֤י יַֽעֲקֹב֙ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה כִּ֥י אִתְּךָ֖ אָ֑נִי

But you, have no fear, My servant Jacob —declares God— For I am with you. (Jeremiah 46:28)

There are many avenues to stand up to protect our communities and it is incumbent upon all of us to get involved. Stand With Minnesota has organized various ways to get involved and we are here to help you access resources and find paths for action.

We hope that in the days ahead, chesed, kindness, will define the way we interact with each other.  We know that all people are created in the image of God, regardless of immigration status. As we move ahead, we pray for comfort from the grief we are experiencing, courage to witness pain even when it is uncomfortable, and the resolve to take action toward building the world we want to see.  We pray: 

Ribbono Shel Olam,
Protect our cities and our state. Spread a canopy of peace and protection over all those wrongfully targeted by ICE at this moment. Strengthen those who stand beside them.
Grant sound judgment, integrity, and compassion to all who are entrusted with the responsibility of keeping our communities safe.
Help us uphold our sacred duty to care for one another, for the stranger and the needy among us. And may our cities and State be a place where people of every background and beliefs know safety, dignity, and peace.

Over the past few years, it has been a rare occurrence for me to directly relate to a controversial public issue from the Bima.

However, at this moment, I am moved by my colleagues in Minnesota as well as the leaders of the largest and most influential non-Orthodox Jewish movements and their courage to clearly speak about the disgraceful treatment of human beings in the name of American safety and freedom. 

I hope and pray that we can all – regardless of our political inclinations – allow ourselves to hear their messages. 

I want to close by referring to a quote from Rabbi Aaron Weininger, who leads a large suburban Conservative synagogue in Minnetonka. This week, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency:

“As we’re currently reading in the Torah, Moses confronts Pharoah knowing it won’t be easy, and feeling his own doubts about such an act,”  “And in doing so, the Israelites enslaved in Egypt are able to get unstuck. They’re able to taste freedom.”

“Judaism isn’t about skipping the hard parts,” “It’s about noticing the struggles for centuries that have led us to this point: slavery, persecution, destruction, exile, coming home.”

This final statement of Weininger resonates deeply with my understanding of Judaism – and quite frankly – with the plain reality of the text of the Torah:

• Judaism does not simply strive to make us feel good or affirm our choices. Rather, the purpose of Torah is to inspire us to change and to grow, to strive to become increasingly ethical as we pay close attention to the difficult aspects of human life. 

May we open our hearts to the challenging and complex realities of our contemporary world – and consider with compassion the suffering of every human being in the world – and may we pursue justice justly for citizens and immigrants alike.