January 7th: Bo
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
As we begin our study of Exodus, a number of social justice concerns present themselves. The overarching theme of the book is that of national liberation—liberation from unjust enslavement and oppression and the establishment of a society that is both just and caring. Over the next weeks of Torah study, we shall find social justice imperatives and teachings over and over again.
We begin with Parshat Bo, in which the conflict between God’s Will (“Let My people go!”) and Pharaoh’s (“Who is the Lord that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go!”) is in full swing. Pharaoh is clearly cast as the “bad guy,” but there is one disturbing twist: God has “hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers…” (Exodus 10.1) We assume that moral/immoral actors have choices, that their choices are freely made, and that moral responsibility comes from these choices. However, if God hardens Pharaoh’s heart, then how can it be fair to exact punishment? What if Pharaoh were to change his mind and decide to free the Hebrews? Would God allow this to happen?
As one can imagine, a Tradition so focused on morality and holiness could never let this issue remain unaddressed, and Jewish thinkers have wrestled with it for centuries. There are several explanations, but the one that makes the most sense to me is embedded right there in the passage: “I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his courtiers in order that I may display these My signs among them, and that you may recount in the hearing of your sons and of your children’s children how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I displayed My signs among them—in order that you may know that I am the Lord.” (Exodus 10.1-2)
There was a time over hundreds of years when Pharaoh and his ancestors were moral agents and had plenty of time for repentance. Now, however, that time is over; there are no more second chances. Now is the punishment phase, and God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and the plagues and humiliation of Egypt are the prices to be paid for the unrepented sins of enslaving and oppressing the Hebrews. Pharaoh and Egypt are no longer moral deciders; they have become object lessons for other moral deciders to consider.
For 400 years, Pharaoh and his ancestors have been oppressors. For 400 years, they have treated their subjects with cruelty and a lack of respect. For 400 years, they have resisted and refused every opportunity to rectify their mistakes and repent for their sins. There is always a reason to put off improvements and resist changes. Change can be difficult. Change can be expensive. But, there is a limit, and sins and oppression are cumulative—expanding and growing more profound as the years of evil or neglect continue.
Are there any problems like this in our lives? There are probably quite a few, but today I would like to look at the conundrum of immigration reform.
For many decades now, the economic flow of immigration has not been adequately handled by governmental systems, and the results involve millions of people considered “illegal.” They are undocumented, but they are here and working and participating. Many have been here for years, raising American children. This is not a problem that will go away. It is not even a problem we want to go away. Sending them back would be terribly disruptive on both the human and the economic levels: American industries and society have come to depend upon these millions of undocumented/illegal immigrants. As human beings, they deserve respect, but their in-between status (economically needed but legally undocumented) results in insecurity and cruelty. As citizens of the United States, we need to manage our country, but we also need to look at the realities—economic, societal, cultural, and moral—of our reality. We need to reform our bureaucratic system to find a resolution. Letting it continue will do no one any good and will continue to inflict unnecessary stress on millions of fellow human beings.
This is a problem where everyone already knows the eventual solution. As it was voiced by President George W. Bush, some kind of legal accommodation/forgiveness has to be structured for the undocumented immigrants, and our government needs to regain control of our borders. Those focused on penalties for breaking the immigration laws need to keep in mind our profound economic need for immigrant labor and treat them as welcome helpers—not as criminal usurpers. Those focused on completely open borders need to calm down and recognize the bureaucratic necessity of knowing who is here—who needs to pay taxes and who gets to vote, etc. Letting this situation fester does no one any good.
The historian Ellis Rivkin used to comment on the inherent lack of anti-Semitism at the core of Christianity. Clearly, there has been plenty of anti-Semitism among Christians, but Rivkin maintained that Christianity at its core is not an anti-Jewish religion. His proof is the absence of any concentrated effort across Christendom to rid the world of Jews. Whenever one Christian tyrant would rise and attack the Jews of his country or region, other Christian leaders would invite the Jews to come and find refuge. As bad as it has been in many places over many years, Christianity has never united in the goal of getting rid of the Jews.
Similarly, though we hear all kinds of anti-immigrant rhetoric, note the absence of any wide-spread and systematic efforts to drive out the undocumented. We could regard this as a kind of moral index for America, but I suspect the real reason is economic. Too many people would be hurt by the mass expulsion of illegal workers from the building trades, the dairy and meatpacking industries, restaurants, domestic help, and child-care. And so the rhetoric continues, and nothing really happens. Nothing happens in terms of resolving the crisis, but, in the lives of the undocumented, there is insecurity, danger, exploitation, and a profound lack of respect. This is a festering moral mess, and real suffering occurs.
While these workers did immigrate without proper legal procedures, it was economic factors that brought them here and that keep them here. They needed work, and we needed their labor—and focusing on anything other than regularizing these human beings is a distraction and for no one’s benefit. We can focus on the “breaking of the law,” but, after this many decades and this many millions of illegal immigrants, the fact is that “the law” is broken. Now, the question is: How shall we fix it?
We need to insist that our legislators fix the system and fix it now. Our hesitation and inattention have created a moral outrage, and we need to heal this open wound in our social covenant.