Sermons & Stories

Shabbat Shalom!

The Torah contains powerful ethical teachings that are celebrated throughout Jewish tradition: Every person was created in God’s image (Gen 1:27). Love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18). Care for those without power in society because we were strangers in Egypt (many places). The Torah is also filled with contradictions – including teachings that contradict some of these fundamental values.

In this week’s Torah portion, Behar-Bechokotai, we read:

בְּאָחִ֔יו לֹא־תִרְדֶּ֥ה ב֖וֹ בְּפָֽרֶךְ׃

regarding your brother or fellow Israelite,

no one shall rule with cruelty over another” (Lev 25:46).

These words are meant to clarify who an Israelite can own as a slave and how slaves are to be treated. While we cannot own or make a permanent slave out of a Member of the Tribe, Leviticus 25 makes it permissible to own people that come from other nations as property that could be passed down from generation to generation.

Today, many would prefer to ignore these verses, try to explain them away, or just be embarrassed by them – but we shouldn’t cover up our past just because we don’t like it. Not only are these teachings found in our Torah, back in January, 1861, the prominent New York rabbi, Rev. Morris Raphall – yes, Reverend was a generic term many rabbis adopted back in the day… I know, it’s a little weird. So Rev. Raphall used such teachings to justify the Biblical legitimacy of the institution of slavery. He explained, "I grieve to find myself saying a good word for slavery, but God and the truth must prevail!" He was not alone in his support. A number of rabbis held similar or conflicting views and many Jews were either supportive of slavery or remained silent. Rabbi David Einhorn strongly disagreed.

Einhorn was radical when it came to reforming Judaism but he was not politically active. He had left the German states in 1855 for the United States and served as the rabbi at Har Sinai Congregation in Baltimore, MD where slavery was legal. After Raphall’s sermon was published, Einhorn was so upset that he issued a point by point refutation that included the following:

“God created man in His image…A book which sets up this principle and at the same time says that all human beings are descended from the same human parents, can never approve of slavery and have it find favor in the sight of God….” In his conclusion, Einhorn wrote, “I am no politician and do not meddle in politics. But to proclaim slavery in the name of Judaism to be a God-sanctioned institution—the Jewish-religious press must raise objections to this, if it does not want itself and Judaism branded forever.”

His congregation and his community were outraged. In April, 1861, weeks after Einhorn’s sermon was delivered and published, an actual riot broke out that destroyed Einhorn’s printing press and forced him to flee his congregation and his home. He ended up resettling in Philadelphia.

We celebrate diverse opinions in Judaism. Some of those diverse opinions can be uncomfortable. Einhorn literally caused a riot that ran him out of town for opposing slavery. Chassidic Jews were excommunicated twice by the Vilna Gaon less than a hundred years earlier. And just over a month ago, the Religious Zionist Party won six seats in Israel’s most recent elections. It contains factions that oppose Israel’s justice system and LGBT rights, and support racial separation and expelling Arabs.

Such views can be much closer to home. After college, I went to work in Detroit at a civil and human rights organization. When I looked at a couple of apartments in the city, my beloved great aunt asked me, “Why do you want to go live with the shvartzahsa?” – which is a derogatory Yiddish term for black people.

Judaism teaches that every human life is equal to the entire world. Jews and Jewish teachings – including parts of our Torah - can also devalue other Jews and devalue other people. We have to acknowledge that both are a part of our past and our present.

We also have to understand that Judaism changes over time. Today, there’s no debate – we stand with Einhorn. While millions of people today remain enslaved, there is a constant battle with human traffickers. The moral consensus within Judaism and throughout the world is that slavery is wrong. It carries greater significance when we understand our history and the path that we have travelled.

Today – the ideal is widely accepted: All of humanity is sacred. All of humanity is family. The reality is that we still have work to do to reach that ideal. Through our study and our words and our deeds, we can bring about a world where every human being is treated with dignity and respect.

Shabbat Shalom!