Obligations

I thought this post about Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar fit in rather well with my previous post.

Of particular note was the reminder here:

"Hagar. Hager, the stranger, as in

“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love them as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34)

and

“You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress them, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 22:20) 

All those verses later on in Torah about our obligation to care for the non-citizen speak of hager, the stranger. Because we too were gerim—strangers—in Egypt. 

Again, it’s not subtle.  

It’s as though the Torah is telling us:

"Sarah didn’t learn from her own experiences of exploitation—on the contrary, she then harmed another woman in almost the exact same way when she gained some power.

The mere fact of experiencing oppression is sometimes insufficient for providing the necessary empathy for others. 

So, then, after the entire Israelite people endure profound oppression, we will have to spell out very clearly that harming others is unacceptable.

Just in case suffering does not open you to empathy, to understanding of your obligation to care for vulnerable people, to the importance of wielding power responsibly, it will be made very, very explicit.” 

As a result, the Torah commands us at least thirty-six times—thirty-six! More than any commandment in the Torah--to love, care for, celebrate with, and treat-as-equals hager, the stranger/non-citizen who resides among us.

That's our job. To care for the vulnerable who came to us because home wasn't viable anymore."