Immigration and Halachah
Early in the morning on Monday, May 1, hundreds, if not thousands of Americans, immigrants, and what our government deems as "illegal immigrants" will take to the streets in protest. They are fighting not just one bill, but two bills that deal with immigration policy and essentially aim to label illegal immigrants as felons under the eyes of the law.
Something does not sit right with me about this legislation. Within me I feel a shalhevet, a holy fire that causes my Jewish neshama to flame up with passion. Our sages teach us that there are three kinds of people you should welcome into your community - the Ger, the Yetom, and the Almanah (the Stranger, the Orphan, and the Widow). (Is that the right order?)
Do we consider illegal immigrants to be strangers among us? Do we have a moral or halachic obligation to take them in and give them the tools to create meaningful lives? Or is this a time when we uphold the law Dinah de'Ar'ah Dinah, the law of your land is your law?
What do you think?
Something does not sit right with me about this legislation. Within me I feel a shalhevet, a holy fire that causes my Jewish neshama to flame up with passion. Our sages teach us that there are three kinds of people you should welcome into your community - the Ger, the Yetom, and the Almanah (the Stranger, the Orphan, and the Widow). (Is that the right order?)
Do we consider illegal immigrants to be strangers among us? Do we have a moral or halachic obligation to take them in and give them the tools to create meaningful lives? Or is this a time when we uphold the law Dinah de'Ar'ah Dinah, the law of your land is your law?
What do you think?
posted by netmessiah at 2:17 AM
3 Comments:
This one Jewish woman I spoke with compared this new legislation to laws against the Jews in Nazi Germany, because it will be illegal to even help protect or hide an illegal immigrant, supposedly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/us/30rally.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Hi all--here is a link to an interesting/related article about Jews and social responsibility from the Sunday edition of the Times.
Best,
Blake
Hey Blake. Yeah, pretty much that article summed it up:
"In July 2004, the American Jewish World Service and the Holocaust Museum founded the Save Darfur Coalition, an alliance of more than 160 secular and religious groups calling for international intervention to halt the violence that has killed at least 180,000 people and displaced more than two million."
I'm proud that Jews are leading the intervention, but kind of shocked, also, that other countries and peoples don't care more. I guess it goes to show how they really feel.
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