TORAH STUDY for VaYishlach–Jacob as “Jews”; Esau as “non-Jews”

(taught by Rabbi Sacks on November 20, 2021)

In today’s haftarah, the prophet Obadiah uses what is called typology. Typology is the doctrine or study of types or prefigurative symbols, especially in scriptural literature. That is, Obadiah presents Jacob and Esau, he does not see them as actual people. Rather they are types; they are symbols. In Obadiah, Jacob is not Jacob, but the entire Jewish people; and Edom is not Edom (Esau), but Rome, Christianity and, by extension, all gentiles.

So, what does Obadiah say about non-Jews. Let’s look at an early and later passage.

Thus said my G!d HaShem concerning Edom:

“I will make you least among nations,

You shall be most despised.” (1:1c-1:2)

And no survivor shall be left of the House of Esau. (v. 18c) 

Clearly Obadiah does not like Edomites. It’s unclear if Obadiah actually met an Edomite. But his statement that G!d wants the Edomites to be the most despised people is not a statement that well represents a G!d of chesed, of loving kindness. It is unclear what good can come from such a statement. Even more so, Obadiah expresses the conviction–perhaps his hope–that no Edomite shall be alive. This kind of “prophecy” is problematic, not only because it is devoid of chesed. It lumps all Edomites together. It also seems to suggest, at best, that every Edomite should be judged not by what they have done or said, but merely because they might do or say something that Obadiah deems bad. Worse, it might be that Obadiah doesn’t like Edomites so much that it doesn’t matter if Edomites are wonderful people; he doesn’t like them and so they must be condemned.

I bring this to your attention because next week we begin Thanksgiving. We have entered that part of our secular calendar year, when there are often a lot more interfaith gatherings–formal and informal. Most of us today, unlike Obadiah, live in very mixed neighborhoods. We have people of all kinds of backgrounds and allegiances who inhabit our cities, work in our economy, attend our schools, etc.

What does Judaism have to say about our relations with non-Jews. First, let’s admit that there in our more than 4,000-year old tradition, there is a strain in it that is anti-gentile. Some of this arose in times of persecution, some is based on superstition or ignorance, and some is just overzealous pride and contempt of anyone who is different. From Judah HaLevi of the Golden Age of Spain to the Zohar and to Tanya (the major text of Chabad), one can find negativity toward non-Jews.

On the other hand, let’s also acknowledge that this thread does not a garment make. Mainstream Judaism has always recognized the tzelem Elokim, the godliness, that resides in every person; that no one tradition has a monopoly on morals, ethics, or righteousness. Even in the face of persecutions in various ages, mainstream traditions rose above an impulse toward vindictiveness or chauvinism.

We in the Conservative Movement have formally and forcefully disavowed our Judaism from any prejudice or ill will against non-Jews.

So let’s look at some mainstream Jewish writings about non-Jews.

Text #1: Tana deVei Eliyahu 284

The heathen is your neighbor and your sibling. To wrong him or her is to sin.

Question: Isn’t this obvious? Why might this need to be stated?

Question: Are there differences in your mind between such terms as “heathen,” “idolater,” “Gentile,” “non-Jew,” and/or Christian?

Text #2: JT, Demai 24a (= Avodah Zarah 39c)

A city in which Gentiles and Israelites live,

the collectors of funds collect from Israel and from Gentiles,

support the poor of Israelites and the poor of Gentiles.

support the brides of Gentiles and the brides of Israel….

visit the sick of Israelites as well as the sick of Gentiles,

bury the dead of Israelites as well as the dead of Gentiles,

console Israelites mourners as well as the mourners among the Gentiles.

Question: Would it be practical or advisable to have one set of morals for Jews and another for non-Jews?

Question: What applications do you see this passage as having for us?

Text #3: Tosefta, Baba Kamma 10:8

חמור גזל הנכרי מגזל ישראל מפני חילול השם.

Stealing from a non-Jew is worse than stealing from a Jew because it entails “chillul HaShem,” “desecration of G!d’s Name/Essence.”

Question: Do you agree? Why or why not?

Text #4: BT, Avodah Zarah 3a

היה רבי מאיר אומר מנין שאפילו עובד כוכבים ועוסק בתורה שהוא ככהן גדול תלמוד לומר (ויקרא יח, ה) אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם כהנים לוים וישראלים לא נאמר אלא האדם הא למדת שאפילו עובד כוכבים ועוסק בתורה הרי הוא ככהן גדול

Rabbi Meir used to teach: From where do we derive the concept that an idol worshiper who engages in (acts of) Torah is (considered) like the High Priest?

The text (Leviticus 18:5) states, “which a person should do and live by them.” The terms “priests,” “Levites,” and “Israelites” are not used; rather, “person” is.

Thus we learn that even an idol worshiper who engages in (acts of) Torah is (considered) like the High Priest!

Comment: Notice that this text states that non-Jews who do an “act of Torah”–some kindness, some goodness, are like the High Priest, the most honored and exalted public figure of Judaism in rabbinic times.

Question: Can you describe an act of kindness that a non-Jew has done either for you personally or for Jews generally?

Question: How do we honor non-Jews who live well? [One idea: Think of how Yad VaShem honors Righteous Gentiles.]

We won’t have time to unpack the last text on your sheet. It is a short excerpt from the official statement of principles of the Conservative Movement from 1988. Please do read it when you have time. If you are watching via YouTube and would like to get a copy of this, please Email me!

Text #5: Emet Ve-Emunah, STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES OF CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM (1988), Relations with Other Faiths

…As Conservative Jews, we acknowledge without apology the many debts which Jewish religion and civilization owe to the nations of the world. We eschew triumphalism with respect to other ways of serving God. Maimonides believed that other monotheistic faiths — Christianity and Islam — serve to spread knowledge of, and devotion to, the God and the Torah of Israel throughout the world. Many modern thinkers, both Jewish and gentile, have noted that God may well have seen fit to enter covenants with many nations. Either outlook, when relating to others, is perfectly compatible with a commitment to one’s own faith and pattern of religious life.

…But all of these relationships, properly pursued, can bring great blessing to the Jewish community and to the world. As the late Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel put it, “no religion is an island.”

Theological humility requires us to recognize that although we have but one God, God has more than one nation. Our tradition explicitly recognizes that God entered into a covenant with Adam and Eve, and later with Noah and his family as well as His special covenant with Abraham and the great revelation to Israel at Sinai. It is part of our mission to understand, respect, and live with the other nations of the world, to discern those truths in their cultures from which we can learn, and to share with them the truths that we have come to know.

As we share Thanksgiving with our fellow citizens, let us strive to join hands with them in rendering thanks that we live in a country that has religious freedom and so much diversity. Let us strive to live peaceably with all, and work together with our non-Jewish family, friends, and neighbors to build a world that better reflects a G!d of love, a G!d of peace. Amen.

Shabbat Shalom!