Diversity

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Love the Stranger

TANAKH

The Torah commands us to treat strangers with kindness and equality, reminding us of our own history as strangers in Egypt. Leviticus emphasizes the ethical treatment of strangers, equating them to citizens and promoting empathy and inclusivity.

When strangers reside with you in your land, you shall not wrong them. The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I יהוה am your God.

Leviticus 19:33-34

The Harmony of Diversity

COMMENTARY

Shalom is not just the absence of conflict but the harmonious integration of diversity into a perfect system. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his "Covenant and Conversation" series, explores the profound Jewish concept of peace and harmony.

In a long analysis, the fifteenth-century Spanish Jewish commentator Rabbi Isaac Arama explains that shalom does not mean merely the absence of strife. It means completeness, perfection, the harmonious working of a complex system, integrated diversity, a state in which everything is in its proper place and all is at one with the physical and ethical laws governing the universe: “Peace is the thread of grace issuing from Him, may He be exalted, stringing together all beings, supernal, intermediate, and lower. It underlies and sustains the reality and unique existence of each.”

Covenant and Conversation; Numbers; The Wilderness Years, Nasso, Pursuing Peace 7

Emulating Divine Compassion

MUSAR

Internalizing love for all people, including evildoers, by focusing on their good qualities and recognizing their inherent worth, can transform our interactions and society. Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s 16th-century Kabbalistic ethical work, Tomer Devorah, teaches us to emulate God's attributes, particularly compassion and love for others.

The second: He [should] accustom himself to internalize the love of people into his heart - and even the evildoers - as if they were his brothers, and even more than this; until he fixes the love of all people into his heart. And he [should] even love the evildoers in his heart and say, "Who will give that they all be righteous penitents, and all be great ones and desirable to the Omnipresent," like the statement of the trusted friend of all of Israel. He stated (Numbers 11:29), "and who will give that all of the people of the Lord be prophets…

Tomer Devorah 2:23

The Mystical Origins of the Mixed Multitude

KABBALAH

The 'mixed multitude' (Erev Rav) that left Egypt with the Israelites raises questions about their diverse origins and the implications of their backgrounds. The Zohar, a foundational Kabbalistic text, delves into the mystical interpretations of the Torah, including the identities and roles of the Erev Rav.

‘AND WHEN THE PEOPLE SAW THAT MOSES DELAYED (boshesh) TO COME DOWN OUT OF THE MOUNT. The word “people” denotes the “mixed multitude”. And who were the “mixed multitude”? Were they Lydians, Ethiopians, or Cyprians? Were they not all Egyptians, and did they not all come from Egypt? If they had consisted of a mixture of many different nations, would not the plural verb ‘alu (went up) have been used instead of the singular ‘ala (Ex. 12, 38)?

Zohar, Ki Tisa 11:59

Halakhic Pluralism in Modern Israel

HALAKHAH

The modern State of Israel faces significant challenges in balancing halakhic practices between Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions. A. Yehuda Warburg explores the debates over whether to aim for uniformity or promote communal diversity in halakhic practice.

The institutional legitimatization of halakhic pluralism poses great challenges in the modern State of Israel. Given the differing traditions of the Ashkenazic and Sephardic communities, how is halakhic practice to be structured for the citizenry? Ought the goal be to establish uniformity of practice or to promote communal diversity? Is either goal attainable at present? While some have advocated the need to maintain halakhic diversity, others argue that the mara de-atra(s) of the Land of Israel ought to be Rambam and/or R. Karo.

Rabbinic Authority I, Part I; Rabbinic Authority; The Vision, Chapter 1; Towards Defining the Concept of Rabbinic Authority; A Contemporary Analysis 48

The Diverse Origins of Humanity

TARGUM

The creation of humanity from diverse elements underscores the intrinsic diversity within the very formation of man by God. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, an Aramaic translation and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, elaborates on the creation of Adam, emphasizing the sanctity and diversity of his origins.

And the Lord God created man in two formations; and took dust from the place of the house of the sanctuary, and from the four winds of the world, and mixed from all the waters of the world, and created him red, black, and white; and breathed into his nostrils the inspiration of life, and there was in the body of Adam the inspiration of a speaking spirit, unto the illumination of the eyes and the hearing of the ears.

Targum Jonathan on Genesis 2:7

The Diversity of Israel's Tribes

COMMENTARY

Each individual within the people of Israel has a unique and essential role, contributing to the nation's collective journey and identity. In the Torah portion 'Vayechi,' Jacob's blessings to his sons highlight the diversity of missions and perspectives within the future tribes of Israel.

Jacob looks out at his sons and sees that the people that will come out from them/him encompasses many varied strengths, and that each one of his sons represents differing inner tribal pieces, differing communities; an assortment of cultural phenomena, and social classes that will exist within the Jewish people. This observation is his blessing to them, a blessing for the road: You should know that each one of you has an important task within the Jewish people, each one of you is a touchstone for a particular approach and perspective.

Karati Bekhol Lev, Vayechi 5:14

The Dream and Reality of Jerusalem

HALAKHAH

The personal and emotional journey of feeling foreign and different as an Ethiopian Jew offers a profound reflection on the contrast between the dream of Jerusalem and its reality. Rabbi Sharon Shalom, an Ethiopian Jew, shares his experiences and insights, highlighting the sense of otherness felt both in Ethiopia and in Israel.

When I arrived in Israel, there were very few Ethiopian Jews in the country, and I felt foreign and strange. I had the constant feeling that people were looking at me, thinking I was a character who had come out of a popular Israeli children’s book, The Little Black Boy Goes to Kindergarten. I felt different, foreign. I remembered that feeling of otherness from when I was still in Ethiopia, from the other side of the coin. When a representative of the Jewish Agency came to our village, we considered him a feregi – a foreigner…

From Sinai to Ethiopia, Introduction, From Dream to Reality 18

The Purpose of Physical Diversity

TALMUD

Physical diversity among people serves a moral and practical purpose, preventing the wicked from falsely claiming ownership of others' possessions or relationships. This baraita from Tractate Sanhedrin explains why people's faces are not similar, supported by a verse from Job 38:15.

The baraita asks: And for what reason are their faces not similar to one another? The baraita answers: It is so that a man will not see a beautiful home or a beautiful woman and say: She is mine. If all people looked the same, no one could contradict him. As it is stated in the following verse: “And from the wicked their light is withheld and the high arm shall be broken” (Job 38:15), indicating that the reason people look different from one another is to prevent the wicked from succeeding in their plans.

Sanhedrin 38a:11

Embracing Our Differences

COMMENTARY

The division into Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry is a positive and healthy expression of the legitimate variety within the Jewish nation. Rabbi Chaim Jachter explores how mutual respect and a shared commitment to Torah and tradition can turn diversity into a strength rather than a source of tension.

Our division into Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry should not be seen as an unwanted relic and legacy of the many years of the Exile. Rather, it is a healthy expression of the legitimate variety within our nation. As long as Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews maintain a commitment of reverence and esteem for each other, and a commitment to the Torah and the Mesorah (tradition), the diversity will not serve as a source of tension, but rather as a fulfillment of the Messianic vision for our people.

From David to Destruction, The Rise and Fall of Shlomo HaMelech, Variations in Sephardic and Ashkenazic Practice after the Mashi'ach 17

Unifying Leadership

COMMENTARY

Humanity's inherent diversity requires unifying leadership to ensure social order and harmony. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his commentary on Deuteronomy, explores the necessity of leadership in maintaining societal cohesion amidst human diversity.

Man is, as you know, the highest form in creation, and he therefore includes the largest number of constituent elements. This is why the human race contains so great a variety of individuals that we cannot discover two persons exactly alike in any moral quality or in external appearance.... This great variety and the necessity of social life are essential elements in man’s nature. But the well-being of society demands that there should be a leader able to regulate the actions of man…

Covenant and Conversation; Deuteronomy; Renewal of the Sinai Covenant, Ha'Azinu, Let My Teaching Drop as Rain 11

The Equality of Creation

JEWISH THOUGHT

All humans are equal because we all descend from a single act of creation by the One God. This teaching from the Talmud emphasizes the equality of all humans, a central theme in Jewish thought and ethics.

The rabbis in the Talmud were expressing the same thoughts in the midrashic style when they remarked: “Why was man created alone?” (Or, as we may paraphrase the question: Why does, according to the Torah, only one Adam stand at the beginning of human history?) And the answer is given: “So that no man may say to his fellow: My father was greater than your father (and therefore, being of nobler descent, I am superior to you).” The equality of the human race is established by its issuance from the one act of creation by the One God.

Major Themes in Modern Philosophies of Judaism, CHAPTER 5; Reconstructionist Theology; A Critical Evaluation 2:39

Loving the Newcomer

SECOND TEMPLE

Philo of Alexandria emphasizes the profound integration of newcomers into the Jewish community, urging members to love them as themselves, fostering unity and shared identity. Philo, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, harmonizes Jewish theology with Greek philosophy, reflecting the Jewish diaspora's engagement with surrounding cultures.

[103] He commands all members of the nation to love the incomers, not only as friends and kinsfolk but as themselves both in body and soul: in bodily matters, by acting as far as may be for their common interest; in mental by having the same griefs and joys, so that they may seem to be the separate parts of a single living being which is compacted and unified by their fellowship in it.

On the Virtues 20:2

Celebrating Diversity and Gratitude

TOSEFTA

The Tosefta highlights the unique individuality and diversity of people, emphasizing the differences in their faces and minds, and the importance of gratitude for the contributions of others. This ancient compilation of Jewish oral law, the Tosefta, underscores the values of appreciation and humility by recognizing the efforts of others in providing for one's needs.

[A person] who sees large crowds2 [of people] should say [the following Beracha (blessing):] Baruch [Ata Hashem Eloheinu Melech Haolam] Chacham Harazim (Blessed are You Hashem, our God, King of the world, Who is wise [to know] secrets), because their faces are not similar to each other and their minds are not similar to each other. When Ben Zoma saw large crowds [of people] on the Temple Mount he said, “Blessed be the One who created all of these [people] to serve me. How much the first man toiled before he tasted [even] one mouthful? He planted [grain], ploughed, reaped, bound sheaves…

Tosefta Berakhot 6:5

Embracing Diversity Through Interfaith Kindness

JEWISH THOUGHT

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks shares personal experiences of interfaith kindness and tolerance, demonstrating the lasting positive impact of these encounters on his views of diversity. In his modern commentary on the traditional Passover Haggadah, Rabbi Sacks reflects on themes of freedom, redemption, and the role of Jews in building modern civilization.

An autobiographical note: I grew up in Christian Britain and went to Christian schools (in those days, Jewish day schools were rare). I experienced nothing but kindness from my teachers and friends. Those days left an enduring impression on me. They taught me admiration for a faith that was not and will never be my own. They showed me that deep and abiding tolerance is possible and has surpassing beauty. They helped me form friendships in later life with Christian leaders and others from other faiths – Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Zoroastrian, and Bahai – which I cherish…

The Jonathan Sacks Haggadah; Essays, Not Only One 14

The Mosaic of Jewish Diversity

COMMENTARY

The modern State of Israel is a melting pot of Jews from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explores the rich tapestry of Jewish diversity, reflecting on the historical migrations and diasporas that have shaped the Jewish population in Israel today.

The modern State of Israel is built on a vast panoply of ethnicities – Ashkenazic, Sephardic, Jews from Eastern, Central, and Western Europe, Spain and Portugal, Arab lands, Russia, Ethiopia, America, South Africa, Australia, and other places, some hasidic, some yeshiva-ish, others “modern,” others “traditional,” yet others secular and cultural.

Studies in Spirituality; A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, Masei; The Complexity of Human Rights 14

Loving the Stranger

MIDRASH

Loving the stranger is as important as loving fellow Jews, rooted in the shared experience of being strangers in Egypt. The early midrashic commentary Sifra on Leviticus emphasizes this commandment by reminding us of our shared experience as strangers in Egypt.

4) "shall be to you the stranger that lives among you. And you shall love him as yourself." Just as it is written of Jews (Vayikra 19:18) "and you shall love your fellow as yourself," so is it written of proselytes "and you shall love him as yourself." "for you were strangers in the land of Egypt": Know the soul of the strangers, for you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt."

Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 8 4

A man holding the four species of Sukkot; the four species symbolize the unity and interdependence of diverse groups within Israel. From the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection

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