Why Are Jews So Committed to Justice and Civil Rights Movements?

Dear Jew in the City, 

Jewish voices have long been active in civil rights movements and efforts to stand with the underdog. What sources in Jewish text or tradition do you think have most inspired this deep commitment to justice and solidarity?

Sincerely, 

Kenneth

Dear Kenneth,

Thanks for your question. I struggled very briefly with the best approach for how to address it. The first thing that occurred to me is the verse “Justice, justice you shall pursue” (Deut. 16:20). An interesting question on this verse is why the word tzedek (justice) is stated twice. After all, the Torah is known for its concise language, so extra words are noteworthy. The Ibn Ezra explains the repetition to mean that one should pursue justice (a) when it’s to his benefit and (b) even when it’s to his detriment. In other words, Judaism promotes altruism in the pursuit of justice.

Then I thought about how we are commanded to perform various acts of chesed, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and burying the dead. But our obligation in these acts of kindness is not limited to other Jews; it applies to helping non-Jews as well. This is explicit in Talmud Gittin 61a: We support needy non-Jews as we do needy Jews, we visit sick non-Jews as we do sick Jews, and we bury dead non-Jews as we do dead Jews. This extends to other acts of chesed as well. (You’ll note how Avraham zealously pursued the opportunity to extend hospitality to what he thought were three nomadic Arabs, and King David sent a party to pay a condolence call to the king of Ammon in II Samuel 10.)

But then I thought about the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world). As I discuss elsewhere, people have a tendency to misunderstand what this means, but the reality remains: we have an obligation to try to improve society.

When it comes specifically to championing on behalf of the underdog, the Torah is replete with such content. For example, the Torah cautions us in many, many places not to mistreat widows, orphans or converts. These are people who lack the support system that many others take for granted (husband, parent, and Jewish family, respectively).

Similarly, there’s a mitzvah not favor the rich and powerful in court cases (Leviticus 19:15). We can’t even extend curtesies to the influential person that are not extended to the lowlier person, such as allowing the former to sit while requiring the latter to stand. 

And, of course, there’s a mitzvah that we are not permitted to return a runaway slave to his master (Deuteronomy 23:16). This applies specifically to slave from another land seeking asylum in Israel.

As more and more potential sources occurred to me, I had an epiphany. What sources have inspired our deep commitment to justice and solidarity? The. Whole. Darn. Torah.

In the Sifra (a Midrashic work), there’s a debate as to the seminal verse in the Torah. Rabbi Akiva picks Leviticus 19:18 – love your neighbor as yourself – as the “great principle of the Torah.” That’s a beautiful thought, but not particularly surprising. More striking perhaps is Ben Azzai’s retort to that. He “tops” Rabbi Akiva by citing Genesis 5:1: “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” What’s up with that?

While it’s certainly important to love our neighbors, people tend to rationalize who their neighbor is. “He doesn’t look like me.” “She doesn’t dress like me.” “They don’t worship like me.” Depending on how you slice things, you could justify not loving anyone you deem not to be your “neighbor.”

But “This is the book of the generations of Adam” teaches an objective fact: if you go back far enough, we’re all descended from the same ancestor. We’re one big family. We’re all in this together. 

So, what texts tell us to support the underdog and fight for justice? How about all of them? I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a source that suggests otherwise.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, JITC Educational Correspondent

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