This week’s Parasha brings our people to the covenantal and crowning moment of our earliest commitment of faith.  Mishpatim defines the moral, just and holy society that was expected of the Israelites going forward.  By setting forth the civil and criminal laws of the time, humanitarian expectations, and God’s commandments; our ancestors were assured safety in the face of their enemies in their quest to maintain a relationship with the divine.

Mishpatim reminds us that each of us was created in the image of God. It is for this reason that we are obligated to not only live our lives with civility and divinity, but with humanity as well.  We were promised that our enemies in the land of Israel would be “drive(n) out before you little by little, until you have increased and possess the land”.   Exodus 23:33 clearly states we shall be the sole inhabitants of the land for the safety of our relationship with God.  “They shall not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me.”  We were not just promised land - we were promised individual protection and that as a society.  In 23:22, we are assured “I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.” However, Mishpatim also teaches us that our pursuit of both individual and societal safety cannot be detached from the responsibility to protect the rights of others. 

While a portion of the Parasha directs the Israelites how to govern strangers, slaves and adversaries, it also teaches us how to oversee those foreign to us while preserving and protecting their rights.  Strangers were not to be oppressed, slaves were to be given opportunities for freedom, decision making and dignity, and enemies’ property was to be respected.  “When you encounter your enemy’s ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him.”   In fact, freedom and individual rights were so important that the crime of kidnapping was punishable by death.

We are taught to protect the safety and security of those who are less fortunate or have little control over their own lives.  Widows, orphans and women seduced without a bride-price were to be given appropriate considerations. Clothing that had been borrowed should be returned before sunset as it may be the sole covering for that person to sleep in.  We were even assured a safe haven for someone who had killed another by accident or circumstances beyond their control.  God’s directives to protect one’s safety are clearly spelled out:  “…for I am compassionate.”

Throughout the ages, personal and societal security and safety have been both forsaken and sacrificed for the desires of others.  Our ancestors have been victims of horrible atrocities and the stories of their lives and injustices live through us.   As Jews, we watch with trepidation as events threatening the stability of our homeland unfold in Israel.  Terrorist attacks continue within Israel.  Rockets are beginning again to be fired into Israel.  Earlier this week we heard that ISIS had captured land in Syria not far from the Israel border.  As American Jews we continue to feel the uneasiness that surrounds us as we hear this week, for the fifth time in as many weeks that Jewish Community Centers and institutions are being threatened state by state and we worry about safety for ourselves and our children.  And as Americans we have real as well as perceived enemies whom many continue to see as a threat to the security of our country.

In Mishpatim, God promises us secure borders.  In fact, the borders of our promised land are very clearly defined.  But circumstances have changed since the times of Moses and depending on your political stance, God’s promise of secure borders may or may not include keeping out those who some deem a threat to our safety or security.  While I was referring to Israel, I could repeat the exact same sentence about the US.  Depending on your political stance, the promise of secure borders may or may not include keeping out those who some deem a threat to our safety or security. 

It’s hard to believe that we live in such uncertain times.  However, Mishpatim reminds us that despite the need to protect ourselves, we must balance that need with the moralities and personal freedoms of others.  Mishpatim imparts the perseverance one must have for the protection of the rights of foreigners and others who have less control of their own lives.  I am sure each of us here today has family, friends or acquaintances that are living in fear of their liberties and freedoms being revoked because of perceived threats to others within our society.  Whether the civil liberties of the LGBT community, constitutional rights of women or the human right of immigrants seeking a better life for their families; we as a community have the responsibility to protect those individual rights – and to protect those individuals.

While it would be easy to talk about the present day fragility of women’s rights, the bilateral arguments for the imposed/rejected/soon to be proposed travel bans, the ongoing deportation efforts in Chicago and elsewhere, or the fears that many young Jewish people including my own daughter face today in the US; I want to instead talk about the impact that we can and should have on the lives of others.

I organized a medical mission to Israel a year ago November for physicians from North America.  During that trip we had the opportunity to visit several hospitals throughout the county including those that have underground and self-contained emergency rooms that would serve in the event of a nuclear or biological event.  We saw a parking garage that was designed to be converted to operating rooms within hours of a disaster. We saw advanced technology that was decades ahead of what we have here in the US.  But what made the most impression on me was what I saw in a rundown basement section of the Western Galilee Hospital.  We had been told that Israel has been quietly bringing in Syrian civilians, fighters and refugees by the IDF for humanitarian medical care at this particular hospital.  The hospital administrator explained to us that the medical staff asks no questions as to who they are or why they were chosen to be brought in for treatment.  These individuals are treated and if appropriate, returned to Syria without any evidence that they were treated in Israel as they may face retribution for being in Israel - even if they were brought in while unconscious.  The hospital takes such extreme precautions that if medical devices or prosthetics are needed for these patients they are brought in from other countries so there is no indication that they were in Israel.  I will never forget the image of the rundown section of the basement we saw while walking between two very busy departments with high tech equipment, ongoing medical action and surgical steel.  As we descended to the basement and turned a corner, we saw seven or eight injured Syrian men sitting together on broken hospital beds and old chairs smoking cigarettes, talking and laughing with one another.   Their white hospital gowns, the white bedding of the old hospital beds and the peeling white paint of the basement walls were in such contrast to the not only the high tech department we had just walked through but also to their dark hair, dark skin and the cigarette smoke of the calm, quiet moments of refuge in these individuals’ lives. 

While some such humanitarian efforts are not widely publicized, others have made the news and spread through social media.  On Facebook, I heard about the Buses of Angels bringing injured and sick Syrian civilians into neighboring countries such as Israel, Jordan, & Turkey to be treated.  This initiative was the founded by an American-Israeli businessman and philanthropist who has donated considerable money and time providing support for the Syrian opposition.  More recently we have read that Israel is giving asylum to 100 Syrian orphans and integrating them into Arab Israeli families. 

Here at home, a silver lining may have resulted from our recent presidential election.  We are all certainly aware of the rallies, protests and legislative campaigns that have taken place in the US over the last several weeks bringing individuals together to fight for what many believe to be moral and just causes.  Moreover, US Jewish-Muslim relations have certainly strengthened by not only the heartfelt Jewish outcry to the Muslim travel ban; but also by the overwhelming response of the Muslim community to financially support the repair of the Chesed Shel Emeth cemetery in St. Louis.  How timely that this outpouring of compassion occurred during the week of Mishpatim.

Locally, Anshe Emet awaits the arrival of a refugee family whom we, as a community will be assisting in multiple ways.  I am pleased and proud to announce that the Anshe Emet Sisterhood has taken on the responsibility of providing volunteers to set up and organize the apartment for this family prior to their arrival.  We are thrilled to be able to join Anshe Emet in supporting this refugee family. 

The responsibility of ensuring human rights and safety to refugees and citizens alike are incumbent upon all of us – both as individuals and as a community.  Granted, border security and safety of a society must be a priority both here and in Israel; but as Mishpatim teaches us, not at the expense of human decency, respect and ensuring dignity of those that may be strangers, foreigners or those falsely perceived as enemies.