Dear Friends,
In the history of human civilization, peoples migrate. And, studies consistently show that migrating individuals, families, and whole communities depart from places of oppression or inopportunity to seek places of refuge or opportunity. It is common sense.
Studies of Jewish communal shifts show nearly the same: we leave places of religious or political unwelcome and seek new places of openness and economic prospects. In the 1490’s, we left Iberia due to the Spanish Inquisition and the edict of Ferdinand and Isabella, and we sought new homes in the Mediterranean Basin and Europe. In the 1890’s we left the poverty of the Czarist Pale of Settlement and headed to the Goldineh Medinah – America. In the 1940’s we departed from hostile Arab nations and resettled in the new country of Israel. And in 1350 BCE, Moses famously confronted Pharaoh and demanded, “Let my people go!”
This week’s Torah portion describes that confrontation, and God’s initial plagues upon Egypt for mistreating and impeding the rightful migration of our people.
It is fascinating that plagues come when people are denied the right to relocate. Just note the historic fates of nations who inhibited our forebears: Ancient dynastic Egypt was destroyed. The Golden age of Spain collapsed. Czarist Russia is no more (though Putin is seeking a resurrection.) Most of the Arab states from which Jews fled in 1947-49, including Iraq, Iran, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, and later Ethiopia and Sudan, have foundered, at best.
And, of no less import, note that the countries to which we migrated over history all prospered: Holland, England, America, Israel, and more. Why? Motivated, skilled, intelligent, and courageous immigrants bring those talents and characteristics with them, develop economies, and leave their previous homes depleted. In the 1990’s, the Jewish emigration from the USSR amounted to a massive brain drain; ex-Soviet PhD’s were driving taxis in Tel Aviv until they built new start-up industries.
Hence, it is telling that today’s American administration has failed to learn from history. It is espousing a xenophobic populism by suppressing the free and vital movement of motivated peoples, and it is at risk of succumbing to the same fate of other foundered nations which hindered worthy migration. Foolish.
Paraphrasing the exhortation of our Torah portion: Let my people go! Let people come!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
In the history of human civilization, peoples migrate. And, studies consistently show that migrating individuals, families, and whole communities depart from places of oppression or inopportunity to seek places of refuge or opportunity. It is common sense.
Studies of Jewish communal shifts show nearly the same: we leave places of religious or political unwelcome and seek new places of openness and economic prospects. In the 1490’s, we left Iberia due to the Spanish Inquisition and the edict of Ferdinand and Isabella, and we sought new homes in the Mediterranean Basin and Europe. In the 1890’s we left the poverty of the Czarist Pale of Settlement and headed to the Goldineh Medinah – America. In the 1940’s we departed from hostile Arab nations and resettled in the new country of Israel. And in 1350 BCE, Moses famously confronted Pharaoh and demanded, “Let my people go!”
This week’s Torah portion describes that confrontation, and God’s initial plagues upon Egypt for mistreating and impeding the rightful migration of our people.
It is fascinating that plagues come when people are denied the right to relocate. Just note the historic fates of nations who inhibited our forebears: Ancient dynastic Egypt was destroyed. The Golden age of Spain collapsed. Czarist Russia is no more (though Putin is seeking a resurrection.) Most of the Arab states from which Jews fled in 1947-49, including Iraq, Iran, Tunisia, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, and later Ethiopia and Sudan, have foundered, at best.
And, of no less import, note that the countries to which we migrated over history all prospered: Holland, England, America, Israel, and more. Why? Motivated, skilled, intelligent, and courageous immigrants bring those talents and characteristics with them, develop economies, and leave their previous homes depleted. In the 1990’s, the Jewish emigration from the USSR amounted to a massive brain drain; ex-Soviet PhD’s were driving taxis in Tel Aviv until they built new start-up industries.
Hence, it is telling that today’s American administration has failed to learn from history. It is espousing a xenophobic populism by suppressing the free and vital movement of motivated peoples, and it is at risk of succumbing to the same fate of other foundered nations which hindered worthy migration. Foolish.
Paraphrasing the exhortation of our Torah portion: Let my people go! Let people come!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
