EXOD671 The Sefer Hachinukh, in explaining the purpose of those mitzvot relating to the weak members of society, points out that "it is written, 'One may not oppress the orphan or a widow' [this verse]. One must see that all one's transactions with the widow and orphan will be charitable, merciful, and tranquil. Their rights must be respected even more than would have been the case if the husband or father was alive and involved in the transaction." (Sefer Hachinukh on Parshat Mishpatim, mitzvah 65). The Chasidic teacher Menachem Mendel of Kotsk points out that the Bible, immediately following the injunction against oppressing the orphan, uses repetitive forms of the words "oppress," "He will cry out," and "I the Lord will hear." The Rebbe explained that when an orphan complains about his oppression or his mishandling at the hands of the community, his complaint is twofold. There is the normal complaint of being hurt, but in addition to that there is a cry that he is being hurt because he is an orphan, because he has no protector, because he has no father or mother to look after his interests. Since the oppression of such people is a dual one, the Divinity's censure and His punishment will also be multiplied.

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EXOD672 When Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah was about to die, his disciples sat before him, and asked, "Rabbeinu [our teacher], teach us only one thing" (i.e., one fundamental final teaching). "He replied, 'My children, what can I teach you? Every one of you go and be very careful of the dignity of others'" Derech Eretz Rabbah, chapter 3. Preserving the dignity of orphans, and protecting them from hurt, is a deeply embedded Jewish value: for example [this and following verses]. Maimonides, in a twelfth-century form of affirmative action, rules that a teacher who has orphans among his students "should not treat them like others, but make a distinction in their favor. He should guide them gently, with the utmost of tenderness and courtesy." Laws of Character Development 6:10.

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EXOD675 See [[DEUT1406]] Deuteronomy 24:17 widow BLOCH 260-1

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EXOD676 See [[EXOD1030]] Exodus 34:6 compassion BLOCH 57-8

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EXOD673 (Continued from [[LEV715]] Leviticus 19:18 thyself SPERO 125-6) Justice applies to all. No man qua man is more than any other. The Torah, therefore, rejects double codes of morality--for yourself and for others, for the great and for the humble, for rulers and for the ruled, for individuals and for nations, for private life and for public life. "One law and one ordinance shall be both for you and for the stranger that sojourneth with you" (Numbers 15:16). The underprivileged and the defenderless in society are singled out in the Torah for special attention. "Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child…" [this verse]. Sensitive to the fact that justice requires equality and rejects all favoritism, the Torah warns us not to let our desire to help the poor lead us into a situation of reverse discrimination where we do an injustice to others: "Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause" and "thou shall not respect the person of the poor nor harm the person of the great" (Exodus 23:3 and Leviticus 19:15).

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EXOD674 It was taught: R. Akiva says: "widow and orphan" [are mentioned specifically, even though it is forbidden to afflict anyone] because they are particularly vulnerable; and Scripture speaks of the common instance (Mechilta).

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EXOD677 Morality, in Jonathan Haidt's phrase, binds and blinds. [Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion (New York: Pantheon Books, 2012)]. It binds us to others in a bond of reciprocal altruism. But it also blinds us to the humanity of those who stand outside. It unites and divides. It divides because it unites. Morality turns the "I" of self-interest into the "we" of the common good. But the very act of creating an "us" simultaneously creates a "them," the people not like us. Even the most universal of religions, founded on principles of love and compassion, have often seen those outside the faith as Satan, the infidel, the antichrist, a child of darkness, the unredeemed. They have committed unspeakable acts of brutality in the name of God. Neither Platonic knowledge nor Adam Smith's moral sense nor Kantian reason has cured the heart of darkness in the human condition. That is why two sentences blaze through Parashat Mishpatim like the sun and emerging from behind the clouds: "You must not mistreat or oppress the stranger in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once strangers in the land of Egypt" [this verse] and "You must not oppress strangers. You know what it feels like to be a stranger, for you yourselves were once strangers in the land of Egypt (Exodus 23:9). The great crimes of humanity have been committed against the stranger, the outsider, the one-not-like-us. Recognizing the humanity of the stranger has been a historic weak link in most cultures.

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EXOD678 See [[EXOD685]] Exodus 22:21 afflict TZADIK 155

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EXOD679 In short, when we are dealing with those who are weak, and of whom we can take advantage without fear of retribution, we should remind ourselves that God identifies with the weak, and turns against those who hurt them. The Bible issues a particularly strong warning against anyone who takes advantage of orphans and widows [preceding and this verse]. While there is no evidence that God actually, and on a routine basis, exacts such punishment in this world, the verse's passionate language should be sufficient to frighten all God-fearers from taking advantage of the weak.

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EXOD680 See [[LEV610]] Leviticus 19:17 reprove TZADIK 239-41

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