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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EXOD681 See [[EXOD661]] Exodus 22:21 afflict SEFER 43-4

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EXOD682 See [[EXOD662]] Exodus 22:21 afflict CCCBM 143

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EXOD683 See [[EXOD685]] Exodus 22:24 act TZADIK 155

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EXOD684 Individual reward and punishment. The Torah also promises retribution on an individual basis. For instance, Israelites are prohibited from oppressing the widow and fatherless, lest the cry of the abused provoke God's rage, and God "will put you to the sword and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans" [this verse]. Deuteronomy assures the Israelites that if he distributes the tithes of his produce to the widow, fatherless, stranger, and Levite (the priests), "the Lord your God may bless you and all the enterprises you undertake" (Deut 14:29). Generosity to the newly released slave similarly brings God's blessing (Deut 15:10) [?-AJL], and he who releases a mother bird and takes only her young is rewarded with an extended lifespan (Deut 22:7). Honoring parents and using honest weights and measures in commercial transactions is recompensed with "enduring long on the soil that the Lord your God is giving you (Exod 20:12, Deut 5:16, 25:15); here the reward may be individual or collective. Regarding the Decalogue's assertion that God visits "the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those who reject Me" (Exodus 20:5, Deut 5:9), Deuteronomy warns the transgressor that he cannot hope to escape punishment himself (Deut 7:10). (Emphasis upon individual (rather than collective or transgenerational) punishment is found in Ezekiel 18:2-4; Jeremiah 31:29–30.) [For author's discussion of "Collective reward and punishment," see [[EXOD332]] Exodus 19:6 nation OXFORD 38] (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)

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