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Ger (Sojourner)

The Israelites Were Sojourners in Egypt and Life Wasn’t So Bad

“You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a sojourner in that land” (Deuteronomy 23:8). Many biblical references to Israel’s sojourn in Egypt do not mention slavery and oppression and describe how the Israelites worked their own fields, owned homes, were friendly with neighbors, and had delicious food.

Dr.

Gili Kugler

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Israelites in Egypt: Slaves or Sojourners?

The earliest biblical traditions describe Israel as sojourners who dwelt in the land of Egypt, and focused on YHWH bringing them up to the land of Canaan. The depiction of Israel as slaves in Egypt, whom YHWH brought out with a strong hand, only developed later.

Prof. Rabbi

David Frankel

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Israel’s Wood Choppers and Water Drawers

Moses extends the covenant to all of Israel, “from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water” (Deuteronomy 29). The midrash connects this group with the Gibeonites of Joshua 9, creating an anachronism which later rabbinic commentators try to resolve.

Dr. Rabbi

Wendy Love Anderson

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The Paradox of Pesach Sheni

As a historical commemoration, Passover is tied to a specific date. Nevertheless, the Torah gives a make-up date for bringing the offering a month later. Gerim, non-Israelites living among Israelites as equals, are also allowed to bring this offering, even though it wasn’t their ancestors who were freed. How do we make sense of these anomalies?  

Prof.

Steven Fraade

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Love Your Neighbor: How It Became the Golden Rule

The biblical precept “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” has long been understood in Jewish and Christian circles as universal, a transcendent principle encompassing the whole Torah. However, in Leviticus, it is actually one of many action-oriented commandments focused on Israelite social cohesion.

Prof.

John J. Collins

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The Exodus, the Alien, and the Neighbor

Prof.

Richard Elliott Friedman

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Bikkurim: How the Rabbis Made a Mitzvah for Male Landowners More Inclusive

Deuteronomy directs male landowners to bring the first fruits and recite a declaration. The Rabbis distinguish between the two parts of this commandment, including everyone in the bringing of the produce and excluding Levites, converts, and women only from the declarations. Eventually, even this exclusion largely falls by the wayside.

Rabbi

Yoseif Bloch

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Violating the Holiness of God’s Camp: The Story of the Blasphemer

In a fight with an Israelite, the son of an Egyptian man curses YHWH and is stoned to death. This story, one of only two in Leviticus, highlights a larger concern regarding the need to maintain the holiness of the camp on one hand and the rights of gerim (strangers) to live among the Israelites as equals on the other.

Dr.

Adriane Leveen

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God, Israelites and Non-Israelites: Embracing Ambivalence

A postmodern look at Deuteronomy’s view on God’s role in politics, the challenge of monotheism in biblical times, and the relative positions of Israel and her neighbors in God’s eyes.

Prof.

Adele Reinhartz

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The Import of Lex Talionis in the Story of the Blasphemer

Prof.

Shawna Dolansky

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