Jewish positions on controversial social justice issues are often messy, because two of our religious values, self-interest and helping the oppressed, sometimes clash. The recent call for paying African-American reparations and questions surrounding the use of affirmative action are good examples of this battle. They raise the question: Which comes first, our ideals or our survival in an imperfect world? The devil is in the details.
On one hand, the Torah can be interpreted to say we should pay reparations for forced servitude. That’s the precedent God sets when ordering Pharoah to let the Hebrew slaves go. After warning that plagues will force Pharoah to relent, God adds a curious footnote, saying,” … that when you go, you will not go away empty-handed. Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor… objects of silver and gold, and clothing, and you shall put these on your sons and daughters, thus stripping the Egyptians.”
Some commentators challenge the translation of the Hebrew word for “borrow,” suggesting it can also mean “ask for” or “take.” Nine chapters later, Torah tells us that is exactly what happens. The former slaves strip their neighbors of their valuables, creating the principle of paying reparations for forced labor.
This principle pops up again when biblical law requires a Hebrew slaveholder to give his emancipated slaves the financial wherewith all from the flock, threshing floor and vat to start over. This verse leaves little doubt about what Jewish law demands. (Dt.15:12)
Our actions reflected in our postwar Holocaust requests for reparations from the West German government further proves this point. Since 1953, Germany has paid $85 billion dollars in reparations to Holocaust refugees and the State of Israel. How then can we oppose paying restitution for African American slavery?
Sadly, the answer to that question is complicated. Professor Emeritus Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann, of Wilfrid Laurier University, writes that the circumstances surrounding American slavery are different from those pertaining to the Holocaust. The Holocaust occurred within living historical memory, affected an identifiable number of victims and perpetrators, unfolded within a short period of time, and involved a somewhat verifiable monetary claim. But not so with slavery. It ended over 150 years ago, so how do you know who, how much, and for how long to pay slavery’s descendants?
Affirmative action was created to address these questions. Since you cannot move backwards in time, affirmative action was designed to pay it forward for all African Americans today. The concept is that by giving them special advantages in employment and college admissions now, we can compensate them for the opportunities taken from them in the past.
But trying to fix one inequity by replacing it with another often creates new ones. Some groups come out as winners. Others, not so much.
Quotas in hiring and college admissions for designated groups has never been kind to Jews. We inevitably find ourselves on the wrong side of the equation. In the 1920s and ’30s we were denied entry because we represented an undesirable minority. Now we chance being excluded from universities for being part of the oppressive, legacy majority.
What then is a Jew to do when our moral obligations conflict with our self-interest? Leviticus 18:5 provides a road map for deciding. It reads, “You shall keep my decrees … that a person will do and live by them, I am God.” Some rabbis interpret that to mean that our moral obligation to enrich life comes first, and only if doing so truly puts our lives in danger should we choose self-interest. Where reparations and affirmative action fall on that continuum is a personal choice that should not be taken lightly. Remember, we are a People who were once slaves in Egypt.