Ilustration Credit: Noa Kelner
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
עֹשֶׂ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט יָת֖וֹם וְאַלְמָנָ֑ה וְאֹהֵ֣ב גֵּ֔ר לָ֥תֶת ל֖וֹ לֶ֥חֶם וְשִׂמְלָֽה׃
God does justice for orphans and widows, and loves the ger (stranger), providing food and clothing.
In the Torah, a ger is a person from another nation who chooses to live among Benei Yisrael. Hazal often understand ger as referring to a person who converts to Judaism.
Why does God love the ger and give them extra support?
This midrash uses a מָשָׁל (mashal, parable) to explain.
לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיְתָה לוֹ צֹאן, וְהָיְתָה יוֹצֵאת בַּשָֹּׂדֶה וְנִכְנֶסֶת בָּעֶרֶב, כֵּן בְּכָל יוֹם,
פַּעַם אֶחָד נִכְנַס צְבִי אֶחָד עִם הַצֹּאן הָלַךְ לוֹ אֵצֶל הָעִזִּים הָיָה רוֹעֶה עִמָּהֶם,
נִכְנְסָה הַצֹּאן לַדִּיר, נִכְנַס עִמָּהֶם, יָצָאת לִרְעוֹת יָצָא עִמָּהֶם,
אָמְרוּ לַמֶּלֶךְ הַצְּבִי הַזֶּה נִלְוֶה עִם הַצֹּאן, וְהוּא רוֹעֶה עִמָּהֶם, כָּל יוֹם וָיוֹם יוֹצֵא עִמָּהֶם וְנִכְנָס עִמָּהֶם,
הָיָה הַמֶּלֶךְ אוֹהֲבוֹ.
בִּזְּמַן שֶׁהוּא יוֹצֵא לַשָֹּׂדֶה הָיָה מְפַקֵּד מִרְעֶה יָפֶה לִרְצוֹנוֹ, לֹא יַכֶּה אָדָם אוֹתוֹ הִזָּהֲרוּ בּוֹ,
וְאַף כְּשֶׁהוּא נִכְנָס עִם הַצֹּאן הָיָה אוֹמֵר לָהֶם תְּנוּ לוֹ וְיִשְׁתֶּה,
וְהָיָה אוֹהֲבוֹ הַרְבֵּה.
אָמְרוּ לוֹ מָרִי כַּמָּה תְּיָשִׁים יֵשׁ לָךְ כַּמָּה כְּבָשִׂים יֵשׁ לָךְ כַמָּה גְּדָיִים יֵשׁ לָךְ, וְאֵין אַתּ מַזְהִירֵנוּ, וְעַל הַצְּבִי הַזֶּה בְּכָל יוֹם וָיוֹם אַתְּ מְצַוֵּנוּ.
אָמַר לָהֶם הַמֶּלֶךְ… לֹא נַחֲזִיק טוֹבָה לָזֶה שֶׁהִנִּיחַ כָּל הַמִּדְבָּר הָרָחָב הַגָּדוֹל בִּמְקוֹם כָּל הַחַיּוֹת וּבָא וְעָמַד בֶּחָצֵר.
It’s like a king who had a flock of sheep that went out into the field and came back in the evening every day.
Once, a deer entered with the flock and went along with the goats. When they went to graze, it grazed with them. When they entered the pen, it entered with them. When they went out, it went out with them.
They told the king, “This deer is attached to the flock. Every single day, it grazes with them and goes wherever they go.”
The king loved the deer.
When it would go out to the field, he would tell the shepherd, “Give it whatever it wants to eat, and make sure no one hurts it.”
And even when it came back with the flock, the king would say to them, “Leave it and let it drink.”
The king loved the deer very much.
They said to the king, “Master, how many goats do you have? How many sheep do you have? How many young ones do you have? You don’t warn us about them, but you command us about this deer every day!”
The king explained, “...Should I not show gratitude to this deer, who abandoned the great and free pastures of its previous home to choose to join my flock in a little fenced-in yard?”
When you choose to keep the Torah, you take on restrictions and obligations that you didn’t have to keep before. For example, most people can eat almost anything they want, but the Torah expects Jewish people to keep kosher. So choosing to be Jewish is taking on a lot of responsibility and a new relationship to God and the Torah, and making that choice later in life is very different from being raised that way.
- In the midrash, what is special about the deer choosing to stay with the flock? Why does the king in the story love that so much? Why does the king feel he owes gratitude to the deer?
- What is the Torah trying to teach about people who choose to become a ger? What is the Torah teaching us about God?
- What can people who were born Jewish learn from people who choose to be Jewish? How can all Jews live up the ideal of choosing Judaism?
- How can the responsibilities of keeping the Torah be like a fence, and what are the reasons to choose to live within that fence?
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