Jewish academic and Hebrew scholar Irene Lancaster considers how the Torah readings ‘When you go out’ and ‘When you come in’ reflect on the Jewish people’s long history of exile and homecoming.
The two upcoming Torah readings are called ‘When you go out’ (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19) and ‘When you come in’ (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8). They are read as we approach the Jewish New Year with the festival of Rosh Hashana.
Judaism is generally a story of exoduses from every country Jews have lived in (starting with the prototype Exodus from Egypt), and the laying down of new roots elsewhere.
These temporary refuges have always, and without fail, culminated in yet more exoduses, except in one case only and that is the homecoming to the Promised Land. This is the meaning of the Torah reading ‘When you come in’, also translatable as ‘When you have arrived.’
‘When you go out’ deals with many laws and statutes. These include helping neighbours and strangers alike by returning lost objects, or storing them till the owner returns home (Deuteronomy 22).
There is the injunction against removing a mother bird from her eggs or young chicks. Rambam (Maimonides) explains that the reason for this injunction is because it is cruel to separate a mother from her young. In addition, we should avoid doing things that will destroy a species.
Ramban (Nachmanides) comments that these commandments regarding the treatment of animals and birds are meant to inculcate compassion in people. People should accustom themselves to behave mercifully wherever possible, even with species other than our own.
Deuteronomy 23 differentiates between two kinds of enemy. Ammon and Moab should be rejected because they did not help the children of Israel with simple food after their Exodus from Egypt, even though they were related through Abraham’s nephew, Lot.
By contrast, Israel should not ‘reject’ Edom or Egypt. Edom did not behave like Moab and Ammon. Even though Egypt had done irreparable harm to the children of Israel, nevertheless they had fed them and provided lodging when Jacob and his family had to stay in Egypt; these positive acts should not be forgotten. After all Israel had been ‘a sojourner (ger) in his [Egypt’s] land.’
Another topical injunction with modern resonances is the command pertaining to the siege of an enemy city: escaped slaves and prisoners must be allowed to settle in the Land of Israel.
Given the recent history of the USA, for instance, where similar situations arose in the 19th century, one can only wonder at the humanity of ancient Biblical teachings on this subject.
The passage ends (Deuteronomy 25: 17-19) with the famous injunction to ‘Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you were leaving Egypt.’ Worse even than Moab and Ammon, Amalek struck Israel from behind.
Treachery through stabbing in the back is one of the worst sins and must never be forgotten. Especially unforgivable is the fact that Amalek attacked the children of Israel for no reason ‘when you were faint and exhausted and he did not fear G-d.’
Similarities with events that took place on October 7, 2023 against the Jewish people in Israel, enabled by people who had been befriended by their Jewish neighbours, and deliberately carried out on a Jewish festival, when their guard was down, are too obvious to avoid mentioning here.
The accompanying Haftorah (Isaiah 54:1-10) encourages the children of Israel to forsake depression and despair and enter into the expansiveness and joy that will soon be the hallmark of the Jewish people.
We now come to the Torah reading for the following Shabbat: ‘When you arrive.’ This reading includes a famous passage also recited at the Pesach Seder meal (Deuteronomy 26:5): ‘An Aramean tried to destroy my forefather.’
Most commentators see this passage as Jacob describing the deceit of his uncle Laban, who cheated him and finally pursued him with the intention of killing him (Genesis 31).
However, ibn Ezra interprets the same passage differently that ‘My forefather [Jacob] was a lost [homeless and penniless] Aramean.’ This means that Jacob lived in Aram for 20 years of his life. He then descended to Egypt and became a nation which was mistreated by the Egyptians, thus initiating the Exodus which culminated in their ‘arrival’ or ‘homecoming’ into the Promised Land.
The Torah reading culminates in the blessings and curses issued by G-d dependent on the behaviour of the Jewish people in the Land.
The accompanying Haftorah (Isaiah 60:1-22) starts with the famous words: ‘Arise, shine, for your light has arrived and the glory of the Lord has shone upon you.’ Again, the root ‘ba’ is use to depict both the arrival in the Land of the Torah reading and also the prophet’s call to the Jewish people to celebrate. No longer is Jerusalem the ‘barren woman’ of the previous Haftorah but is now open to the entire world who will learn from her example:
‘Never again shall your sun set, nor shall your moon be withdrawn. For the Lord will be for you an eternal light and the days of your mourning are well and truly over (v 20).’
As Shakespeare said, we are all actors on a stage who have ‘our exits and our entrances.’ And we may indeed throughout our lives ‘play many parts (‘As You Like It’: Act II, Scene VII).’
However the Jewish people are not actors, but a special people with a mission. This mission is encapsulated in these two Torah readings from Deuteronomy, as well as the two accompanying prophetic utterances from late Isaiah. We may all live and die in our allotted time, but the Jewish people and her spirit will never be snuffed out.
