Israel and Humanity - Feelings of Israel against the stranger
§ 4.
FEELINGS OF ISRAEL CONCERNING THE STRANGER
We believe that close study of the dignity of the gentile situation vis-à-vis the Jewish law by posting a singular disposition of Deuteronomy, which would be incomprehensible even if the alien was despised by Moses as has been claimed.
The Constitutive Act of the Jewish monarchy contains a prohibition against surprising: that of a crowned king of Israel abroad. "You will put on you will choose a king that the LORD thy God, thou shalt take a king from among your brothers you can not give you a foreigner who is not thy brother [1]. It was necessary to justify such a warning that the idea that the Israelites were made or at least they should be in the spirit of the Pentateuch, the polytheist Gentile, was infinitely more liberal and more philosophical than that of the antiquity in general about the world. It would be even much higher than the prevailing ideas of our time in the most civilized nations, where the quality of fellow seems so essential to breathe in the royal dignity that no one imagined it could be otherwise. In which country would one find an article of the constitution to prohibit policy, as in the Pentateuch, the throne to foreigners? It certainly has been a humanitarian sentiment almost exaggerated for this was deemed necessary.
There was much discussion about the meaning of the word sheave "companion, friend, like" the Mosaic law employs several places and that is translated wrongly by "neighbor" in the famous verse: Love your sheave as yourself [2] ". But if this word has the meanings that we have just indicated, the passage does not involve leaving the non-Jewish as well as the Israelite. "Do not revenge, it is said, and not keep a grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy sheave as yourself [3] ". This is apparently not a reason that the subject changes in [4] the second half of the verse. If, as in the first, the sacred writer had only to the Israelite, this change could also superfluous and misleading word sheave would furthermore duplicate other name ahicha your brother, used to designate specifically the Jew. The examples where the term "similar, friend, companion" is also applied to non-Jewish rabbinic writings abound: "I told him: My son, do not oppress your fellow man ( sheave ) which is like your brother and your brother is like your own flesh, we learn here that it is forbidden to steal the goy [5] ".
We do not deny that the Talmudic tradition, especially legal, exclude the goy those that include the designation of sheave . But we must see under what conditions. When the Bible speaks of such beef to an owner who wounded one another, the rabbis say it is not about beef goy , because the Scriptures are uses the name of sheave . We made a charge against the Pharisees, as if they were to outlaw the Gentiles delivering their goods to the caprice and hatred of their enemies. Such a measure would provide such a blatant contradiction with the other legal provisions so benevolent that we have studied it is impossible that this is the meaning of rabbinical commentary. Do not we see also that if the injury to the animal's goy do not entitle to any compensation, it is the same, according to the law of the temple and may we say that there is evidence in these regulations, an enmity or simply an unfavorable prejudice against the Gentile, since it is treated as the administration of the shrine itself?
But that's not all. What is the Gentile who is excluded by this law of right to damages? Could this be the proselyte of justice? No, because it is considered a perfect Jew. Is this the proselyte of the gate? No more. Comments [6] establish that this is only the heathen who has not accepted the seven Noachian precepts, which therefore violates neither the property nor the life of his fellows and who thus places himself in a state of rebellion against the basic laws of humanity.
Finally, what is it exactly in the case before us? [7]. Is this a legal right from the affected owner or an act of fraternal charity towards the master of the animal, because of injury? It is this last assumption that fall commentators. It is therefore not surprising that it does not prescribe any compensation to those who do not profess himself the principles of basic morality.
We will add a word about the meaning of the word sheave is that in Exodus, it is given during the captivity of Egypt, the Egyptian himself even [8], that is to say that Israel was specifically Gentile then suffer the harshest treatment. The use of this fact and name, as well as the provision of Deuteronomy concerning the exclusion of the Gentile royal functions, proves that apart from religious considerations, the Israelites had feelings of goodwill with regard to foreigners.
