ISSUES OF FAITH: Passover, immigration and freedom
Published 1:30 am Friday, April 3, 2026
JEWS ALL OVER the world are now celebrating Passover, where we relive the story of fleeing slavery from the Egyptian Pharaoh. We are reminded that God “took us out of the land of Egypt” and of the admonition that “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourself been strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9).
Rabbi Michael Strassfeld says, “We know how easy it is to depersonalize the stranger, to be tempted to treat the stranger as less than us” (A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice). Hating “the other” can itself become a form of slavery.
The Torah repeats over and over that we must not oppress the stranger, possibly more than any other commandment. Why? Because “Power makes it easy to forget what it feels like to be vulnerable. Because systems can normalize cruelty faster than individuals realize what they are participating in” (Rabbi Shmuly Yankowitz).
“You shall not oppress the stranger” has echoed across generations, and yet, here we are. Our country is now investing tens of billions of dollars to expand immigration detention by converting massive industrial warehouses into places to hold human beings. Spaces are being reshaped to confine thousands of people at a time, designed to detain and deport at an unprecedented scale.
Many of these facilities are run as for-profit entities, so we are literally warehousing human beings while owners of the centers make millions. Members of Congress who have gone inside these facilities to inspect them report horrific conditions, including families with children who are suffering. Rampant disease and deaths have occurred.
Judaism insists that every human being is created b’tzelem Elochim … in the image of God. Not just citizens or just the documented. Every. Human. Being. So when a system grows that treats people as numbers to be processed, transported and confined, we are mandated to speak out. It’s not easy or politically convenient, but our tradition teaches that silence in the face of dehumanization is intolerable.
Elie Wiesel, after suffering in a Nazi concentration camp for almost a year, said, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
Those who reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust wonder how it could have happened in a civilized nation. And yet here we are. Seeing people forced into government prison camps while so many remain silent and look away.
Proverbs teaches, “Speak up for the mute, for the rights of the unfortunate. Speak up, judge righteously, champion the poor and the needy” (31:8). And though we are not obligated to solve all the problems, our tradition teaches we are not free to ignore them. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “The opposite of good is not evil; the opposite of good is indifference. In a free society where terrible wrongs exist, some are guilty, but all are responsible.”
If there is one thing we can learn from Passover, it is hope. Remembering the horrific conditions under which the Hebrews suffered, we realize no matter how unbearable our lives may be at times, we are always surrounded by God’s presence through the loving-kindness of those around us. Then we must become agents of hope for others who are less fortunate. The Passover story teaches that we must always find ways to advocate for the most vulnerable.
The hope seen in Passover reminds us that we cannot allow ourselves to become paralyzed into inaction. As the Israelites stood up, resisted oppression and despair against all odds, so must we. It is through us, as partners with the Divine, that God’s work is done, and tikun olam, the repairing of the world can begin.
All faith traditions teach us we must fight against oppression, help the poor, feed the hungry, take in the stranger and the refugee, and speak out against hatred and injustice. These actions are all sparks of hope and, brought together, they will create the flames of freedom. Hope is a bridge to a new world, and we alone can build that bridge.
Kein yehi ratzon … May it be God’s will. Shalom.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Suzanne DeBey is a lay leader of the Port Angeles Jewish community. Her email is debeyfam@olympus.net.
