What We As Jews Have To Do

In The Merchant Of Venice, Shakespeare writes about a Jewish merchant named Shylock. Shylock gives this speech:

“Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

Then he loans out money, and when it was not returned demanded as his bond a pount of flesh. He keeps demanding that pound of flesh, until a judge named Portia calls him on his hypocrisy.

There is in fact a merit to this story. If one is to demand tolerance from others, then one must practice compassion toward others as well. And we as Jews need to learn how to treat non-Jews rightfully.

There is now a lot of anti-Jewish agitation around the world, and that calls for two things. One is confronting the false arguments and false claims that are being presented. More important is to show by our actions that our accusers are wrong. It is to hold ourselves to a high standard while dealing with non-Jewish people and to treat them rightfully.

That does not mean not being loyal to the Jewish heritage. It means seeing where others have done the right thing and where they deserve respect. It means respecting what's good in people who are not of Jewish heritage. It means following Moses' commandment to be good to foreigners, as we have ourselves been foreigners in Egypt.

So that while much work does need to be made by way of confronting slanders against Jews, even more work needs to be made by way of making these slanders non-credible. And that calls upon us to be good to the Gentiles whatever we may think about their beliefs.