Abstract
The recent war in Europe, the Ukraine–Russia war, has had a huge impact in the lives of millions of people in the European continent—in the lives of both those who have fled the conflict and of those who have welcomed them with open arms. In this paper, we conduct a philosophical investigation into the issue of hospitality to others, to strangers, to foreigners trying to understand this phenomenon taking place in Europe, and elsewhere. First, we investigate the Jewish Mitzvah of Hospitality by referring to two passages in the Torah that exemplify hospitality and one that instantiates its opposite, hostility to the other, to strangers and foreigners. Following from this, we provide a discussion on Jewish ethics and its deontological and virtue ethics connections. In the last section, we engage with a discussion connecting the field of education and the matter of hospitality.
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Notes
Seder (
; Order) is the religious meal served during Pessach/Passover, one of the most important religious holidays for Judaism.There are two versions of the Talmud, the Jerusalem (i.e. Talmud Yerushalmi; ca. 400 CE) and the Babylonian (i.e. Talmud Bavli; ca. 600 CE). The Jerusalem version predates the Babylonian; however, the latter is normally considered more authoritative than the former. (cf. Danzig and Fine 2012). Danzig and Fine (2012: 1) comment: “The Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds are deeply interrelated, both in form and content; both were initially composed and transmitted orally in an amalgam of Jewish Aramaic and rabbinic Hebrew. The earliest manuscripts date to the ninth century.”
Gershom (i.e.
) in Hebrew means ‘a foreigner there’.Reuel is also referred to as Jethro (
; Excellence in Hebrew) and Hoab (
; Beloved in Hebrew) in the Bible.See footnote 2.
It is interesting to note Gur-Ze’ev (2011: 38–39) and his analogy of the Orcha (i.e. the Caravan in Hebrew;
) connected to education. He says: “In the Hebrew language ‘Orcha’ means a convoy of camels and humans with their belongings moving in an endless desert towards their destiny. The ‘Orcha’ is an improvised movement that is to find/create its own destiny…. The ‘Orcha’ is never totally determined by territorial sovereignty, not even by commanding knowledge and people. It is a kind of togetherness-in-movement […]”. This is the idea of ‘homelessness’ in education— of being continuously engaged in a critical attitude and not subscribing to absolute ideals (cf. Guilherme and Cipriani 2019: 144; Guilherme 2020); likewise, and relating the concepts of Orcha and Orchim, we could argue that it also implies an attitude of being ‘hospitable’ to new ideas.Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (1522–1570 Safed), important Kabbalistic scholar. He is also known by the acronym Ramak (
in Hebrew).Given the definition of moral virtue as the middle ground between two extremes (Nichomachean Ethics Book II-9), it is evident that every virtue, precisely because it is the middle ground between two vices, is positive not only for the agent, but for the whole community, or even the polis in which he is inserted and exercising his moral attitude. Moreover, what Aristotle proposes in his ethics of virtues is precisely a question of how to live well, and this living well presupposes a life in community, which is highlighted by the emphasis given to the practical virtues, as well as in relation to practical wisdom (phronesis), or even in book IX on friendship as a possibility of eudaimonia.
Maimonides (1135–1204), better known as Rambam (
in Hebrew), important Sepharadic Jewish philosopher.Maimonides refers here to Devarin (28:9), which reads: “The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.” (Deutoronomy 28:9 KJV).
Maimonides refers here to Bereshit (18:19), which reads: “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgement; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Genesis 18:19 KJV).
There is much debate in the literature regarding Genesis 19 and the issue of Lot’s daughters. For instance, Ahmed (2011), an Islamic schoolar, suggests that in the refered passage where Lot offers his daughters, he is in fact offering them in lawful marriage. Fuchs (2003) has a different, much darker reading, in which Lot rapes his daughters after their scape from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We refer here to immigrants and refugees since this is the focus of our papers. However, we could easily transfer it to other hostile scenarios, such as LGBTQIA@S+-phobia, and countries like Brazil where for the 14th consecutive year the country was named the nation with the highest number of transgender people killed (cf. Antra 2023). Another example, is the violence committed against women and proper access to health care and the right to abortion, such as it happens in many countries throughout the world; and the recent reverses in the USA legislation are extremely worrying (cf. Frye and Winikoff 2023; Lands et al 2023).
Martin Buber (1878–1965), the Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest thinkers of education in the twentieth century. He is considered to be the philosopher of dialogue (cf. Morgan and Guilherme 2014).
Guilherme and Morgan (2020: 21–22) explain the relations I-Thou and I-it. We quote: “The I-Thou relationship is an encounter between equals who recognise each other as such, and is a dialogue, representing an inclusive reality between individuals. Buber argues that the I-Thou relationship lacks structure and content because infinitude and universality are at the basis of the relationship. It is in this way, since when human beings meet each other by this mode of being, an infinite number of meaningful and dynamic situations can occur in what Buber calls “Between”. The I-Thou relationship is different. In this relationship, one being confronts the other, objectifies it, and in so doing fails to establish a dialogue, and separates itself from the other. This is in direct contrast to I-Thou relationships, because the “'I' of I-Thou relationships indicates a separation of the 'I' from what it encounters” and by emphasizing difference”. (our translation). It is important to emphasise here that for Buber, the other is every human being, not just the stranger or the foreigner—and as such, we can relate to the other (e.g. a family member or a stranger) through both I-Thou or I-It relations.
Shlomo Yitzchaki (Hebrew
), French commentator on Bible and Talmud; born at Troyes (22 February 1040–13th July 1105). He is widely and greatly respected in Bible scholarship. (cf. Jewish Encyclopedia 2021).
; Order) is the religious meal served during Pessach/Passover, one of the most important religious holidays for Judaism.
) in Hebrew means ‘a foreigner there’.
; Excellence in Hebrew) and Hoab (
; Beloved in Hebrew) in the Bible.
) connected to education. He says: “In the Hebrew language ‘Orcha’ means a convoy of camels and humans with their belongings moving in an endless desert towards their destiny. The ‘Orcha’ is an improvised movement that is to find/create its own destiny…. The ‘Orcha’ is never totally determined by territorial sovereignty, not even by commanding knowledge and people. It is a kind of togetherness-in-movement […]”. This is the idea of ‘homelessness’ in education— of being continuously engaged in a critical attitude and not subscribing to absolute ideals (cf. Guilherme and Cipriani 
in Hebrew).
in Hebrew), important Sepharadic Jewish philosopher.
), French commentator on Bible and Talmud; born at Troyes (22 February 1040–13th July 1105). He is widely and greatly respected in Bible scholarship. (cf. Jewish Encyclopedia References
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Guilherme, A., Cardozo, A.M. Immigrants and Refugees: The Jewish Mitzvah of Hospitality and Its Implications for the Field of Education. Stud Philos Educ 42, 481–500 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-023-09890-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-023-09890-8