Yaakov, Béla Orbán
"Thou shalt
neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of
Egypt." (Exodus 22:21)
The stranger is the
one who had joined you, the one who converted.
They are among us and
became members of the People.
When I was doing my
military service, the fate of the new ones was quiet hard. This law did not
work in the army.
The same in Christian
(or Jewish) communities, we can often see a kind of arrogance from the members
who are despising the ”new recruits” as soon as they arrive at the assembly. This
disdain reflects their intention to rule over the new ones.
Many strangers are
falling in this way under the supervising authority of men instead of receiving
help and affection.
We can often hear
remarks like: "He/she only believes for a few months", "he/she has
done this or that just a few weeks ago", "be careful with him/her, we
can never know...", and so on…
Remember where we
came from.
Remember how good it
was to have someone who held our hands when we converted.
Remember when people
were looking at you with suspicious and mistrustful glances.
Remember the time
when an assembly or community did not want to accept you but was although
trying to exploit you to the full.
