This is going to be an incredibly brief overview of the aspects of Purim that inform what a community I'm involved in is starting. This is not at all an exhaustive explanation of what Purim is. If you want to find out, read the book of Esther and do some research online.
Purim is a festival celebrating the event that saved the Jews from oppression through Esther's obedience. This oppression was largely coming from Haman, an Amalekite.
The Amalekites were supposed to be wiped off the face of the Earth, not a single descendent of Amalek was supposed to live. King Saul was supposed to finish off the whole line.
If we're supposed to love G-d, and love others, and we believe that G-d is good, then we need to understand why G-d tells the Jews to participate in genocide. That's what this is, and we shouldn't pretend that it's not.
There are a few things that are worse than death. The sanctity of life is something that I feel I am called to fight for and defend, the lives of ALL, including my enemies, so for me to admit that there are a few things that are worse than death, it's serious business. Rape, torture, and slavery- these are worse. All three of these completely strip an individual from their humanity, turning them into an object when they were created to be a subject. This is generally called an "it/them" distinction.
G-d just rescued Israel from an "it" situation in Egypt. He took them from the hands of Pharaoh and was teaching them how to be a "them." When you've lived generation after generation being an "it" it becomes difficult to recover your "them"-ness. You have to learn how to be a child of G-d, not a slave to the Empire.
Through Israel, G-d is teaching all nations how to become subjects, not objects. He is also teaching them how to view others as subjects (them). While G-d was in the process of reconciling the oppression of His people, the Amalekites were working to put them back into oppression. The Amalekites would kidnap women, children, and the elderly and sell them back to Egypt. They exploited the weak and weary for a profit. So, while G-d was freeing his people, the Amalekites refused to let Israel forget that they were slaves, and fought to keep them as slaves.
This is where the eighth commandment actually comes from. "Don't steal," doesn't mean a whole lot to a nomadic people who have no personal property. Who are they going to steal from in the desert? There's nothing to steal! It's really "Don't steal people/Don't kidnap." This means a lot for a nomadic people who are being stolen back into slavery. This is the Lord telling His people, the people that will reveal His love for the world through, "Kidnapping will not stand. This is not okay. You are a person, not property. And my people don't treat others as property."
Back to Purim. Haman had plans to wipe out Israel forever. King Saul didn't finish his job, he spared the king of the Amalekites and kept all of their valuable goods. He wasn't supposed to let their memory last on Earth. "You will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under Heaven." This is how seriously the Lord wishes to protect His children who He has brought out of slavery. Everything that oppresses His people, anything that keeps them in slavery cannot stand anymore. Slavery and oppression will be things of the past. This is part of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.
Since Christ died for ALL sins, meaning every one's sins, we are not called to kill those who keep people in slavery. Christ already died for them. Part of the Good News is freedom for the oppressed and the oppressors. However, we are supposed to work fiercely for the freedom of the captives, we're supposed to break the yoke of oppression. This is participation in the fight for the value of every person, and in that fight, we must confront the spirit of Amalek that still remains today.
So, here are some things we can do as followers of Christ, proclaimers of the good news to the poor and oppressed, to the captive and the prisoner, to fight against Amalek.
1. Stop buying any product that was made through slave labor. This is harder than you might think. It's going to take a little research, but the information is out there. This means no sweat shop clothes, this means you are going to be incredibly careful about the electronics that you buy, (sorry you Mac lovers, you have to stop). Sweat shop labor is slavery. What is going on with the conflict minerals in Congo is another form of slavery and oppression. Stop supporting it. But when you do, write letters to your favorite companies explaining why they are losing your business. Be explicit, let them know exactly why. If we are not incredibly clear and articulate about why we will not give them our money anymore, they may make the mistake of thinking that we are bailing because of style or prices.
2. Support businesses who value the poor and oppressed. Buy from manufacturers that pay their workers well. These manufacturers are generally more expensive. Pay the extra money. That money doesn't belong to you anyway. If this means you can't buy a new computer, or the cool new pants you want, I promise you can live without them. Most of the world does.
3. Educate yourself and those around you about the enormous problem with human trafficking that is going on right now. There are more slaves in circulation today than there has been at any single point in history. Get involved with organizations trying to raise awareness about this issue. Check out the Not For Sale campaign, or the International Justice Mission. There are many more out there, these are just two that I am the most familiar with. If you have any others, leave them in the comment box. Something important to remember is that this is not just an international issue. I-35 and I-10 are two of the biggest slave trafficking corridors in the world. There are slaves in your own backyard.
4. Find out ways that you can buy someone out of slavery. The way that these trafficking operations usually work is through an indentured servant type situation. This is the same kind of situation that happens in many sweatshops. Most of these people have had to borrow money for food, medical expenses, or simple daily necessities. Some of them are tricked into thinking that they are paying for a visa or immigration assistance, and once they arrived to their destination, their papers are taken from them and they are in debt to the company that has "helped" them. So, these people work grueling hours for little pay, trying to make a dent into their debt. But, the whole time they are accruing interest on their debt, so they get stuck into a cycle that they can never get out of. Then their children inherit their debt, so they are forced to interact within the same system. These debts are generally not large at all. Some organizations can buy women and children out of slavery for $500. Some will do it for as little as $90.
$90 is the average price for a slave today. This is a great and a terrible thing. It's great because it means that organizations are able to free many slaves for very little price. It's terrible because it is so cheap to buy a slave that it doesn't make financial sense to keep these people healthy. Medical expenses are more expensive than a new slave. So, these people are being abused in ways that no one should even think of. It's also bad because if we are to interact with slavery like this, by buying all of the slaves out of slavery (it would only cost about $2.5 billion), we put all of that money into the hands of the slave traders. So, this is a complicated issue.
Another complication is that when we notify the authorities of a slave issue that is going on, these women and children are usually arrested for prostitution. Not only that, but once a slave ring is busted up, the authorities have a group of illegal immigrants on their hands. Their hands are tied, they have to send them back to their country of origin. Most of these people have left everything to come and try to find a new life, and they have been captured into slavery. So, these people are dumped back into their countries with nothing, and they become even more susceptible to fall into the slave trafficking business again. We have to come up with creative ways to address the systemic issues that allow slave trafficking to be so successful. We have to address systemic poverty, immigration policy, and labor practices.
Now to the repentance portion. I am a contributor to Amalek. I can't imagine there is a single U.S. citizen who is not. One way that I have taken part in slavery is through the products that I have bought. I am typing this on a Mac, I own an iPhone, and the socks I am wearing right now were made in a sweat shop. Another way I am is through my tax dollars. There is a rampant indentured servitude system going on in Afghanistan right now. The kind that our community has become interested in is operating through brick manufacturers. I will attach a link to a New York Times article that explains the situation well, but basically there are families that are in debt to the brick manufacturers in Afghanistan, and their whole families will have to work their whole lives for these businesses to even come close to paying it off. There has been a construction boom over the past few years in Afghanistan. This is largely due to the destruction that the bombs my tax dollars have paid for have caused within this country. This is not a post about the war, but it is important to remember that we are supposed to be at war against terrorist organizations, not citizens of Afghanistan. But, our bombs have wiped out many buildings and important infrastructure within their country. This fuels the issue. Secondly, the largest customers of these particular brick manufacturers are NATO contractors.
Repentance means a complete turn around. One way that we can repent as a community is to work hard against these forms of slavery that we have and are taking part in. So, we are going to work hard to practice 1-3. We invite you to join us. As we feel led, we will participate in 4, however we are working hard to find creative, holistic approaches to solving this issue. Another way is by paying off some of these brick makers' debts. We are contacting the journalists who wrote this article to try and get in touch with some of these people who are caught up in this oppressive system, and we are going to pay their debts off for them. The family in the article is in debt for 150,000 rupees. That is less than $3400. This is a way that we can directly address the injustice that we are jointly responsible for. And make no mistake, we are responsible. In the words of the great Rabbi Heschel, "In a free society, not every man is guilty, but every man is responsible."
A Cycle of Debt and Servitude
Above is the link to the New York Times article. Please pass it along to friends and family. I am in the process of setting up a PayPal account so we can accept donations online. We want to this as transparently and honestly as possible, so we are researching the best ways to set up this kind of account, none of us have ever done this before.
Purim is going on right now. It is fitting that this is when the Lord has put such a fire in us to work with Him to put an end to this. When Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, the word used to describe His loud cry is the same word used to describe an angry bull snorting. He was angry. Angry at the sorrow and hopelessness that had overtaken the ones that He loved. Angry that His people believed the grave would always win. This same kind of anger has taken over our hearts. This can't last any longer. I have prayed over and over for G-d to move, for Him to rise a group of people up who will not let this continue. One night, G-d pretty clearly said to me, "You know what, you're right. This is awful. It shouldn't go on any longer. And someone should rise up to do something about it. So what are we going to do?"
May you take part in tikkun olam.
May you be called a freer of slaves and a friend of the oppressed.
May the world see the Church as a place of love and justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment