This respect for human beings as such is proclaimed everywhere in the Torah

In honor of the 131st yahrtzeit of that giant of Torah hashkafah, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, here’s an excerpt from his Chumash commentary addressing the beginnings of galus Mitzrayim, whose message for both the Jewish community and general society could hardly be more necessary to contemplate in our time:

The root and beginning of this indescribable maltreatment was geirus, the supposed lack of rights of a foreigner, as such. That is why the laws of the Torah concerning the rights of foreigners offer the profoundest contrast to all other national laws up to this very day…. The degree of justice in a land is measured, not so much by the rights accorded to the native-born inhabitants, to the rich, or people who have, at any rate, representatives or connections who look after their interests, but by what justice is meted out to the completely unprotected “stranger.”

The absolute equality in the eyes of the Law between the native and the foreigner forms the very basic foundation of Jewish jurisdiction. In Jewish Law it is not nationality which gives man his rights but the rights of man give nationality! And the Torah knows no distinction between the rights of man and the rights of citizen. Everyone who acknowledged the moral laws of humanity — the Sheva Mitzvos Bnei Noach — could claim the right of domicile in [Eretz Yisrael] (emphasis in the original).

This principle, this respect for human beings as such, apart from all chance of birth and fate, is proclaimed everywhere in the Torah by remembrance of what was experienced in Egypt. In Egypt, the cleverly calculated lowering of the rights of the Jews on the score of their being aliens came first, the harshness and cruelty followed by itself, as it always does and will, when the basic idea of Right has first been given a wrong conception.

If we experience discomfort and dissonance when reading his words about the degree of justice in a land being measured “by what justice is meted out to the completely unprotected ‘stranger,’ ” and the Torah knowing “no distinction between the rights of man and the rights of citizen,” perhaps we ought to wonder why that is and where the views we hold come from. Indeed, perhaps we need to consider whether we can even refer to them as considered views at all, or just biases born of self-interest.

Rav Hirsch is, of course, discussing the Torah view of citizenship and human rights as they relate to the Jewish Nation and Eretz Yisrael, but since he’s portraying the Torah’s immutable standards of morality and the treatment of human beings, his words have universal application to all nations at all times. If we are concerned with the moral standards of general society when it comes to matters like abortion — as we should be — we ought to be consistent, in keeping with Rav Hirsch’s compelling words, in showing that concern in all areas and toward all members of that society.

TWO OF A KIND A recent piece in City Journal by New York attorney Steve Cohen had me nodding knowingly. Jews as a whole are designated a mamleches Kohanim, but a significant subset of its members actually carry that name (including some who aren’t even Kohanim), and that, as Mr. Cohen has come to learn, can lead to all sorts of mix-ups. As he writes:

“You want the rich Steve Cohen,” I must say every few months. My name is a pretty common one, at least in New York. The most recent misdirected call came from a likely mayoral candidate, undoubtedly looking for a campaign contribution from the new owner of the New York Mets.

I’ve been mistaken not only for the hedge fund billionaire, but for the brilliant magician, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s former chief of staff, and the Tennessee congressman, too…. But so far, the invitations are entertaining and sometimes beneficial.

Soon after Barack Obama entered the White House, I was invited to an exclusive event at a downtown penthouse. The president wouldn’t attend, but a top aide would be there to greet me. I demurred, telling the hostess that I didn’t think that I was the guy she wanted. After all, I’d been a member of “Democrats for McCain.” “You live on 21st Street, don’t you?” she asked. I told her I did, and she repeated, “You’re the one we want.” Maybe Obama was already reaching across the aisle.

I showed up at the event, pinned on my name tag… The hostess approached, took one look at me, and realized that I wasn’t the person whom she was expecting. “I told you I wasn’t the one you wanted,” I said. “But I’ll make you a deal: I’ll leave right now, very quietly, but you owe me.” “What?” she asked. “You’ll throw a fundraiser for a nonprofit literacy organization of my choosing.” “You have a deal.” I was out the door, and several months later, she lived up to her word….

Imagine how differently things could’ve turned out if only Bar Kamtza would’ve also had a nonprofit literacy organization he was raising money for.

Now, what commonality could this writer — whose combination of first and last names is as uncommon as Cohen’s is near-ubiquitous — possibly have with Mr. Cohen’s experiences? Some readers may recall a column I wrote way back disclosing that, against all reasonable odds, there’s more than one person walking around with the name Eytan Kobre. Even more oddly, the other Eytan Kobre isn’t, say, the deputy prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, as such a name might suggest, but living in the same New York City borough as I do. Actually, he’s my brother’s son.

Were there only one of us in existence, the possibility of Steve Cohen-like confusion would be nil, but with two such creatures out there, the problem of mistaken identifications is far greater than anything Mr. Cohen has ever experienced. When contacting a Steve Cohen, after all, the caller or e-mailer has to know that based on the Manhattan White Pages alone, there’s a decent chance he’s got the wrong one. The fundraiser who’s been relentlessly pursuing Eytan Kobre for that big donation, however, is absolutely certain he’s got his guy, who’s just being cagey in the way those would-be benefactors always are.

The “hot pursuit by executive director” scenario hasn’t yet actually materialized, if only because neither of us is in danger of being targeted as a potential school building-dedicator anytime soon. Still, we’ve had our share of mix-ups, perhaps due to the fact that my doppelgänger nephew writes a weekly column in a frum newspaper published in the area in which I live.

He’s an excellent writer, and when he first began, I’d not infrequently receive readers’ compliments intended for him. I contacted the folks he writes for and suggested they place a picture of him alongside his column, which they did. That’s when people started asking me why that publication is featuring a picture that looks nothing like me.

Well, I figure we might as well put this all to some productive use, perhaps along the lines Mr. Cohen suggests. He writes that it might be “time for the Steve Cohens to do what many of the Kellys of New York have done: form a nonprofit charity called the Kelly Gang… and make annual contributions to worthy individuals or organizations. The Cohen clan — sounds better than mishpucha — could arrange so that the worthy recipient gets selected by the Steve who received the most misdirected calls the previous year.”

How ’bout it, Eytan?

Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 796. Eytan Kobre may be contacted directly at kobre@mishpacha.com