Honoring the Laborer

Ki Tetze

Deuteronomy 21:10 - 25:19
Précis: The parasha might be subtitled “entering society” because it describes the creation of a just and moral society.It begins with the phrase “when you go forth” (ki tetze) to battle. This parasha, according to Maimonides, contains 72 mitzvot (commandments). Although they seem unrelated, they all deal with the morals and values that God wanted to be deeply implanted in the Israelites' society. They cover a wide variety of topics, from family life, human kindness, respect for property and animals, the safety of others, sexual relationships, escaped slaves, financial loans and charging interest, keeping promises, and remembering to blot out the name of one of Israel's greatest enemies. This assortment of commands included requirements that there be sex-distinct clothing; that mother birds not be separated from their eggs; that roof-tops have parapets; that seeds not be mixed in a field, and that “tzitzit” (fringes) be worn on garments. 

Deuteronomy 24:14 “You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger in one of the communities of your land.”
     In verses such as the one quoted here, the Torah made clear an employer's obligations to his or her employees.
     In recent times, the role of organized labor in the United States has been under sustained attack. Some of the criticism is merely naive (“We don’t need unions any more, the law protects us”), and some politically based (some see the labor movement the as “shock troops” for the Democratic Party). Other criticism comes from those with a 19th century view of constitutional rights (unions violate an employee’s fundamental right to contract under the constitution), and some attacks come from the craven self-interest of employers who simply want to keep their costs of doing business as low as possible, at whatever consequence to their employees. While Jewish law itself is largely silent with regard to unions, there is little doubt that the dignity of the worker is an important part of our tradition. Our texts remind us that even the great Sages worked in what today we would call “gainful employment” while they studied and learned and taught.
     It is also worth recalling that 2011 is the 100th anniversary of a key event in the history of the American Labor Movement. On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City took place. It was, until the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11 90 years later, the deadliest disaster in the history of New York City, causing the death of 146 people, mostly young Jewish and Italian women. Many could not escape because the doors were chained shut by the employer. Images of young women leaping to their deaths to escape the flames were printed in newspapers around the country. The tragedy led to the rapid growth of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, which fought for employees and against sweatshops, and helped in the creation by the State of New York of the first modern labor law code. This state law in turn set the stage for important federal statutes, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (regulating minimum wages and hours) and the Wagner Act (protecting the right of employees to join together in “concerted activity” for their mutual benefit).
     While we can legitimately debate the appropriate role of organized labor in American society today, we cannot and should not ignore the significant contribution made by the Labor Movement to our society. Whether it is minimum wage, the right to bargain, occupational safety, Medicare, Medicaid, social security, or the private pension system, none would have emerged without Labor’s advocacy. And while we consider Labor’s role in our history, we should also remember and take pride in the Jewish roots of the Movement and in the leadership of individual Jews in this historic American movement which has done so much to help define and achieve the American Dream.