The God Who Hears the Cry of the Oppressed Either Way

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 349:5

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"For if he cries out at all to Me" (Exodus 22:22). One might think that as long as he cries out I hear, but if he does not cry out I do not hear. Scripture teaches, "I will surely hear his cry" (Exodus 22:22), in any case. If so, what does Scripture teach by saying "if he cries out at all to Me"? That I am quick to exact punishment by means of one who cries out, more than for one who does not cry out. And the matter follows by an inference from minor to major: if when an individual cries out against the many the Omnipresent hears his cry, how much more so when the many cry out against an individual. And the matter follows by a further inference: if the measure of punishment is the lesser measure, and yet when an individual cries out against the many the Omnipresent hears his cry, how much more so the measure of goodness, which is the greater measure, when the many pray on behalf of an individual.

Themes

Divine JusticePrayerEthics

Continue Reading

Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon Ben YochaiIf You Afflict Them and I Surely Hear Their Cry"If you afflict, afflict them, and they cry out, cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry" (Exodus 22:22). What counts as affliction? The sages drew the bounTargum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusPharaoh's Bloody Cure - The Sick King's DecreeWhy did the cry of the Hebrews finally pierce heaven? Because Pharaoh had stopped being a tyrant and become a monster. "And it was after many of those days thatBen SiraIncense and Prayer of SiraBen Sira, in his wisdom, reminds us of something fundamental: "If they were not, you would not have come to the world." Your parents, your ancestors... they pavBook of JubileesAbraham Reads the Stars and Learns HebrewBook of Jubilees turns to Abraham Reads the Stars and Learns Hebrew. In the 12th chapter of Jubilees, we find Abraham at a pivotal moment. He's just finished prBook of JubileesBowing Before the LordBook of Jubilees turns to Bowing Before the Lord. Chapter 20 lays out a powerful promise, a vision of what life could be when lived in alignment with a higher pBook of JudithJudith the HeroineJudith, as you might recall, is the brave and beautiful widow who saves her people from the Assyrian army. But before she puts her daring plan into action, she