Deuteronomy 24:17-22
“You shall not pervert the justice due to the foreigner, or to the fatherless, nor take a widow’s clothing as a pledge; but you shall remember that you were a bondservant in Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I command you to do this thing. When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it after yourselves. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. You shall remember that you were a bondservant in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this thing.”
The book of Deuteronomy, written as Moses' final addresses to the Israelites before entering the promised land, frequently reiterates laws and ethical principles. This passage, likely from the 7th century BCE or later, forms part of a series of social and legal instructions aiming to establish a just society for the new nation, emphasizing care for the vulnerable.
What does it mean to create a society where remembering past vulnerability shapes current actions towards others?