Soltes & Stern - Welcoming the Stranger: Abrahamic Hospitality and Its Contemporary Implications

Ori Soltes and Rachel Stern convened a conference of colleagues at Fordham University, which then became the basis for the 2024 edited collection of essays in Welcoming the Stranger: Abrahamic Hospitality and Its Contemporary Implications. The book is divided into two broad sections, one dedicated to exploring the faith traditions and references in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Indian/Dharmic traditions. The second section describes present and future prospective initiatives to respond to the call to welcome strangers wherever they might be or however they come to us.

The Foreword defines the stranger as anyone who comes from another place, is of another religion, or part of another race or culture. With this definition, immigrants across geographic borders are certainly included but the need for welcome next door and in our communities is important as well. Since 67% of the world's population identifies with one of the Abrahamic traditions, the influence of the books on which these faith groups are based are of paramount importance.

Judaism's commitment to welcoming the stranger is anchored in remembering the Torah or Old Testament story of the Hebrew people who were exiled in Egypt. The welcome in Egypt came with many burdens, including servitude and deference to their hosts, but at least there was a place where the Hebrew people could survive. Abraham's repeated welcome of others provides compelling evidence of treating others with compassion without regard to their culture or beliefs. Nachmanides (1194-1270), a Jewish medieval scholar, included not only a physical welcome but ridding the stranger of fear and intimidation in the 1263 Barcelona Disputation. In this view the stranger was seen as one who is powerless, vulnerable, and lonely. This physical and emotional comforting guided practices of hospitality among Jews and others but was eventually challenged for the first time in the 1935 Nuremberg Laws, a time when Jews were persecuted and marginalized for their religion and culture. The Holocaust and the loss of millions of lives was the outcome.

Christian commitment to welcoming the stranger derives not only from examples of the Hebrew people and Israel in the Old Testament Bible but also from the story of Jesus himself. In the retelling of His birth, He and parents Mary and Joseph were refugees in need of a place to stay as they fled persecution and death. This view, and the witness of Jesus' ministry is foundational to the "universal obligation of benevolence and compassion towards all, including strangers and even enemies" (p. 27). Christian theologians take hospitality to another level in combining the idea of charity towards others with a call to justice for all. This dual approach augments the band-aids of charity and advocates for expedited action that transcends political posturing and abstraction - people are suffering and Christians are called to respond with immediate assistance and systemic change that remedies suffering at its roots. As an example, the author referenced the 2002 and 2003 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' "Stranger No Longer..." pastoral letter that advocated addressing root causes, legal avenues, legalization of the undocumented, rational employment-based migration, humane border enforcement, protecting human rights, reform of the visa system and the principle of family reunification (p. 39) - a combination of addressing immediate needs and systemic change.

A chapter following the initial explanation of Christianity's faith-filled view of immigration explained the opposing MAGA restrictionist view that immigration should be highly controlled and any violator of policy apprehended and punished. The restrictionist view relies on the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11:1-9 that described the scattering of multiple independent nations, thus ensuring that humanity could never be united under "one government as a threat to Divine sovereignty" (p. 51). Restriction also relies on the state to protect citizens from the presumed criminality of 'illegal aliens' who "steal the resources of the citizens by both entry and by residing within the land" (p. 52). By contrast, the 'Migrant 4 Life' view of other Christians stresses "the importance of hospitality for the stranger over the sovereignty of the nation-state" (p. 59) and asserts that offering legalization to undocumented immigrants and their dependent children will benefit everyone - securing the national borders, resolving immigration and asylum applications, and allowing employability, which in many cases was the goal of immigration in the first place.

The chapter on Islam is quite superficial based on my experience of having lived in an Islamic country for seven years. It does not reference the 'Five Pillars' of Islam, the core commitments a Muslim makes. It does note the compulsory charity, Zakat, which is a requirement to donate to the needs of the poor. In addition, the idea of welcoming travelers with 'peace' and with the offer of shelter and nourishment is noted. The chapter mentions little in relation to the depth of Islamic culture that I experienced which offered hospitality, aid, gifts, and always in a spirit of not expecting anything in return.

The reference to Indian/Dharmic tradition is made as an "Epilogue," presumably because it is not within the Abrahamic tradition. Dharma is described as a way of life that determines one's state of existence in another life. The karma that is jokingly referenced as being what one deserves for past actions, is simply an action or deed that might elicit a compensatory response. The author suggests that "dharmic traditions will not only place little value on helping those within or beyond the community, they will discourage it" (p. 83). Hindu tradition has more of a tradition of welcoming and the author describes the Jewish community of Cochin where many lived in peace with other religions for generations. The state of Kerala is not mentioned in this chapter but is one of the two examples (the other being Al-Andalus in Spain) of which I am aware and have visited where multiple faith groups lived in respect and harmony, indeed in a condition of hospitality to one another.

The summaries of different faith perspectives led then to descriptions of welcoming strangers with compassion in several different settings and ways. The "Building the Present and Future" included the artist example of Fritz Ascher, business and entrepreneur cultivation in multiple countries, the importance of 'de-storying' and 're-storying' the legacy of immigrants, revision of court proceedings, and modern digital life as both response to as well as problems in welcoming the stranger in the current era.