Kitezai contains more laws than any other Parish in the Torah,

and it's possible to be overwhelmed by this embarrad de recess of detail.

But one verse stands out by sheer counter-intuitiveness.

Loth Ta'Ev Edomé, do not despise an Edomite because he's your brother, and do not despise an Egyptian

because you were a stranger in his land.

These are very unexpected commands and understanding them will teach us an important lesson

about leadership. First, a general point. Jews have been subjected to racism more

and longer than any other nation on earth. Therefore, we should be doubly careful, never to be

guilty of it ourselves. We believe that God has created each of us, regardless of color-class,

culture or

trade in his image.

If we look down on other people because of their race, then we are demeaning God's image

and failing to respect Kavodabriot human dignity.

If we think less of a person because of the color of his or her skin,

then we are repeating the sin of Aaron and Miriam about whom it says that they

spoke against Moses because of the Kushite woman he had married because he had married

a Kushite woman. There are midrashic interpretations that read this passage differently, but the plain sense is that they look down on Moses' wife because, like Cushaic women, generally, she had dark skin, making this one of the first recorded instances of colour prejudice. For this sin, Miriam was struck with leprosy. Instead, we should remember the

lovely line from Shia Assyrim, I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem. Jews cannot

complain that others have racist attitudes towards them, if they hold racist attitudes towards others.

First correct yourself, then seek to correct others, says the Gmara.

Tanakh contains negative evaluations of some other nations, but always and only because of their moral

failures, never because of their ethnicity or skin color.

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