Chapter 46: What We Owe Our “Enemy”
On The Good Place, Michael’s last-minute attempt to salvage the experiment and win some extra points for the new humans puts Brent alone in a sinkhole. Simone and John decide to leave him there, but Chidi gets in with Brent and ends up face-to-face with him for the final seconds of the year. On the podcast, Rebecca Rosenthal and Jon Spira-Savett discuss who might be our “enemies” and what we responsibilities we have to them, in a moment of need or as long as our lives are connected.
Texts
(Go to Jewish Lexicon on this site for more on Jewish terminology, names of texts and other background. The links here in the citations take you to the specific quotes in their full contexts.)
Exodus 23:4-5
When you encounter your enemy’s ox or his donkey straying,
return it, yes return it to him.
When you see the donkey of one who hates you crouching under its burden, restrain from abandoning it to him—
unbind, yes, unbind it together with him.
Mishnah Pirkei Avot 1:7
Nittai the Arbelite used to say:
Keep a distance from an evil neighbor
And do not become attached to the wicked,
and do not abandon faith in [divine] retribution [for evil].
Other References!
There is also another West Wing reference that Jon referred to obliquely, a scene with Toby and Will about Sartre, Camus, and “hell is other people” (in Season 5, Episode 20, which is called “No Exit”!)
Learn more about Rebecca and Jon on our Hosts page!
