The Hebrew word פֶרֶךְ (perek - pronounced PAIR-ek) and קָשָׁה (qasheh - pronounced ka-shaw) portray labor or rule that crushes, breaks, or tyrannizes.
Exodus 1:13–14 anchors the word perek in Israel’s slavery: “So the Egyptians worked the Israelites ruthlessly.” As a result, Leviticus 25:43, 46, 53 bars such treatment inside Israel - both to citizens and non-citizens. Later, Ezekiel 34:4 indicts the nation’s leaders: “You have ruled them with force and brutality.” Here perek shifts from economic exploitation to include spiritual abuse.
How devastating to read of Solomon oppressing his own people and enslaving others to hard labor to increase his wealth and status - even worse: to build the glorious first Temple (1 Kings 5; 8; 9). Yes, the first Jewish Temple was built by slave labor. The evil perek pattern comes full circle.
And when the people pled for relief from their next king, Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the Bible records, “And the king answered the people harshly (qasheh), for he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions! (1 Kings 12)”
Ancient Egypt was perek.
Davidic Israel was perek.
Assyria was perek.
Babylon was perek.
Rome was perek.
The Nazi Regime was perek.
The Kim Regime is perek.
The Orbán Regime is perek.
The Putin Regime is perek.
Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is perek.
Iran is perek.
The Trump Regime is perek and speaks with qasheh, not because of an unintended flaw, but as a feature they seem to take pride in.
There is something disturbing about celebrating the sound of people walking in chains,1 selling merch for a new prison,2 stopping aid to the world’s starving poor,3 and passing a “Big Beautiful Bill” that transfers even more wealth to the uber-rich and away from feeding its own poor and healing its vulnerably sick.
Reportedly,4 this was all done to fund the largest expansion of concentration deportation camps for violent criminals with an illegal status, but it has already expanded to anyone without a legal status. Next will be the foreign-looking naturalized citizens,5 and then, as scholars of authoritarianism have been warning for years,6 we can expect other perceived political, economic, or religious enemies - unless we change course.
There are few words left to describe the depravity of the MAGA movement and their Republican bystanders except for the ancient words that described an evil pattern of cruelty and sinfulness that has repeated since ancient times.
Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
So what can we do?
One small positive thing every day can make big changes over time. Just as Isaiah and Jesus critiqued those in their time, let us also work to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and take care of the sick, orphaned, and widowed. Here are a few suggestions.
For the hungry:
Food banks and pantries are already sounding the alarm about resource shortages. Haven’t heard? Then get involved. Consider donating or volunteering at a local shelter, thrift store, or food pantry.
For the sick:
With an expected 17 million Americans set to lose insurance, someone (us) will still have to pay the hospital and emergency bills. Inevitably, there will be a rise in requests and GoFundMe pages looking for help. Consider donating.
For the widow and orphan:
Consider becoming a respite provider for foster care families or volunteering at an assisted living home or a senior meal delivery service.
Respite providers are paid to watch kiddos in the foster care system for just a night, a weekend, or a few days - any duration makes a huge difference. As a foster parent, having a network of respite providers is an amazing resource to help with coverage during out-of-state trips, scheduling conflicts, or when we just need a day to reset and reconnect.
And finally: VOTE!!!
The midterm election for members of Congress is fast approaching. Now that we have been abundantly reminded of the perek and qasheh of this regime, let us throw off and throw out this heavy yoke that burdens us all.
