In the United States, the people who
are meant to be the last word of the law are known by the title of Justice.
Perhaps the term was chosen to suggest that these select few are capable of
defining the law in a way that will create the just society desired by the
founding fathers. Today, that premise might well be questioned as each
appointment of a new justice is a battle of politics and personal opinion.
The usual translation for justice is
the Hebrew word tzedek, an extremely important concept in Judaism and
the main focus of the beginning of this week’s parsha, “Shoftim.” Deuteronomy
16 contains the famous verse: “Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof lmaan tichiyeh
vyareshta et ha’aretz asher Hashem E-hlokecha notein lach….Justice, justice
shall you pursue in order that you shall live and inherit the land that Hashem
your God is giving you…” (16:20). Since it is an accepted idea that the Torah
contains no unnecessary words, it seems particularly odd to have the word
repeated twice. Stranger still is the verse’s placement as the concluding verse
of a section specifically commanding the appointment of and the injunction to
judges against bribery and bias. After all of the warnings on how not to
distort justice, is such an emphatic call for justice really necessary?
First and foremost, according to
Rashi and many other commentators, this verse is addressing the litigants. It
is an excellent warning that, were it to be heeded more today, would relieve
the intense pressure on the court system. Many of the court cases that get
brought to litigation are not really about justice. They are about being right,
or financial gain, or simply proving that one has the right to litigate. Suing
a company because of one’s own stupidity, whether legally permissible or not,
is not about pursuing justice.
If asked, most people will find a way
to spin their litigation as having wrongs righted, and they are spinning it to
themselves as well – often without doing so consciously.
Perhaps there is something to be
learned from the connection of the word tzedek, justice, and tzedakah,
charity. When a person gives tzedakah they are not supposed to think of
how wonderful they are for giving away some of their money. Rather, one should
realize that Hashem determines how much money a person will have. By giving tzedakah,
one is just transferring money to where it was meant to go. Giving tzedakah
is the Divinely given opportunity for each person to help bring balance,
completion, and thus peace, to the world. So too, when one seeks justice one
should, ideally be seeking balance. If one neighbor moves their property
boundary mark, amends must be made and then the neighbors can be in peace with
each other.
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik had an
interesting commentary about the connection of truth and peace and how they
effect the pursuit of justice:
…Conciliation between litigants
derives from a desire to maintain peace despite the fact that the litigants’
positions are mutually exclusive. There is an aspect of sheker, falsehood, on the part of one who compromises for the sake of
peace. Yet, if men exclusively exemplified the attribute of emes, people
would be in -existence. constant conflict. Absolute truth precludes peaceful
co-existence.
This quote might shed some light on
what causes so many to be distressed by the process of choosing Supreme Court
justices. While the court has a constant focus on ensuring justice, the current
process of appointing justices focuses a great deal more on party affiliation
and loyalty, of falling in line with a set of values set by a cohort of
politicians rather than on how much they have done to ensure justice. The
process highlights neither actual truth nor shalom.
Each side of the political party
asserts that they push their specific agendas for the greater good of the
country, but, here too, the Torah offers us insight: “What is the meaning of
the seemingly redundant use of the word tzedek, justice? With this, the
Torah disavows the prevalent attitude: the ends justify the means. The Torah
tells us that the method by which you pursue justice must be just and truthful.
Pursue justice by means of justice. Don’t use falsehood and deception in order
to achieve justice” (Wellsprings of Torah, Rabbi Alexander Zusia Friedman,
1897-1943).
The placement of the pasuk at the
conclusion of this section is not by chance. It is a warning to all, litigants
and judges, that the characteristics of justice are essential. They are the
qualification for the nation to live and stay on the land. And the pasuk that
follows, “Do not plant an ashera for yourself…”(16:21) appears to be a
completely new topic. However, Reish Lakish notes in Masechet Sanhedrin 7b:
“Appointing an unworthy judge is equivalent to planting an ashera tree.”
The comparison is that an ashera tree looks like any other tree but it
is dedicated for idolatry. It is prohibited even to plant an ashera
because an innocent person will not know to chop it down, that it was planted
in bad faith. So too, it is important to appoint truly righteous judges because
the litigants brought before him will believe that his decisions come from a
place of unbiased righteousness.
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