God's concern for justice grows out of His compassion for man. The prophets do not speak of a divide relationship to an absolute principle or idea, called justice. They are intoxicated with the awareness of God's relationship to His people and to all men.
Justice is not important for its own sake; the validity of justice and the motivation for its exercise lie in the blessings it brings to man. For justice, as stated above, is not an abstraction, a value. Justice exists in relation to a person, and is something done by a person. An act of injustice is condemned, not because a person has been hurt. What is the image of a person? A person is a being whose anguish may reach the heart of God. "You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. IF you do afflict them, and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry...if he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate." (Exodus 22:22,26)
When Cain murdered his brother Abel, the words denouncing his crime did not proclaim: "You have broken the law." Instead we read: "And...the Lord said: What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground." (Genesis 4:10)
Suggested Discussion Questions:
1. How do you interpret Heschel's statement that, "justice exists in relation to a person, and is something done by a person." Do you agree?
2. How can you apply Heschel's philosophy of justice to just acts?
Time Period: Contemporary (The Yom Kippur War until the present-day)