Shabbat Shalom everyone, and Good Shabbos
I was recently talking to a colleague at work, who is in the process of purchasing her first home. Having gone through this process twice, once very recently, I holistically walked her through the process, specifically the attorney review. I asked who her attorney was, and while she didn’t know his name off hand, she remembered that it ended in “Berg” or “Stein”.
Leaving the casual display of antisemitism behind for a minute, in this country, and especially in this region, many people, Jewish and not, draw a direct line between the legal profession and the Jewish people. On TV and in movies, we often find that the lawyers have Jewish names and mannerisms. Some of the largest law firms in the world still bare the names of the Jewish attorney who founded them, such as Proskauer Rose, Mayer Brown, and the two firms my wife worked for, Greenberg Traurig and, of recent fame, Kaswitz, Benson, Torres, and Freidman. I would wager a guess that everyone in this room is either related to or knows a lawyer or a judge. So, why do Jews have such an affinity for the law? Is it just a comfortable profession that provides a high standard of living, or is there something in our DNA, in our collective history and psyche, that drives us to that line of work?
Our parsha opens as follows:
I was recently talking to a colleague at work, who is in the process of purchasing her first home. Having gone through this process twice, once very recently, I holistically walked her through the process, specifically the attorney review. I asked who her attorney was, and while she didn’t know his name off hand, she remembered that it ended in “Berg” or “Stein”.
Leaving the casual display of antisemitism behind for a minute, in this country, and especially in this region, many people, Jewish and not, draw a direct line between the legal profession and the Jewish people. On TV and in movies, we often find that the lawyers have Jewish names and mannerisms. Some of the largest law firms in the world still bare the names of the Jewish attorney who founded them, such as Proskauer Rose, Mayer Brown, and the two firms my wife worked for, Greenberg Traurig and, of recent fame, Kaswitz, Benson, Torres, and Freidman. I would wager a guess that everyone in this room is either related to or knows a lawyer or a judge. So, why do Jews have such an affinity for the law? Is it just a comfortable profession that provides a high standard of living, or is there something in our DNA, in our collective history and psyche, that drives us to that line of work?
Our parsha opens as follows:
(יח) שֹׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּֽתֶּן־לְךָ֙ בְּכָל־שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֨ר ה' אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק׃
(18) You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice.
The Talmud cites this line as the source for the Biblical commandment to appoint judges and officers for every region and every city. But, what is a judge?
The Gemara also notes in Sanhedrin 7b that
The Gemara also notes in Sanhedrin 7b that
כי אתא רב דימי אמר דרש רב נחמן בר כהן מאי דכתיב (משלי כט, ד) מלך במשפט יעמיד ארץ ואיש תרומות יהרסנה אם דיין דומה למלך שאינו צריך לכלום יעמיד ארץ ואם דומה לכהן שמחזר בבית הגרנות יהרסנה
When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael, he said: Rav Naḥman bar Kohen interpreted a verse homiletically: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The king by justice establishes the land; but he who exacts gifts [terumot] overthrows it” (Proverbs 29:4)? This teaches that if the judge is like a king in that he does not need anything and is not dependent on anyone, he establishes the land, i.e., he can serve as a judge. But if he is like a priest who seeks out his terumot from various granaries, as he is dependent on others, he overthrows the land.
And secondarily, who are these “shotrin”? Rashi brings down that they are the bailiffs, who enforce the orders of the court and ensure that the parties accept the judge's sentence. Torah ensure that we not only have fair judgement, but that the judgement is effectively implemented.
So already in two lines we have established that we must appoint judges and officers over out towns and regions, and the judges must not show any favoritism to those who come before him.
Then we come to a part of the Torah that is on everyone’s top ten list of one liners.
So already in two lines we have established that we must appoint judges and officers over out towns and regions, and the judges must not show any favoritism to those who come before him.
Then we come to a part of the Torah that is on everyone’s top ten list of one liners.
(כ) צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף לְמַ֤עַן תִּֽחְיֶה֙ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ֣ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃ (ס)
(20) Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Rashi gives us the easy reading of the line.
(א) צדק צדק תרדף. הַלֹּךְ אַחַר בֵּית דִּין יָפֶה (ספרי; סנהדרין ל"ב):
(1) צדק צדק תרדף JUSTICE, JUSTICE SHALT THOU PURSUE — go to (search after) a reliable court (Sifrei Devarim 144:14; Sanhedrin 32b).
He put the onus on the litigants to search out an acceptable court, as outlined by the Torah elsewhere. Ibn Ezra agrees that the scripture addresses the litigants, adding that tzedek is written twice to instill I us that we should pursue justice whether it be to one’s gain or to one’s loss. The repetition also denotes “time after time”, or all the days of your life, for emphasis. Therefore, we should seek justice, regardless of the potential outcome, we should do it for all time.
Sforno does add, based on the end of the verse, that:
(ב) למען תחיה וירשת תצטרך לזה יותר בארץ כי חסרון זה ימנע הירושה בה כאמרו בעון בצעו קצפתי:
(2) למען תחיה וירשת, such qualities are of even greater importance in the Land of Israel, as a failure to comply would result in the ancestral right to that country being denied to you. Compare Isaiah 57,17 who quotes G’d as telling him that a corrupt judiciary [getting away with sinful greed? Ed.] was a primary cause for G’d’s anger at the people.
The Gemara in Sanhedrin 32b describes a situation that helps us understand where tezedek is repeated.
כדתניא צדק צדק תרדף אחד לדין ואחד לפשרה כיצד שתי ספינות עוברות בנהר ופגעו זה בזה אם עוברות שתיהן שתיהן טובעות בזה אחר זה שתיהן עוברות וכן שני גמלים שהיו עולים במעלות בית חורון ופגעו זה בזה אם עלו שניהן שניהן נופלין בזה אחר זה שניהן עולין
As it is taught in a baraita: When the verse states: “Justice, justice, shall you follow,” one mention of “justice” is stated with regard to judgment and one is stated with regard to compromise. How so? Where there are two boats traveling on the river and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to pass, both of them sink, as the river is not wide enough for both to pass. If they pass one after the other, both of them pass. And similarly, where there are two camels who were ascending the ascent of Beit Ḥoron, where there is a narrow steep path, and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to ascend, both of them fall. If they ascend one after the other, both of them ascend.
הא כיצד טעונה ושאינה טעונה תידחה שאינה טעונה מפני טעונה קרובה ושאינה קרובה תידחה קרובה מפני שאינה קרובה היו שתיהן קרובות שתיהן רחוקות הטל פשרה ביניהן ומעלות שכר זו לזו
How does one decide which of them should go first? If there is one boat that is laden and one boat that is not laden, the needs of the one that is not laden should be overridden due to the needs of the one that is laden. If there is one boat that is close to its destination and one boat that is not close to its destination, the needs of the one that is close should be overridden due to the needs of the one that is not close. If both of them were close to their destinations, or both of them were far from their destinations, impose a compromise between them to decide which goes first, and the owners of the boats pay a fee to one other, i.e., the owners of the first boat compensate the owner of the boat that waits, for any loss incurred.
This is the essence of the second tzedek: compromise.
The first tzedek is all the things we discussed first. We should have judges and officers that are honest, fair, not susceptible to bribes, and learned. We should also have courts in every city and region. Each person should seek out the best court, regardless of outcome, to ensure a just verdict. We should do this all to ensure that we keep ourselves in our ancestral homeland, and so that we don’t fall prey to idolatry.
But we must also infuse that justice with compromise. Without compromise, our justice will be cold and difficult to bare. Ultimately, it’s only through compromise that justice can truly be served.
How important are these rules? We have established that they are integral to keeping us in the land of Israel, but the Torah goes one step further in the next two lines.
The first tzedek is all the things we discussed first. We should have judges and officers that are honest, fair, not susceptible to bribes, and learned. We should also have courts in every city and region. Each person should seek out the best court, regardless of outcome, to ensure a just verdict. We should do this all to ensure that we keep ourselves in our ancestral homeland, and so that we don’t fall prey to idolatry.
But we must also infuse that justice with compromise. Without compromise, our justice will be cold and difficult to bare. Ultimately, it’s only through compromise that justice can truly be served.
How important are these rules? We have established that they are integral to keeping us in the land of Israel, but the Torah goes one step further in the next two lines.
(כא) לֹֽא־תִטַּ֥ע לְךָ֛ אֲשֵׁרָ֖ה כָּל־עֵ֑ץ אֵ֗צֶל מִזְבַּ֛ח ה' אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תַּעֲשֶׂה־לָּֽךְ׃ (ס) (כב) וְלֹֽא־תָקִ֥ים לְךָ֖ מַצֵּבָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׂנֵ֖א ה' אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (ס)
(21) You shall not set up a sacred post—any kind of pole beside the altar of the LORD your God that you may make— (22) or erect a stone pillar; for such the LORD your God detests.
These verses seem oddly placed. We close last week’s parsha discussing the holidays, move in to appointing judges over the Jewish people, and then have a two-line discussion on what not to put next to the altar.
One of the 13 rules of Rabbi Yishmael for interpreting Torah is that the meaning of a verse can be clarified by its context or from subsequent information. So, we take our initial thought, tzedek, tzedek tirdof, and follow it up with a short discussion of certain items that Hashem detests being erected next to the altar. The conclusion we draw is that, if we set up a court system that takes bribes, shows favoritism, and does not pursue justice in its most righteous form, it is as if we have set up a competing altar to the one in the mishkan. Having a proper judicial system is so important, that if we have one that is corrupt, it is akin to idolatry, which is one of the things Hashem detests the most, an action for which he reserves the strongest language.
With that said, the universal message we take from this parsha is that regardless of our cultural and language differences, independent of the type of political system each country has, and putting aside any partisan feelings we have, the most important indication of a healthy society is a fair and just judicial system that is free from bribery and corruption. We should all merit to continue to live in a society where this is the case, and endeavor to ensure that this system is available for the next generation.
Shabbat shalom.
One of the 13 rules of Rabbi Yishmael for interpreting Torah is that the meaning of a verse can be clarified by its context or from subsequent information. So, we take our initial thought, tzedek, tzedek tirdof, and follow it up with a short discussion of certain items that Hashem detests being erected next to the altar. The conclusion we draw is that, if we set up a court system that takes bribes, shows favoritism, and does not pursue justice in its most righteous form, it is as if we have set up a competing altar to the one in the mishkan. Having a proper judicial system is so important, that if we have one that is corrupt, it is akin to idolatry, which is one of the things Hashem detests the most, an action for which he reserves the strongest language.
With that said, the universal message we take from this parsha is that regardless of our cultural and language differences, independent of the type of political system each country has, and putting aside any partisan feelings we have, the most important indication of a healthy society is a fair and just judicial system that is free from bribery and corruption. We should all merit to continue to live in a society where this is the case, and endeavor to ensure that this system is available for the next generation.
Shabbat shalom.