Shoftim 5771 - English

Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik
Congregacion Kol Shearith Israel

Jewish tradition considers Justice as one of the divine attributes (“The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He”, Deut. 32:4).  And this quality implies not only that God acts with Justice, – let us recall Abraham’s demand to God, “… shall not the Judge of all the earth do justly?” (Gen. 18:25) – but also that human beings, created in His own image and likeness, must endeavor to act with righteousness and equanimity: “It hath been told thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah 6:8).

Nevertheless, the essence of the Jewish conception of Justice appears at the beginning of Parashat Shoftim:  TZEDEK TZEDEK TIRDOF, “Justice, justice shalt thou follow” (Deut. 16:20).

This phrase is extraordinary.

First, the word “justice” appears twice to remind us of the well-known, but always worthy of being brought back to the forefront, teaching of Rabi Simcha Bunem of Przysucha (Poland, 1765-1827), that the pursuit of Justice must only be conducted using righteous means.

Second, the Hebrew text uses the term TIRDOF, “you will follow”, thus suggesting, as Abraham J. Heschel (Poland 1907- United States 1972) says, that Justice should be zealously pursued, that we must struggle to find it.

Hence, we can infer that it is not just a question of acting individually with honesty and impartiality, although that would help tremendously, but that we should rather seek to build a framework of relationships based on equality, on mutual respect.

We are all God’s children, and according to the rabbinic interpretation (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5), that is the reason why only one human couple was created, to teach us that we all come from the same origin and that we are all part of the same family.

Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof, “Justice, justice shalt thou follow.”

This Justice principle is much wider than first thought and involves as well the summons to create a fair economic order, where everyone can achieve satisfaction of their basic needs.

In the words of the Psalmist, “The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (24:1); however, we human beings have been unable to jointly manage this divine gift, and we find ourselves in a situation of extreme injustice, where half of the Earth’s population live in a state of poverty.

That is why, in Hebrew, concern for the needy is called Tzedakah.  Some translate Tzedakah as “charity”, but this isn’t actually correct.  Tzedakah comes from the same root as Tzedek.  And in this sense, Tzedakah is not an act of love, but an act of justice.  Those who have, have the duty to help those who do not.  In this world which belongs to God, it is my responsibility as a person to care for those who need my help.

Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof, “Justice, justice shalt thou follow”, and the verse goes on to say:  “that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”  The words directed to the people of Israel, on the eve of their entering the Promised Land, were aimed at building a society intimately and deeply-rooted in justice.

More than 3000 years later, those same words continue to summon us to act decisively, wherever we may be, to work on behalf of equity, integrity and solidarity.  And it is with devotion and commitment that we should answer this call.

Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof, “Justice, justice shalt thou follow.”  As a Hassidic teacher preaches, the repetition of the word Tzedek should remind us that, when it comes to pursuing justice, one should never remain quiet.

Shabbat Shalom,

Gustavo