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Sent: Monday, September 8, 1997 1:26 AM
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Subject: R&B News Service - "SHABBAT SHALOM: Parashat Shoftim
To: (IL/ROOT & BRANCH ASSOCIATION, LTD.), rb@rb.org.il
From: "Root & Branch Association, Ltd." <rb@rb.org.il>
Subject: R&B News Service - "SHABBAT SHALOM: Parashat Shoftim
21-21:9) Weekly Torah Commentary by Rabbi Shlomo
Riskin
SHABBAT SHALOM: Parashat Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:21-21:9)
by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
EFRAT, September 5, Root & Branch: "Justice, justice shall you pursue that
you may live, and inherit the land which the Lord your G-d has given you."
[Deut. 16:20]
Two questions: Why repeat the word "justice"? Is there a level of justice
which would be overlooked if the Torah had limited itself to "justice shall
you pursue", so that the repetition comes along to alert us to something
more - a purer, more perfect kind of justice? Furthermore, our portion of
Shoftim is replete with laws dealing with
every conceivable subject in the world, from commandments that forbid the
sacrificing of blemished animals to laws on how to appoint a king (or Prime
Minister) and instructions as to how to properly wage a moral war, if war
indeed be necessary. So why is it that only in reference to justice - or
the establishment of a proper judicial system - does the Torah stipulate
the inheritance of the land as if our right to the Land of Israel is
specifically dependent upon "tzedek" (justice)? What is the
connection?
The classic commentator Rashi quotes the Sifri's explanation of the
doubling of the term "tzedek". The reason why it's repeated is because the
Torah wants to tell us that in order to pursue justice one must take the
time and trouble to find a "just" court. the implication - unfortunately
borne out by bitter experience - is that one could end up inside a
courtroom with all the trappings of justice but which is in reality a sham,
concealing mean-spirited judges who are impatient, or concentrate only on
the letter of the law without attempting to reveal its spirit. Pursuing
"justice, justice" implies going from place to place until one discerns a
truly just court to decide the issue.
In more recent times, the great 19th century Polish hassidic master,
Menahem Mendel of Kotzk, commented that the double language of "tzedek"
addresses the classic issue of the ends never justifying the means. In a
world where cognitive dissonance is all too common, and a wide variety of
people finds ways to rationalize an unethical practice
based on presumably desirable goals, the Kotzker Rebbe argues that the word
"tzedek" is repeated in order to teach us that justice has a double-edge:
not only must the goal be pure, but the means must be pure as well. We
should never allow the goal to become so important that it justifies
abandoning an ethical means. Pursue justice with just means!
This may tie up with Rashi's interpretation as well. After all, the
judicial court is the usual means for acquiring ethical and proper judicial
decisions; see to it that you rely on a truly just group of judges for the
rendering of a just result.
The linkage between justice and our inheritance of the Land of Israel
touches at the very heart of the Jewish religion and mission. Our Torah
expresses an ideal of ethical monotheism, a G-d Whose very essence is
compassion, justice, tolerance and truth. Our G-d-given task is to educate
the world towards a period of peace and truth, universal
harmony and justice. In our acceptance of Torah must be predicated our
acceptance of justice as an absolute value and ideal. Hence our right to
live eternally, as well as our right to the Land of Israel as a sovereign
nation, are predicated upon our exemplifying justice in our national and
familial lives.
What's interesting is that this fundamental principle can be seen as the
theme of the very first verse in the Torah. In fact, the first Rashi in
Genesis is saying exactly this - and is often misunderstood. Rashi there
explains why the Torah begins with the account of G-d creating the world
rather than with the first commandment: "Because if the nations of the
world should say to Israel, 'You are robbers, because you have seized by
force the lands of the seven nations,' they (Israel) could say to them,
'The entire world belongs to G-d; He created it and gave it to whomever was
right (or righteous) in His eyes.'" [Rashi, Genesis 1:1].
The language which Rashi uses is "ve-natnah asher yashar be-einav", which
is usually understood to mean that the reason why the Torah begins with the
account of the Creation is because He who created the world can certainly
choose the beneficiaries of His benevolence. But this understanding
overlooks the straight-forward meaning of the words. I do not believe that
Rashi is telling us that G-d can do what He wants to; rather, he is saying
that G-d will give Israel to whoever is "yashar" - righteous, morally
upright -in His eyes. If a nation inhabiting the Land of Israel cannot
stand up to the test of being righteous, then the land won't be given them;
and if they act as if they own it, they won't remain there for long. And
that applies to the nation
of Israel as well.
In fact, Rashi's choice of the word "yashar" may be a subtle allusion to
the very name of Israel, which spells our "yashar El". Within the very
essence of Israel we have the built-in concept of righteousness and moral
worthiness.
In terms of our return to Israel in modern times, yet another
interpretation may be offered towards an understanding of this verse. The
Jewish people stand before the world of nations with two legitimate and
righteous claims. First of all, it is right and moral for us to be able to
live as a separate and distinct religious group in the various countries of
the world. Nazi Germany and Communist Russia did not believe we
had this right; they were wrong. Our right to live - and the unspeakable
evil of genocide which made the holocaust so sui generis - must be pursued
as a fundamental expression of righteousness.
Secondly, our inheritance of the Land of Israel and our right to be a
sovereign nation in the Middle East must also be pursued as a righteous
claim, as a just demand. We have lived in this part of the world in an
unbroken chain for almost 4,000 years. Despite exile and persecution we
have never ceased dreaming of return, and we inhabit
the areas that we now inhabit - in some cases disputed lands but never
occupied lands - because we fought back against aggressive enemies who
wished to push us into the sea. These rights have even been documented -
in the Treaty of Versailles, wherein we were "guaranteed" both sides of the
Jordan and then, in a separate document signed by the
King of Jordan and Chaim Weitzman, at least the West Bank.
I can certainly understand the clash of two claims - even the clash of two
claims on the basis of "righteousness" - which, given peaceful intent on
both sides, can be decided fairly on the basis of granting national
sovereignty to each nation over the areas which they inhabit. However, we
must understand that our claim is a righteous one, we deserve morally to
continue living in the settlements of Israel, and on the basis of our just
claim we shall indeed inhabit the land of our ancestors.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel
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Shlomo Riskin is Rabbi of Efrat and a Consulting Torah Scholar to the Root
& Branch Association
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