""m".....1 TORAH PORTION 1
BLENDING TOGETHER ALL SEGMENTS OF
THE REFORM JEWISH COMMUNITY
Do The Ends Ever
Justify The Means?
RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT
Special to The Jewish News
T
/-
he infamous teaching
of Machiavelli that the
ends justify the means
has shaped the course of
Western civilization. It has
been the excuse for many
wars. It has provided the
moral sanction for the im-
perialism of Western powers
in underdeveloped lands. It
was used as the rationale for
dropping atom bombs on two
Japanese cities at the end of
World War II. It still has tacit
authority today in politics, in
business and in almost every
Shabbat Shoftim:
Deuteronomy
16:15-21:9,
Isaiah 51:12-52:12
facet of contemporary life.
The Torah's view on this ques-
tion is clear and decisive. An
exposition of it occurs in this
week's portion.
The first part of the sidrah
of Shoftim deals with the
establishment of a judicial
system. The Torah asks that
competent judges be ap-
pointed who would be impar-
tial in their deliberations.
Stern warnings are given to
the judges not to be influenc-
ed by the wealth or the pover-
ty of the litigants, and not to
treat cases involving large
sums of money any different-
ly than those of small sums.
Finally, special mention is
made of the danger of accep-
ting bribes in the judicial
process.
Within the framework of
these specific laws concerning
the judiciary is a broad state-
N ment which begs for an ex-
planation. The Torah states,
"Tzedek, tzedek tirdof —
Justice, justice you shall pur-
sue" (Deut. 16:20).
Why is the word justice,
tzedek, repeated twice?
One explanation of this
phrase is that "just" means
must be used to secure "just"
ends. It is important not only
to pursue justice, as one of the
:most noble ideals of Judaism,
but also that this pursuit be
executed in just ways. The
Torah categorically rejects the
concept that the ends justify
the means. True justice is in-
divisible; it is all embracing
and all encompassing.
The Hebrew word for truth,
emet, is comprised of three
Morton F Yolkut is rabbi of
Congregation B'nai David.
letters: the first is the first let-
ter of the alphabet, alef; the
second letter, mem, is in the
center; and the third letter,
tav, concludes the alphabet.
In the Jewish weltan-
shauung, truth and justice
must be found from alef to
tav, from A to Z, from begin-
ning to end.
The rationale for the Torah
view is easily understood.
Ends cannot justify means
because there exists no ar-
tificial distinction between
means and ends. If anything,
the means justify the ends.
Righteous means lead to
ethical goals. Unholy means
can pervert the most holy
ends and wicked methods
must eventually distort and
corrupt pure goals.
What became of the
Crusaders who fought so-
called holy wars against the
infidels? Did they not become
as cruel and barbarous as the
infidels whom they pledged to
destroy? Where are the
sublime ends promised by the
Russian Revolution? Can
anyone really believe that
tyranny and religious oppres-
sion will end the class strug-
gle and usher in a utopian
state of brotherhood and pro-
sperity?
The Torah teaches that if a
man steals wheat from
another, bakes a loaf of bread
and then performs the mitz-
vah of taking challah (a
tithe), even though the mitz-
vah is technically fulfilled, he
may not make a blessing over.
it. Such a mitzvah is called a
curse by the Talmud, not a
blessing.
PLEASE JOIN US AT OUR OPEN HOUSE
SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 1988 or THURSDAY, SEPT. 1, 1988
2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
TEMPLE KOL AMI
5085 Walnut Lake Road
W. Bloomfield, Ml 48033
661-0040
Celebrating twenty-two years as a strong voice of Reform Judaism in the community.
Ernst J. Conrad
Norman T. Roman
Founding Rabbi Emeritus
Rabbi
Affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Adat Shalom
Synagogue
A Conservative
Congregation
Bar-Han U.
Shabbat
volgekow -
Unity in the Jewish com-
munity will be underscored
by the participation in the
city-wide Bar-Ilan Shabbat,
to be observed throughout the
metropolitan area on Aug. 27.
Abraham Pasternak, Bar-
Ilan University's synagogue
liaison, said 36 Detroit-area
congregations will participate
in Bar-Ilan Shabbat.
The Shabbat observance is
in advance of the Bar-Ilan
dinner, to be held on Sept. 7
at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek.
Wine To Speak
Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine will
describe the philosophy and
programs of the Birmingham
Temple and of Humanistic
Judaism at 8:30 p.m. Wednes-
day at the temple.
7:00 to 9:00 p.m
Where
Your Family
Comes First
Reduced
Dues to Age 36
d.
Rabbi Efry Spectre
Rabbi Elliot Pachter
Cantor Larry Vieder
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
35