TORAH PORTION'

Congregation Shaarey Zedek

\ Announces

Proudly

Religious School Education

Tuition Free

indergarten --- Fifth IlAclusiv
For Children of
egation Sllaare3,7 Zedek Members

Sunday Morning Classes
Weekday afternoon classes
conducted at
conducted at Hillel Day School BI dg.
Congregation
Shaarey Zedek
(Middlebelt near 14 Mile Rd.)
Non-Members are invited to call:
Leonard P. Baruch or Arline Gould at 357-5544
*Material and book fees not included
Transfer Students Accepted

The DOWNTOWN SYNAGOGUE

will hold

High Holy Day Services

this year at the

RACKHAM BUILDING

located at 80 Farnsworth St. (around the corner from Woodward Ave. and
across the street from the Detroit Institute of Arts).
There is surface parking at Farnsworth and John R., where one may park the en-
tire day for only $2.00. This lot is about 100 feet from the building. Other park-
ing facilities are also available.
ROSH HASHANAH
8.30 A.M.
Mon., Sept. 9
8.30 A.M.
Tues., Sept. 10
YOM KIPPUR
7:30 P.M.
Tues. evening, Sept. 17 (KOL NIDRE)
10:00
A.M.
Wed., Sept. 18
1:00
P.M.
Wed., Sept. 18 (YIZKOR)
The services on the two evenings of Rosh Hashanah, Sun. evening, Sept. 8, and Mon. even-
ing, Sept. 9, will be held at 7:00 P.M. at the Downtown Synagogue building, 1457 Griswold
(Corner of Clifford).

Come Join With Us For Prayer, Study and Sociability
CONGREGATION SIIAAREY ZEDEK B'NAI ISRAEL CENTER

4200 Walnut Lake Road
invites you to join with us in perpetuating
Conservative Judaism in West Bloomfield
Daily, Sabbath and Holy Day Services

Attend Our Inspirational High Holy Day Services

DR. SHERMAN P. KIRSHNER, RABBI CANTOR BARRY ULRYCH, HAllAN
Contact the Synagogue Office, 681-5353
for Membership or High Holy Day Tickets

JEWELRY APPRAISALS

J At Very Reasonable Prices. Call For An Appointment
! a r tutec
,
30400 Telegraph Road
. N.
Suite 134
A..
Bingham Farms, MI 48010
FINE JEWELERS
established 1919
(313) 642-5575
Lawrence M. Allan, Pres.

GEM/DIAMOND SPECIALIST
AWARDED CERTIFICATE BY GIA
IN GRADING AND EVALUATION

46

FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 1991

DAFLY 10-5:30
THURS. 10-7
SAT. 10-3

Selecting Our Judges
And Our Leaders

RABBI AARON BERGMAN

Special to The Jewish News

F

ew political appoint-
ments in our day cause
much excitement. Rare-
ly do people get in an uproar
about ambassadors or lower
court judges. The discretion of
the president and Congress is
generally accepted. The ex-
ception is the Supreme Court.
The public has rightly
deduced that the choice of
candidate will have a pro-
found effect on their personal
lives. Without delving into
specific issues, it is worth-
while to discuss the process of
selecting a justice, first from
an American and then a
Jewish perspective.
The American Constitution
is silent about what kind of
person can sit on the Supreme
Court. It just gives the presi-
dent power to appoint a can-
didate. The candidate must be
approved by Congress. Rarely
is a candidate rejected.
The prospective justice can
come from a range of occupa-
tional backgrounds. He or she
can be a judge already in the
federal system, a senator, a
lawyer or even a university
professor. One does not
specifically train, therefore, to
sit on the highest bench.
Rather, after a successful
career elsewhere one is pick-
ed with the hope that that
person will transform himself
or herself into a competent
Supreme Court justice.
Nowhere is character men-
tioned. It is often enough that
the person has no criminal
record or never used illegal
substances at inappropriate
moments. In fact, the less the
candidate has distinguished
himself as an individual
character, and the less is
known about his worldview,
the better his chance for
approval.
This has led to the absurd
situation that the current
Supreme Court justices them-
selves may know nothing
about the appointee, in-
cluding whether they can
work with him. Such an ap-
proach is antithetical to
Jewish thought.
This week's Torah portion,
Shoftim, concerns itself with
the proper way of finding the
highest judges. In Deuter-
onomy 16:21 it is written:
"You shall not set up an

Rabbi Bergman is a rabbi at
Congregation Beth Abraham
Hillel Moses, and rabbi-in-
residence at Hillel Day
School.

asherah next to the altar

where you make your
sacrifices."
An asherah was a kind of
tree that idolators would wor-
ship as part of pantheistic
practice. The Talmud, in trac-
tate Sandhedrin, equates ap-
pointing an unqualified judge
to worshipping this tree.
Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik
explains, "A regular idol is
noticeable to all that it is an
idol, and is easy to avoid. But
a tree that has been worship-
ped as an idol looks like a
harmless, ordinary tree. It is
still an idol and therefore
spiritually dangerous. So is a
judge who is unqualified. He

Shabbat Shoftim:
Deuteronomy
16:18-21:9,
Isaiah 51:12-52:12.

appears learned and
righteous, but can be quite
dangerous."
Jewish law has firm ideas of
what makes a person
qualified to be considered for
the position of judge.
Maimonides lists many of
them in his Mishne Torah.
First, the judge must be
wise. This means more than
a knowledge of legal codes
and theories. He must know
science, medicine and math,
and not just rely on expert
testimony. He must know the
ways of sorcerors, cheaters
and charlatans, in order to
see through their ways.
He has to know the
language of the people, and
address them at their own
level. Second, he must be
humble and afraid of sin. A
suitable judge does not
mistake himself for God. On
the other hand, he has to
recognize the extraordinary
impact he has on other lives.
No lapse in judgment is
permitted.
Third, he is unbribeable.
This does not just refer to
money. If someone is ap-
pointed strictly because of
political outook, or stand on
a specific issue, this is con-
sidered a form of bribery. It is
rare for such an appointee to
ever be in conflict with the
one who appointed him.
Fourth, he must love truth
and people at the same time,
making decisions faithful to
both. Judging too much on
the side of truth can lead to
cruelty. Being too much for
people can lead to anarchy. It
is a balance that requires a
great deal of courage.