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Equality And Justice:
Pillars Of Judaism
DR. RICHARD C. HERTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
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Hertzberg Sanctuary
Rabbi Martin Berman
Cantor Max Shimansky
Reverend Joseph Baras
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C E L EB
Sol J. Schwartz Auditorium
Auxiliary Services
Rabbi Milton Arm
David Arm
For Information Call: 352-8670
21100 West Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan 48076
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Congregation Shaarey 2edek
Invites
Prospective Members
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"74 Friday Alight Service"
and Oneg Shabbat
70in Us 7or
Kabbalat
Skabbat Service Under the Stars
Congregation Shaarey 2edek
Southfield
3riday, August 27,1993
7:30 pm
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*7arviily Participation*
*Oneg Shabbat3ollowing Services*
*3cm/idles of all sizes and ages welcome*
*gn case of rain, services will be
held indoors*
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ome 2,500 years ago
the prophet Jeremiah
wrote a letter to the
leaders of the exiled
Jewish community in Bab-
bylon advising them on the
manner of their living in the
first galut in Jewish history.
"Seek ye the welfare of a city
to which I have exiled you
and pray for it to the Lord, for
in its welfare would you find
your welfare." (Jeremiah 29:1)
The advice Jeremiah gave
is still valid today. The
welfare of the American
Jewish community is bound
up with the welfare of
American democratic society.
The security of American
Jews rests upon the strength
and security of American
democracy.
The synagogue has a
special interest in preserving
a democratic state with its
constitutional liberties. Con-
cern for peace, justice,
freedom and equality is as
much a moral imperative of
historic Judaism as is its con-
cern for ritual and prayer.
Throughout the prophetic
books of the Bible, you find
this cry of protest against ex-
cessive concern with ritual,
especially when a disregard of
justice and righteousness is
found.
Our sedrah speaks to this
point. "Justice, justice shall
shalt thou pursue."
(Deuteronomy 16:20) But we
do not always realize that the
term justice in prophetic
Judaism encompassed social
justice, economic justice, as
well as justice in the courts.
Moses commanded the
Israelites to order their socie-
ty so that the time might
come when there would be no
more needy among them.
(Deuteronomy 15:4) Long
before Karl Marx condemned
monopolists, Isaiah warned,
"Woe unto them that join
house to house and fail to feel
there be no place for others."
(Isaiah 5:8)
Security for the elderly and
infirm today reflects the an-
cient Jewish concern for the
welfare of the aged. The
enactment of adequate social
security laws to provide
medical care and other
necessities for senior citizens
is giving meaning to the
prayer of the Yom Kippur
liturgy, "Do not send us away
Richard Hertz is rabbi emeritus
of Temple Beth El.
in the time of our old age
when our strength wains. Do
not forsake us!"
The passionate striving for
peace, justice, freedom and
equality constitutes the heart
of prophetic Judaism. These
are the four pillars of ancient
prophetic Judaism and
belong not only to Jews in an-
cient times but to modern
Jewish life as well.
The Torah commanded that
there should be one law
equally for the native and the
stranger who dwells in the
midst of Israel, a law repeated
many times in the Torah.
A passionate belief in
justice and the concern for
justice for all people make
equality before the law a
basic concept inherent in
Judaism.
Even if the prophets
reached only to their fellow
Shabbat Shoftim:
Deuteronomy
16:18-21:19.
Isaiah
51:12-52:12.
Israelites and saw justice on-
ly in terms of_ their covenant
with their God, their ringing
words have carried from age
to age their belief that justice
was for the weak as well as for
the strong.
One could not serve God at
the same time that he
mistreated his fellow man. To
love God was to love justice
and the love of justice placed
within the conscience of each
human being the ultimate,
inescapable obligation to de-
nounce evil.
The institution of the
synagogue sought to make
the Jew ever aware of the
nature of his religion a way of
life that offered no escape
from the problems of life but
that led to fulfilling life with
justice.
Judaism offers no easy
escape from the problems of
life. It rejects the device of
passing all responsibility for
social problems to God. In our
tradition, man is called the
co-worker or partner of God in
the creation of a better world.
In this sedrah, we Jews are
challenged by our religion to
take seriously and pursue the
basic human rights of
everyone through justice.
❑