Torah Portion

THE CENTER

FITNESS CLUB

Passion For Justice

ment, repeated countless times, to do
justly, to pursue and to seek righteous-
ness. One cannot always be trusted to
do spontaneously what is right.
Subjectivity can have as many forms as
there are people. The law comes,
therefore, in the words of Justice
Holmes, "as the witness and external
deposit of our moral life."
he Jewish passion for justice
Western civilization bears out the
is stated in its most powerful
genius of Judaism, which presented laws
form in the text of this
as the ideal of life. No book has served
week's Torah portion — "Justice, jus-
as much as the Torah to teach the signif-
tice shall you pursue, that you may
icance of law for a just society. The Bible
live, and inherit the land that the
declares that no one is above the law, not
Lord gives you."
even the king. The Torah says
In commenting on this
that there is one law for the cit-
text, Jewish sages note the
izen and the sojourner; for the
word tzedek (justice) is twice
strong and the weak; for the
repeated. The reasons for this
king and for the commoner.
are several. First, this is to
Without law, there is no
teach us that justice must be
freedom since unequal strength
diligently, vigorously and
will lead to unequal justice.
intensely pursued if it is to
'And when justice is dead,"
be attained at all. Secondly,
justice requires that one must RABBI I RWIN said Immanuel Kant, "it's bet-
ter not to be alive." Judaism
accept a fair judgment even
GRO NER
saw the highest moral striving
when it imposes sacrifice,
Special to the
of the individual and the peo-
hardship or loss. Finally, a
Jewish News
ple in the passion for justice.
Chasidic teacher pointed out
The struggle for right is the grandest
that one achieves justice only by using
just means. The cause of justice is never and noblest moral duty. In Jewish con-
sciousness, justice is perceived as that
served by injustice, duplicity or false-
which embodies God's will, so that the
hood.
triumph of the just cause is no less than
When we look upon Judaism as a
the victory of God.
system of values, the distinguishing
Our struggle for the defense of the
feature is its emphasis on justice. The
law is, therefore, a religious duty. If
largest part of its classical literature
you have witnessed a wrong, you have
consists of legal writings. Jewish law
a mitzvah or religious obligation to
also includes responsa, which record
come and testify even if you are not
the decisions of scholars recognized as
the legal authorities of Jewish commu- summoned and to inform the court. It
is the task of every moral person to see
nities. These legal opinions continue
that justice is defended. The rabbis
to be written until this very day. This
encounter the sacred in the proper
case law consists of approximately
exercise of the legal process.
300,000 decisions, a staggering num-
In a lawsuit, litigants not only stand
ber when one considers the fact that
before the judge, but also before the
these opinions were handed down by
Almighty. The judge, himself, is a
judges who were generally without
partner with God. When two men
societal authority or political power.
There are some who believe that man brought their case to Rabbi Akiva,
who served as their judge, he said,
and society are corrupted by law, that
"Know before whom you stand. You
love and benevolence should suffice as a
are being judged by the Creator of the
guide for conduct and for the building
of a moral society. A French philosopher Universe.
once wrote: "I will have no laws. I will
acknowledge none. I protest every law
which an authority calling itself neces-
sary, imposes on my free will."
Judaism has stressed the command-
In the pursuit of justice, is
observing the law enough? Can
Irwin Groner is rabbi emeritus of
standing on one's legal rights ever
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
get in the way of just behavior?
Southfield.

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

T

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