Have Torah, Will Travel

Have Torah, Will Travel

D’var Torah for Parashat Shoftim: Deuteronomy 16:18--21:9

by Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

No passage in the whole Torah can be any clearer than the words of this portion. The laws are clear, unambiguous, even incisive. The language can hardly be misunderstood. Tzedek, tzedek tirdof, “justice, justice shall you pursue,” (Deut. 16:20) is an obvious example. The precision of the phrasing and the driving rhythm in which it is spoken leave us in no doubt. Many of the other commandments of this parashah are as clearly phrased. This portion was no doubt intended as a constitution, a set of basic laws which stand at the foundation of a much larger system. Meant to maximize the stability of the structure, these laws must be profound and unshakable.

That they are all that comes as no surprise. Yet, wiggle room—the freedom to interpret and adapt—is somehow still built into this complex codex or body of laws.

One of the phrases by which this book of the Torah is identified (Deuteronomy) is based on an ancient Greek translation of the phrase mishne ha-Torah (appearing in this parashah in chapter 17, verse 18). The Hebrew phrase could be interpreted either as a second Torah, or as a copy of the Torah; the difference is subtle but important, having to do with literal accuracy. Rashi, the great commentator of the 11th century, explains mishne ha-Torah through a metaphor, saying that every king has to have two copies of the Torah; one which stays treasured at home, the other which he takes with him on his journeys. The one serves as the unchanging proof text, while the other holds the infinite ways in which the original can be interpreted.

Thus even the phrase Tzedek, tzedek tirdof, “justice, justice shall you pursue,” as unambiguous and imperative as it seems, lends itself to several teachings. The bottom line is that justice is one of the most basic values in all Judaism, indeed in all humanity. Moses was not the first to institute laws. He was only the first to make Justice a divine attribute. In pre-existing codes of law (such as Hammurabi’s), the king was the source of the law. As such, he was actually above the law. But in Moses’s concept, even a king was subject to God’s law, to God’s system of justice. Indeed, Abraham even holds God to account, as he calls out in Genesis 18:25: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?!” Justice, justice indeed! Justice below, justice above.

Yet, the human element carries doubt with it. It’s all fine and good as far as ideals go, but true justice isn’t always so obvious to us humans. As the opening passage from this week’s parashah continues, we are therefore warned to follow a due process of vigorous investigation and to steer away from bribery and perversion of justice. The reliability of witnesses, too, is brought into question, as we are told, at least in capital cases, to follow the testimony of two or three witnesses, not only one. Viewed from different angles, we might get a better perspective of what really happened.

Justice is elusive, hence the need to pursue it. Yet, unlike Inspector Javert of Les Miserables or Marshal Sam Gerard in The Fugitive, we must not get lost in the act of pursuit. Justice is a goal that needs to be tempered with understanding, with compassion—with the understanding that to be human means we can fail, but also that we can rise again; that we can be guilty, but that all the same we can also be forgiven.

Rashi, in his commentary on the doubling of the word tzedek, “justice,” quotes early sources and says, “Seek out a good [or fair] court.” In other words, as we pursue justice, we must also do it with justice. There are fair practices and procedures that need to be followed. The very course of investigation that we follow can lead us astray, if we give in to the easy temptations along the way: A few minor indiscretions here, a couple of unimportant ordinances sidestepped, details and trivial infractions that can be swept under the rug, covered up, never to leave a trace.

One thing leads to another, and before we know it we have Watergate on our hands.

Tzedek, tzedek, “justice, justice.” There’s the ideal, and then there’s reality. How we apply each of these to our lives is key to the kind of person we are and the kind of society we create.

Tirdof, “you shall pursue.” How we follow this huge ideal—so important that we demand that even God be held accountable—is fundamental to our civilization. How we apply it is crucial to our humanity. It is true at home and along the path. It is a goal and the means. From end to end, all must be just—and our goal is not only to seek justice, but to live it. It takes practice and vigilance, mind and heart.

To be just is to be Divine.

To be just is to be Human.

©2010 by Boaz D. Heilman