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Shiurim & Adult Education
THOUGHTS ON SHOFTIM BY AVI SON
Towards the beginning of this week’s sedrah we read the famous line “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof” which translates as “justice, justice you shall pursue.” Within a parsha that is entitled Shoftim and centres around the core themes of justice and a proper judicial system, it is easy to appreciate the potency of this line. This is further evidenced by the somewhat bizarre way this is phrased. Firstly, the repetition of the word ‘Tzedek’ is noteworthy, furthermore, the notion of pursuing justice is also intriguing. Throughout the Torah there are multiple key beliefs, values and concepts that are at the core of our faith, yet we are usually simply told to adhere to them, we are rarely told to pursue them, yet in the case of justice this is exactly what we are tasked with, what is the reason for this?
I believe that one potential answer to this question is that true unbiased justice is a difficult concept for us to grasp, let alone apply to our everyday lives. Therefore, it is something we must constantly strive towards, we must continuously chase and pursue true justice and not be satisfied that it has already been achieved. Of course, this line appears within the context of a formal judicial system and therefore is specifically applicable to the appointed judges, but it also applies to each of us in our own lives to, when we look to understand and appreciate those around us. True justice is difficult because we are almost always clouded by our pre-determined notions of a person’s character so that we are predisposed to judge someone’s actions a certain way, either positively or negatively, it is a constant challenge to remove this bias and judge people for who they actually are and what they actually have done. This notion is alluded to throughout the rest of the parsha as we learn about various individuals who should not be entrusted with power, and the superficial reasons we may be inclined to judge them positively. This list includes the idol worshipper, the rebellious elder, a King chosen for the wrong reasons and negligent city leaders. Correspondingly, the parsha also points us in the direction of those who we should trust to lead us: the King who Hashem chooses, the Cohanim and Leviim and the true prophets. Sforno explains that we may be inclined to choose our leaders and judges based solely upon artificial qualities such as physical appearance, this is true in our lives today as well, that we may choose our friends based upon qualities like looks and wealth, and that these qualities can cloud our judgement. Therefore, when choosing both our leaders and our friends, we constantly strive to look beyond these to the deeper qualities that make up a person’s true character, in this way we continue to pursue justice and righteousness.
Furthermore, perhaps the word ‘Tzedek’ is repeated as it alludes to more than one type of justice. We not only focus upon the justice that judges administer in court, or the justice that we attempt to live up to in judging everyone around us fairly and equally, but also in the introspection and judgement we place upon ourselves. As we have just entered Elul, we look forward with both excitement and trepidation to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, also entitled Yom HaDin, the day of judgement. On the surface, it is somewhat bizarre that these two concepts are tied together in one festival, we know that Rosh Hashana is a joyous time, but at the same time we are told it is the day we are judged, this seems paradoxical?
The truth is that the joy we experience on Rosh Hashanah comes from our ability to generate a genuinely new start, to become genuinely better people. In order to do this, we first must experience the Day of Judgement, as this day galvanizes us to examine ourselves. Only through this introspection, this admission of where we have erred and this desire to improve, can we experience the joy and simchah brought about by this fresh chance. When we speak about pursuing justice, it therefore also means pursuing internal justice, being brutally honest with ourselves about our shortcomings, so that we can build into the new year as better people. The Jewish New Year is not a time for resolutions, but a time for wholesale resolute change, but this process has to start now. If we arrive at Yom HaDin and only then begin our introspection, we are too late. That is what Elul is for. Now is the time that we can pursue justice both externally and internally, examine who we have been, and who we would like to be, so that we approach Yom HaDin with a full heart knowing what we have to undertake to build towards a brighter future.
Shabbat shalom.
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