Parshat Shoftim

Parshat Shoftim - Pursuing Justice

By Dan Cohen

Earlier this year, civil rights pioneer Rev. James Lawson passed away. He is noted for teaching nonviolence to Martin Luther King after learning it by traveling to India to see Gandhi practice it there. He put all of his efforts into building a more just society.

Quoted in his LA Times obituary, he said that in the pursuit of justice, “Instead of giving in to anger, we must respect the inherent dignity and nobility of those with whom we disagree. We must listen. We must make connections rather than instigate separation, recognizing that violent thoughts, words, and actions only incite more violence.”

The piece added that Lawson also related his own experience with a young man who spit on him during a protest. He wiped his face and asked the young man about his motorcycle. A conversation began; the conflict was averted.

The third verse of our parsha is “famous” in American Jewry. I bet any socially active Jew can even recite it (in English).

Chapter 16, Verse 20 says, “Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving you.”  In Hebrew, its said, “Tzedek Tzedek Teerdof.” 

It's the rallying cry of every Jewish social justice movement in the US. I remember it as the basis of our shul youth group’s work on social action for Soviet Jewry and Ethiopian migration to Israel - significant issues in the 1980s.

We don’t read this Parsha in a vacuum. We usually read it when the calendar turns to the first Shabbat of Elul. This month, before Rosh Hashanah, is the month of our return, when we are urged to self-reflect. During this month, we are asked to use the daily call of the shofar to reflect on teshuvah (repentance), T’filah (prayer), and tzedakah (righteous giving). 

At the root of the word tzedakah is tzedek - justice. The parsha informs us that we need judges and an incorruptible legal system to enact justice. Justice also calls on us to think about how to give of ourselves righteously in the service of others.

Maybe one of the reasons many activists (Tikkun Olamers, like I used to call myself) are drawn to this is the interplay between the fire of the Torah and how it is realized in the rule of law in society. Rav Hirsh says, “Justice…is to be the one supreme goal sought purely for its own sake; a goal to which all other considerations must defer.” In a way, without justice, we have nothing.

He adds that if Israel is successful in establishing justice as a social institution, we have done everything within our power to secure our physical and political existence here. How does pursuing justice through social activism connect with this parsha’s call for a society with justice at its core? Rav Hirsch shares some insight.

First, as a reminder, we continue with Moshe’s speech to the nation here in Devarim. He says, “Justice justice shall you pursue.” This isn’t past or present tense. It's future tense. Moshe and the Torah imply that work remains to be done. 

Moshe teaches that while Israel will gain possession of the land, we will only retain it if we prioritize justice. Hirsh points out the giant “if” in this notion. Our possession of this land can be called into question at any time, and we must continually take ownership of it only through the full realization of justice.

That’s a lofty imperative.  Hashem tells us that yesterday’s work pales compared to the work we must do today to build a just society.  We cannot rest on the work of our elders, nor can we assign it to our children. We have to do the job.

Second, the verse repeats the words Tzedek Tzedek. Hirsch summarizes the Gemara in Sanhedrin 32b. He says calling out justice twice urges us to perform each judicial activity impartially, whether it decides the law or arranges a compromise—justice can be either outcome. It is a mitzvah to illuminate the law and/or to bring amicable compromise between parties.

The Gemara gives these examples. “Where there are two boats traveling on the river and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to pass, both of them sink, as the river is not wide enough for both to pass. If they pass one after the other, both of them pass.

And similarly, where there are two camels who were ascending the ascent of Beit Ḥoron, where there is a narrow steep path, and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to ascend, both of them fall. If they ascend one after the other, both of them ascend.”

It dawned on me today that Israeli drivers have probably never read this page of the Gemara or Dr. Seuss’s North-going Zax versus the South-going Zax. (See: https://youtu.be/dZmZzGxGpSs?si=53d7gvyLCfL-ZFJi)

Justice, whose root is in tzedakah, can mean righteously giving in a bit to achieve compromise. When I used to think about justice, it was an all-or-nothing proposition. Here, we learn that a just and fair solution is ideal.

Third, a famous phrase says, “The end justifies the means.” It is a paraphrase of the political philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli. It means that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of getting it is acceptable.

Throughout my life, I’ve met many social activists who felt so strongly about their goals that any means to achieve them was applicable. Even many civil rights activists fought Rev. Lawson on this very point - urging drastic and sometimes illegal actions to achieve racial justice.

We are taught differently. The Stone Chumash quotes R. Simcha Bunam of P’shis’cha and adds an obligation on all of us who pursue justice. He says one should pursue righteousness (and justice) only through righteousness. The Torah does not condone pursuing a holy end through improper means.

I am attracted to leaning on Tzedek Tzedek as a core tenant of my activism and even part of my Jewish identity. We Jews are restless in the pursuit of making things better and improving the world day by day. We are created in Gd’s image, and it is on us to help perfect the imperfections around us.

The Torah and examples like Rev. Lawson guide us on gracefully actualizing and doing this work. First, we must continue the work in the present, regardless of the past. Second, in civil matters, we must pursue justice through the rule of law and compromise, not stridency. Third, we must seek justice using our best ideals, not our most expedient actions.