“Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue”

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

In Parshas Shoftim we learn of the justice system that the Torah envisions. The Torah demands that judges be scholars of the highest caliber and men of the utmost integrity. However, the Torah expresses this command in a peculiar way (Devarim 16:20): “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” Why is the word “justice” repeated? How do we pursue it? There are many noble practices in the Torah, such as helping one’s fellow man, loving the convert, and honoring one’s parents, yet we are not commanded to pursue them. What is unique about justice?

The Sefas Emes answers that Hashem does not wish that the Jewish people merely ensure that a justice system exists. Jews should be zealous in their pursuit of justice, going above and beyond their call of duty. It’s not good enough for a Jew to be honest and enforce justice by the world’s standards; he must ensure that the Torah’s standards are met, and those are lofty indeed.

The Gemara (Kesubos 105b) relates that a tenant of Rabi Yishmael ben Rabi Yossi used to bring him a basket of fruit every erev Shabbos. Once, this tenant was involved in a case that came before Rabi Yishmael’s beis din (court of law) on Thursday. He decided to bring him the basket of fruit that day. Rabi Yishmael refused to accept it, and immediately disqualified himself from the case, even though he received this fruit every week and it was certainly not intended as a bribe.

Though Rabi Yishmael did not accept the gift, according to his understanding of the Torah it would have been dishonest to judge the case. We see that pursuing justice requires an extra degree of sensitivity. Acting truthfully is so important that no matter how honest we are, there will always be ways to perfect ourselves further. The Torah emphasizes this principle by repeating the word “justice.”

Why does the Torah place so much emphasis on justice? Rav Dessler notes that the Sages say (Shabbos 55a) that Hashem’s seal is truth. Truth has such value that Hashem chose it to represent Him, as the prophet Yirmiyah (10:10) says, “Hashem is a G-d of truth.” In order to have a real relationship with Hashem, there can’t be any falsehood in our behavior. The Gemara (Sotah 42a) says that liars aren’t privileged to receive the Divine presence, and Hashem Himself declares (Mishlei 8:13), “I hate the mouths of those who speak opposites!”

Furthermore, honesty and integrity are prerequisites for any true improvement to our service of Hashem. One who lacks sincerity will not hold himself liable for his shortcomings. He will justify his actions in increasingly perverse ways. When he aspires to change, he cannot succeed because his motivation to improve is insincere. If we really hope to develop into better human beings, we must first commit ourselves to a life of truth.

A bachur who had lost his father once published an article about him in a newspaper. He wrote that he was only seventeen when his father passed away, but his father made sure to advise him well before departing from the world. He told his son to strengthen himself in learning and fear of Heaven, to trust in Hashem, and to remember that everything Hashem does is for his benefit. He also told him of the importance of serving Hashem with joy. However, one lesson in particular stuck with him: his father told him to be a man of truth. He explained that the world is different for every individual, and everyone’s unique abilities create unique expectations. One level of serving Hashem may be sufficient for one person but insufficient for someone else. Some people have greater strengths in a certain area than others. It is imperative to honestly evaluate what one is capable of doing. A person of truth does what is right not just in the eyes of others, but in the eyes of Hashem. The bachur concluded, “This is the true inheritance that my father left me.”

May we be zocheh to pursue the truth!