פרשת שופטים
In this week’s parsha we learn about the justice system that the Torah envisions. As one can imagine, the Torah demands the utmost integrity from its judges and the sages who preside over the courts must be scholars of the highest caliber. However, the way the Torah chooses to command us to adhere to justice is peculiar. “Justice, justice you shall pursue!” (Devarim 16, 20) Why does the Torah repeat the term “justice” again? It seems redundant and we know that every word of the Torah is supposed to teach us something. Why does the Torah say “justice” twice? Furthermore, being told to “pursue” justice also seems odd. We don’t find a command to “pursue” anything else in the entire Torah. What is the Torah trying to tell us?
The Sfas Emes answers that the Torah’s hope for the Jewish people is not only that they should abide by the laws of the Torah. The Torah’s hope for the Jewish people is that they be zealous for justice and go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that Hashem’s Torah truly permeates the entirety of the society around them. It’s not good enough for a Jew to be honest just according to the world’s standards. A Jew must have complete integrity according to the Torah’s standards and Hashem has high expectations. The gemara in Cesubos 105b tells the story of how Rebbi Yishmael ben Rebbi Yose once had a tenant who was accustomed to giving him a basket of fruit every Friday. However, on one occasion this particular tenant happened to be one of the litigants in a case that was set to come before Rebbi Yishmael. Upon entering the court room, the tenant gave Rebbi Yishmael the basket of fruit as he did every week. Immediately, Rebbi Yishmael dismissed himself from the case, not even accepting the gift and refusing to judge a case in which he was no longer impartial. Even though he did not accept the gift, to still proceed in judging the case was considered to be dishonest according to Rebbi Yishmael’s understanding of the Torah. We learn from here clearly that to truly pursue justice, we have to be sensitive to what even the general public is not. Furthermore, even if one follows the truth and stays faithful to justice, he cannot allow for even to have a taint of dishonesty to creep into the process. Rashi cites in the name of the Sifri that a judge is prohibited to take a bribe even if he intends to judge correctly! In the final analysis, the Torah values our integrity so much that it can’t emphasize enough how we must act truthfully in every aspect. Justice, justice you shall pursue!
So why does the Torah place such tremendous emphasis on justice? Rav Dessler answers that the gemara in Shabbos 55a says that Hashem’s signet is Truth. In other words, Hashem values truth so much that He chose it as an emblem to represent His very essence so to speak. As Yirmeyahu 10:10 says “Hashem is a G-d of Truth.” If we want to have a real relationship with Hashem and grow close to Him, we can’t have any admixture of falsehood in our behavior. The gemara in Sota 42a says that liars aren’t privileged to receive the Divine Presence and Hashem Himself even says “I hate the mouth of those who speak opposites!” (Mishlei 8:13) Furthermore, honesty and integrity are also prerequisites for any real change that we hope to make in our Avodas Hashem. If one lacks sincerity, he will not hold himself liable for his shortcomings and constantly find justifications for his actions no matter how perverse they may be. Furthermore, even the changes that one aspires to make will not take hold, being that the motivation to improve wasn’t sincere. We should especially pursue personal accountability for the true nature of our ways now as Elul begins and we prepare for Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. This is the time to commit ourselves to change and if we are not genuine in our quest to do so, we will inevitably fall short of our goals and our chance for real transformation will fade away as this special period of time concludes. We must certainly commit ourselves to the truth if we really hope to evolve into better human beings.
Some time ago, I remember reading an article written by a certain young bucher in the newspaper. The bucher wrote about how when his father passed away, he was just seventeen years-old. However, his father made sure to give his son great words of encouragement before departing from the world. He told the bucher to strengthen himself in learning and in Yiras Shamayim. He told him to trust in Hashem and remember that everything is for his good. He also told his son the importance of serving Hashem with joy and that a Jew should always be happy in life. However, one lesson particularly stuck with the young man above all the others. His father told him to especially strengthen himself in his pursuit of truth. Being a person of truth, his father told him, means something different for every individual. According to one’s own unique abilities, comes its own set of expectations. One level of serving G-d may be sufficient for one person, but not sufficient for another. Some people have greater strengths than others and one must honestly evaluate what he is truly capable of. A person of truth applies himself to do not just what seems to be correct in the eyes of others, but what is truly the right thing for him to do in the eyes of G-d. The young bucher concluded by saying, “This is the real inheritance my father left me.”
May we all be zoche to truly pursue the truth!!!