Seeking and Finding Justice:The Humanity of our Adversaries

Shoftim
Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

Précis: The parasha Shoftim (literally, “judges”), begins with a commandment to Moses to establish judges for Israel. They are to decide cases brought before them and govern with fairness. The remainder of the parasha includes warnings against false testimony, idol worship, as well as rules for kings. We find warnings against false prophets, magicians, soothsayers and witches, and read about the requirements for cities of refuge. In short, the parasha is devoted to ways to create a civil, moral society for the People as they enter the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 16:20 “Justice, justice you shall pursue that you may live and inherit the land which Adonai your God gives to you.”

This famous phrase (in Hebrew: tzedek, tzedek, tirdof) is more than a challenge to live in a “just” society. As Rabbi Hertz points out, the Jewish ideal of justice is “the awe-inspired respect for the personality of others, and their inalienable rights.” Because we are all created in God’s image, he reasons, “Judaism requires that human personality be respected in every human being - in the female heathen prisoner of war, in the delinquent, even in the criminal condemned to death.” In short, where there is no justice, there is no recognition of God.

As Rabbi Plaut notes, the Hebrew word for justice (tzedek) is almost identical to tzedakah (giving to others, or charity). When a Jew helps another person who is less fortunate, he is not “giving charity;” rather, the Jew is seeks to achieve justice.

Justice demands that we consider all other humans as beings worthy of our respect. Sadly, in the political debate we see now underway in the United States about health care reform, the loss of civility in discourse, and the attacks by the extremes on the bona fides of their opponents, miserably fail to meet the biblical tenet of mutual respect. One’s political opponents – even when misguided or speaking deceitfully – are still human beings who deserve our recognition as fellow human beings. When we treat each other with suspicion, mistrust, and hatred, we have forgotten the humanity of those with whom we disagree.

Justice also demands that the Israelis continue to see their opponents – both domestic and foreign - as human beings. Nothing is gained, and much is lost, when Israelis distrust and attack the patriotism of those with whom they disagree inside the country, or when fear and hatred prevent their recognition of Palestinian humanity. Certainly, Palestinians and other Arabs fail to recognize the essential humanity of the Israelis when they blame Israel for all of the evils which persist in the Arab world.

This important ethical principle – the essential humanity of every human being, created in God’s image - is the foundation for all interpersonal relationships, within families, in congregations, or in larger communities. When we respect our fellow human beings by pursuing justice, we are recognizing God’s existence in our daily lives.