Devarim -- What Is Justice?

This entry is this substack’s original intent: Raf’s Dvar/Riff Torah.

Select Parsha Highlights

A recap parsha.

The journey and related military victories; Arrival at the land; The commandment to appoint judges; Spies; Succession of Leadership; Condemnation of the Sinning Generation....

And much more...

In the spirit of review, Devarim recounts a number of incidents. Every year, when we arrive at the recap sections of the Torah, my middle school public speaking teacher comes to mind: Tell em what you are going to tell em. Tell em. Tell em what you told em.

The Western model of communication.

(Requisite for reason?)

One of this week’s threads:

Attitude judges should maintain:

יז: לֹֽא־תַכִּ֨ירוּ פָנִ֜ים בַּמִּשְׁפָּ֗ט כַּקָּטֹ֤ן כַּגָּדֹל֙ תִּשְׁמָע֔וּן לֹ֤א תָג֨וּרוּ֙ מִפְּנֵי־אִ֔ישׁ כִּ֥י הַמִּשְׁפָּ֖ט לֵֽאלֹהִ֣ים ה֑וּא וְהַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִקְשֶׁ֣ה מִכֶּ֔ם תַּקְרִב֥וּן אֵלַ֖י וּשְׁמַעְתִּֽיו
You shall not be partial in judgment: hear out low [small matters] and high [large problems] alike. Fear no one, for judgment is God’s. And any matter that is too difficult for you, you shall bring to me [Moses] and I will hear it.” [JPS 2023 with Raf parentheticals]

טז: וָֽאֲצַוֶּה֙ אֶת־שֹׁ֣פְטֵיכֶ֔ם בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖וא לֵאמֹ֑ר שָׁמֹ֤עַ בֵּֽין־אֲחֵיכֶם֙ וּשְׁפַטְתֶּ֣ם צֶ֔דֶק בֵּֽין־אִ֥ישׁ וּבֵֽין־אָחִ֖יו וּבֵ֥ין גֵּרֽוֹ
I [Moses] charged your magistrates at that time as follows, “Hear out your fellow Israelites, and decide justly between one party and the other—be it a fellow Israelite or a stranger. [JPS 2023 with Raf parentheticals]

לט: וְטַפְּכֶם֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֲמַרְתֶּ֜ם לָבַ֣ז יִֽהְיֶ֗ה וּבְנֵיכֶ֠ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־יָֽדְע֤וּ הַיּוֹם֙ ט֣וֹב וָרָ֔ע הֵ֖מָּה יָבֹ֣אוּ שָׁ֑מָּה וְלָהֶ֣ם אֶתְּנֶ֔נָּה וְהֵ֖ם יִֽירָשֽׁוּהָ
Moreover, your little ones who you said would be carried off, your children who do not yet know good from bad, they shall enter it [the Promised Land]; to them will I give it and they shall possess it. [JPS 2023 with Raf emphasis]

The final pasuk of the Haftorah:

כז: צִיּ֖וֹן בְּמִשְׁפָּ֣ט תִּפָּדֶ֑ה וְשָׁבֶ֖יהָ בִּצְדָקָֽה
Zion shall be saved in the judgment; Her repentant ones, in the retribution/redemption. [תִּפָּדֶ֑ה - which is the last word in English, is challenging to translate]
or
Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and they that return of her with righteousness [OJPS]
or
Zion shall be redeemed via-its/because-of-its commitment to justice and via a return to giving charity/seeking justice [Raf]

Right and wrong. Justice in matters small and large. Justice as the vehicle of redemption.

Not a concept that maps easily to lived reality: Accidents. Power in vain hands. Deaths of the righteous.

A dreamed of better world? An ideal to aspire to?

[Reality so far from aspiration--a source of rage?]

Is the Parsha’s message to elevate judges and justice over rage, recoil and revenge?

It is often said that the point of Jewish monotheism is a monotheism of ethics. A universal model for the highest values. A vision that human affairs run best when there is such an agreement.

History suggests that this path is only possible in democratic, representative contexts.

I encountered the proposal that countries and governments should be evaluated on their delivery of dignity and development. Dignity for people and development of opportunities and capabilities. The more created, the better the government.

From Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate:

Anti-Semitism is always a means rather than an end; it is a measure of the contradictions yet to be resolved. It is a mirror for the failings of individuals, social structures, and State systems. Tell me what you accuse the Jews of--I’ll tell you what you’re guilty of.

Even Oleinichuk, the peasant fighter for freedom who was imprisoned in Schlusselburg, somehow expressed his hatred for serfdom as a hatred for Poles and Yids. Even a genius like Dostoyevsky saw a Jewish usurer where he should have seen the pitiless eyes of a Russian serf-owner, industrialist or contractor. And in accusing the Jews of racism, a desire for world domination and a cosmopolitan indifference towards the German fatherland, National Socialism [Nazism] was merely describing its own features.

...

Just as a man’s shadow can give an idea of his stature, so anti-Semitism can give an idea of the history and destiny of the Jews. One trait that distinguishes the Jews from other national minorities is that their history has been bound up with a large number of religious and political issues of world importance. Another distinguishing trait is the extraordinary degree to which they are dispersed throughout both Eastern and Western hemispheres; there are Jews in nearly every country of the world.

...

...Historical epochs, unsuccessful and reactionary governments, and individuals hoping to better their lot all turn to anti-Semitism as a last resort, to escape inevitable doom.

I highly recommend Life and Fate. A monumental book.

Grossman’s theme, and that of the Parsha, are encapsulated by this small excerpt from philosopher and scholar of Jewish-Israeli culture, Professor Avi Sagi--who passed away last night:

“The dignity of humanity lies not in uniformity, but in its capacity to bear difference without allowing it to become a threat. For this reason, one of the deepest expressions of human dignity is refraining from dominating another person.

In place of the violent sovereignty of the self, a dialogical partnership may emerge—one in which suffering, pain, hope, and disappointment all have a place, even when they remain unresolved.

We who live here in Israel stand at one of the greatest tests of our existence as human beings. The question is not only how we will treat others, but also what kind of human beings we ourselves will become. Will we close our hearts and wrap ourselves in blood and vengeance, which ultimately wound the one who wields the sword? Or will we choose our common humanity, even when that choice demands courage?

If we choose humanity, the screens that separate us will begin to crack, the barbed-wire fences we have erected between ourselves and others will gradually lose their power. The face of the other will once again become visible, the other’s voice will once again be heard, and our shared humanity—which precedes every distinction between ‘us’ and ‘them’—will once again become the foundation of our common life.”

(Thanks to A.K. & A.P.)