Mitzvah d'var

As a person who can be a little bit quick to judge, I find it slightly ironic that the name of my Torah portion is Shoftim, which in Hebrew means Judges. Maybe it’s not ironic, maybe it was meant to be. Before I get into the analysis of my portion and what it means to me, let me tell you what it’s about. 

My parshah, Shoftim, is from the 16th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, the final book of the Torah.

Shoftim is a speech within a set of speeches given by Moses to the Israelites before they enter the promised land. In these speeches, he is anticipating his death so he wants to prepare the Israelites for entering the land without him. Parshat Shoftim is all about setting up a justice system so that when Moses is gone, there will be rules in place for when people do bad things or need to settle disputes. Through Moses, G-d instructs the people to appoint fair judges, avoid bias, and never accept bribes. 

For example, to be found guilty of wrongdoing, the testimony of two or more witnesses must be given. And, if someone is found guilty of a crime punishable by death, the whole village must participate in administering the punishment. The ancient justice system was the basis of the ones we have today. We have judges, witness testimonies, and courts, to name a few similarities.

Moses also warns about the worship of other gods, a common theme throughout other parts of the Torah. He speaks about choosing a leader, a king, and how that person must follow the rules that G-d sets out. Moses also speaks of the differences between a true and false prophet. He talks about villages for murderers and regulations for war. In short, Moses’s speech was preparing the Israelites for a time without him and laid down laws that would exist for thousands of years.

When I began to really dig into my Torah portion, I had a lot of questions. For instance, we know how common bias is in all societies and how hard it is to fight it, so how do you appoint fair judges that don't show favoritism?  And why does the whole community have to participate in the delivery of punishments of death, a system that we’ve left far behind us long ago? Would we feel differently about the death penalty if the responsibility to carry it out was on all of us?

But I had other questions about one specific line. The verse, “tzedek tzedek tirdof - justice justice shall you pursue,” is often written on the walls of synagogues all over the world, and is an important and famous line from this parshah. The question I wanted to focus on was why does Moses use the word justice (which in Hebrew is tzedek) twice?  

For thousands of years, the rabbis have argued about what repeating the word justice twice means. Some believe that it is repeated to emphasize the importance of the concept of justice, while others think it means that one should pursue justice whether one gains or loses. 

And yet others believe that the repetition of “justice” is to refer to the need for fair compromises. It makes sense that often two justified claims from different points of view clash with each other; therefore making it tzedek, tzedek. The rabbis explained that the repetition of tzedek teaches us that when two claims clash with each other, the just solution is for both sides to find a fair compromise between them.

Would it not have been sufficient for the Torah to declare the word tzedek once, making it, “Justice, you shall pursue”? Reish Lakish, a rabbi who lived from 200 CE, to 275 CE, taught that the repetition of tzedek in the phrase we are analyzing is to remind us to be deliberate and careful in judgment, revisiting and reviewing the case and not rushing into a decision. 

Finally, others have argued that the term is repeated to express the idea that the pursuit of justice is not only the responsibility of the officials and the courts, but also of each individual.

Whatever the explanation for using the word justice, twice, the one thing they have in common is that they agree that using the word justice once, isn’t enough. This proves that all the rabbis agree that justice is very important. The concept of justice is layered and complex and open to different interpretations and using it twice makes you think about these different understandings and thoughts about it. 

By extension, another question that really made me wonder, was what is the relationship between the word tzedek, which when translated means justice, and tzedakah, which is often translated into English as charity? 

Hebrew is a root language, where the meaning of words is very much related to the combination of letters used to make them. There is no question that these two words come from the same root, the letters tzadi, daled and koof. However, how and why are they related to each other?

Tzedek is defined as righteousness, justice and fairness. We use the word tzedakah when we talk about giving to those less fortunate like giving to charity or doing a mitzvah- a kind act. I believe charity is more than simply donating money to a cause. It could mean giving your time, expertise, or resources. 

Although tzedek is translated as justice, I’ve learned that it means more than just legal justice. There are other Hebrew words for justice that are used to talk about laws, like the word mishpat. According to Rabbi Jonathon Sacks, a rabbi who lived from 1948 to 2020, tzedek, as opposed to mishpat, is justice tempered by compassion.

Building on the concept of compassionate justice, Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport, a rabbi from a congregation in Kentucky, believes that charity is justice in action, or righteous giving. This means that giving to others (tzedakah) is balancing out the world and making things fair. 

Justice goes beyond just crimes and court houses. Judaism requires that we also see social injustices as something we need to care about and act upon. This is the intersection of tzedek and tzedakah - when we see things that might not be against the law but feel that they are unjust, we are required to do something about it in the form of tzedakah.  

The topic of tzedek has made me think about what issues I care about and what I could do about it. Things like climate change or women’s rights are important to me. In fact, my mitzvah project with Girls Soccer Worldwide is one way that I am taking action against injustice. Women should have equal rights in whatever sport we choose to do, anywhere around the world. Every girl should have the leadership opportunities that sports offer, such as being a part of a team, empowering your teammates, discipline, good communication skills, and self-confidence. Making this happen will allow girls to become their best selves and create a more fair and equitable world. This is how I wish to make a difference in the world and I encourage you to think about the issues you care about and what you could do to help.

Our days are filled with opportunities to treat people fairly, to give them the benefit of the doubt, to stand up against injustice, and to do the right thing. In every exchange we have with other people we can have these moments. With loved ones and with strangers, with classmates and with teachers, with everyone around us, we can make it our goal to bring more tzedek into the world. For me, I will try to judge with compassion, not rush to judgment, and be curious about other people. 

I wish all of you a healthy and joyful year, and may each of you perform acts of charity - tzedakah, pursue justice - tzedek, and try to do mitzvot - kind acts, every day. Whether people are watching or not, in large or small ways, may each of us keep choosing to do the right thing. 

Shabbat Shalom.