18 You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the Lord your G-d is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. 19 You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. 20 Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your G-d is giving you.
Upon our entrance into The Land, we were commanded to set up a system of courts “… to govern the people with due justice…” for, as verse 20 makes clear, our living and thriving in The Land depends upon our pursuit of justice.
The Torah is a little stingy with words… an economy of words, Biblical scholars call it. The Bible never wastes a word nor does it ever employ a word extraneously. So, when we see a word twice in the same Biblical verse, as we do here in verse 20, we know something exceedingly important is going on.
This rare doubling of the word “justice” (tzedek in Hebrew) serves to remind us always of the central role justice serves in our relationship with G-d. We are commanded to seek out injustice and correct it. And, pursuing justice – not loving justice or doing justly or acting just – literally, running after justice and making it ours, is the responsibility of each and everyone.
A four-way summit was held in Damascus this week. French President Sarkozy, the Syrian Dictator Assad, the Turkish Prime Minister and the Emir of Qatar met and, at the end, Syria professed hope for peace with Israel while reaffirming its commitment to Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists. Support for mass murderers mixed with professions of peace in hopes of reclaiming the Golan Heights – an unjust solution to the sixty-year long war between Syria and the State of Israel.
It strikes me more than ironic that, thanks to media coverage, more Christians and Jews in the West know that the Muslim month of Ramadan began earlier in the week than know that so did the Jewish month of Elul. Fasting, prayer and feasting are some of the features of Ramadan. During Elul, the month before the High Holy Days, we prepare for our annual confrontation with self, soul, and God… the process of at-one-ment for which we strive. This month, we sound the Shofar and read Psalm 27 every day.
I hope you’ll join me and millions of Jews Ba’Aretz – throughout The Land – as we recite this psalm daily:
http://www.mechon-mamre.or
Happy Elul… and Shabbat Shalom –
Rabbi Jeff Kahn
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