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The third posuk of our Parsha reads; “Tzedek, Tzedek tierdof…” Righteousness, righteousness (also rendered Justice, Justice) you shall pursue that you may live and inherit the land which the Lord, your G’d gives you.” (Sefer Devarim, Perek 16, posuk 20)
This posuk follows immediately after the opening of our Parsha;
“Judges and officers shall you appoint in all of your cities — which Hashem …gives you — for your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgement. You shall not pervert judgement, you shall not respect persons, neither take a bribe, for a bribe binds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.” (Sefer Devarim, Perek 16, p’sukim 18-19)
“Justice alone is not enough, because there are many types of justice, just as there are many kinds of truth. Every regime has it’s own justice. The Torah therefore stresses ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue…’, namely the justice of justice, where both the means and the end are just.” (Torah Gems, Aharon Yaakov Greenberg, Volume 3, Parsha Shoftim page 257)
And maybe, at this time in Medinat Yisrael, we have to add emphasis to that term “officers.” For we see how the officers, those who are charged with implementing and carrying out “law”, as well as the “Judges” of “law” repeatedly pervert, subvert and bend the “law”; selective enforcement, selective “justice” according to agenda to suit the needs of an evil regime under the control of a handful where the financial wealth is consolidated. This regime, as with the previous Sharon regime and with the socialist, leftist elite, as well as the few who control Israel’s financial wealth controls and has it’s tenacles in every Israeli governmental, educational, economic institution — Top, bottom, upside down, inside out and sideways.
We observed during the Expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif, how Halachot concerning Eretz Yisrael as well as treatment of our fellow Jews and common morality were perverted in order to implement the expulsions and how the “law” and morality were manipulated and perverted by political agenda at Amona, as regarding the conduct a winable war in such a way as to emerge as losers and in ousting Hevron residents from their homes on documented Jewish porperty. We also note how certain forces in Likud party have, repeatedly, B’H thankfully unsuccessfully attempted to oust Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit.
And this blog cited the most recent perversion of “justice”, action which has become systemic in the Israeli “justice” system; eviction of men from their homes in Yehuda and the Shomron on bogus, phony accusations in order to break down the strength and principles of the residents. This blog urges our brethren to support these 3 men; 2 from Givat Adei Ad next to Shilo, and a 3rd man from a hilltop at Yitzhar in their efforts to raise funds to support their families in order that they strengthen the movement to inhabit Eretz Yisrael against governmental tyranny against justice and against Yishuv Eretz Yisrael.
This author thinks a point of last week’s Parsha Re’eh; the subverted or seduced city (Ir HaNidachas) which serves as the basis for the final Mishne of Perek Cheilik of Gemora Tractate Sanhedrin has a direct connection to the absense of “Tzedek, Tzedek tierdof…”; Righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue that you may live and inherit the land. That connection is between subversion of the governed and the application of judgement based on subversion law, of Torah. In a post 6 months ago, this author pointed out;
The bottom-line; An honest, morally clean, straight-forward, self-respecting Jewish government would not maneuver itself into being controlled by the nations and would look after their national legacy. Instead, Israel’s corrupt and immoral leaders subject and subordinate themselves and the nation to the follies of others at our collective, dire peril. Thus, while the penalties of the subverted city don’t apply, it seems obvious that charges of treason may.
And at lower, local, communal levels, we tend toward litigiousness, often without “Tzedek, Tzedek tierdof…” Just look at the other guy cross-eyed and end up knee-jerk either before a Beis Din or in civil court, very often with someone’s reputation, good name, ability to earn a parnossa of any kind and other unforeseen consequences on the line. Often such litigation lacks conclusive evidence as well as forethought as to consequences for the other guy’s welfare and the implications for entire communities even should an accusation be proven false and the accusee vindicated. Such a cavalier attitude with someone else on the line seems revealing of the capsular Gush Katif — me first and my door and my protexia at all costs. The other guy is secondary.
It all runs counter to the overriding more’ which “Tzedek, Tzedek tierdof…” which seems meant to exemplify — “V’ahavtah, L’rei’echa Kamocha” — Want for your brother as you would want for yourself.
And so, are we as a collective, somehow, in some way unknowingly, subconsciously complicit in the apparent mida keneged mida of how the Lebanon conflict was conducted and turned out, or in how things have so severely degraded in the 2 years subsequent to the conflict? And are we similarly unknowingly, subconsciously complicit in the terror rocket and mortar attacks upon Sderot, Ashkelon, etc. as a consequence of what we didn’t do to fight against the government’s expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif and the Shomron towns?
Perhaps justice and righteousness in judgement starts with us and with what we abide by or don’t abide by. Do we have strength of sufficient collective self-pride, self-esteem, principles, moral integrity and belief and trust in Hashem to wage the coming campaign stubbornly and tirelessly for justice, righteousness, to go the extra mile, or miles for one’s brethren as one would for one’s self, for Am Yehudi and for Eretz Yisrael?
May we, the B’nai Yisrael be zocha that our brethren — the refugee families from Gush Katif be permanently settled and be made totally whole, that our dear brother Jonathan Pollard and captive Gilad Shalit and the other MIAs be liberated alive and be returned to us in ways befitting Al Kiddush Hashem and that we fulfill Hashem’s blueprint of B’nai Yisrael as a Unique people — an Am Segula, not to be reckoned with as with “the nations” and may we be zocha the Moshiach, the Ge’ula Shlaima, as Dov Shurin sings; “Yom Hashem V’Kol HaGoyim”, the Ultimate Redemption, bim hay v’yameinu — speedily, in our time”, — Achshav, Chik Chuk, Miyad, Etmol!!!
Good Shabbos!
Moshe Burt is an Oleh, writer and commentator on news and events in Eretz Yisrael. He is the founder and director of The Sefer Torah Recycling Network.