Parashat Shoftim, Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

This week’s parasha has been generously sponsored in loving memory of Meryl Gardner’s mother, Harriet H. Cohen. Kolel is grateful to Meryl for her ongoing support and appreciates its weekly sponsors.

We must always be aware of the obstacles along the path of life and personally overcome them in order to be just.

Among the most powerful words in the Torah are three words at the very beginning of Parshat Shoftim: "tsedek, tsedek tirdof" "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Deut.16:20). These words at the foundation of the Torah's morality are deceptively straightforward.

Much has been written about why the word "justice" appears twice. A previous Parashat Hashavuah goes into greater detail about the many interpretations of justice in this verse. In brief, some rabbis believe the double use is for emphasis. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 32b) explains that each usage of the word indicates a qualitative difference: "…one refers to a decision based on strict law, the other to a compromise." I'm partial to Nachmanides’ explanation, which takes the first occurrence to mean justice established by the courts and the second one to refer to justice we personally pursue in our lives. More about this later…

Tirdof (“you shall pursue”) is a funny word. A variation of this word is found later in the parasha in the directions regarding a "manslayer," a person who has inadvertently killed another individual. We are instructed to set up cities of refuge for such individuals to protect them from the "blood-avenger" seeking revenge for the killing. "…the blood-avenger, pursuing the manslayer in hot anger, may overtake him and kill him; yet he [the manslayer] did not incur the death penalty, since he had never been the other's enemy" (Deut. 19:6).

In both occurrences in the parasha, "pursuit" is something that is done with great passion; arguably both cases deal with the course of justice. The important thing is to make sure the passion is directed constructively.

It is easy to come up with examples of pursuit taking place in a threatening manner. Every action movie has the obligatory car chase as the bad guys try to do away with the hero. In Judaism the rodef, "pursuer" is one who threatens an individual's life. After we cross the Sea of Reeds, our song of thanksgiving reminds us of this menacing aspect of pursuit: "The foe said I will pursue, I will overtake …" (Ex. 15:9). This type of pursuer is familiar in rabbinic literature. The person in danger can take steps against the rodef, actions that amount to self protection, including pre-emptive measures. Who can be categorized as a rodef has been interpreted in different ways. The sages viewed a fetus endangering a mother's life as a pursuer (Sanhedrin 72b). More recently, Yitzchak Rabin's assassin justified his horrible deed by saying that the prime minister was endangering Jewish lives through his actions in pursuit of peace.

Pursuers also have the potential for making dramatic, positive changes. As the same action film draws to its conclusion, the hero is the one giving chase to the bad guys. Similar examples are found in our tradition as well. Abram sets off in pursuit of those who kidnapped Lot in Genesis 14:15. The prophet Isaiah speaks of rodfei tsedek, “those who pursue justice” (Isa. 51:1). Psalm 34 teaches us bakesh shalom v’rodfehu, "seek peace and pursue it." Similarly, Aaron the high priest is referred to in the siddur as ohev shalom ve-rodef shalom, a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace. Fans of the Israeli singer Chava Alberstein can explore the many facets of "pursuit" in the Israeli song Mirdaf, which begins with a pursuit of self-defense and concludes with the pursuit of hope.

Why emphasize the pursuit of justice? Why not "keep" justice or "observe" justice as we are commanded to do with Shabbat? There is something elusive about justice. There is a danger of moral relativism masquerading as justice. I would push Nachmanides’ explanation of the justice we personally pursue in life as a lesson that personalizes justice for us. We must always be aware of the obstacles along the path of life and personally overcome them in order to be just.

Endulge me in a minor detour - I envision pursuit not as a chase but as a race, not the 10,000 meters but a sprint. You see your goal, focus and achieve it ASAP. That is the ideal. But we all know that things do not run that smoothly. Whether life is a sprint or a marathon, chances are the track has hurdles. Aficionados of track & field events know that running hurdles calls for a special mindset. I'm no expert, but Steve McGill, a high school track and field coach in Raleigh, North Carolina, is:

"The first thing I look for in identifying potential hurdlers is work ethic. The reason for this is because no matter how tall, how fast, how strong, or how quick an athlete is, he or she cannot be a hurdler without the willingness to put in a lot of hard work and to overcome a tremendous amount of frustration. Learning how to hurdle efficiently is a long, arduous process, so athletes who are looking for immediate results don’t need to be trying the hurdles. Also, in regards to work ethic, hurdlers have to do the running workouts that the rest of the team does, and they also have to do hurdle workouts to improve their technique, which means they are usually the last athletes on the team to leave the track at the end of every practice. Anyone not willing to do such work needs to just go ahead and sprint. For me, when I see an athlete who doesn’t back down from tough workouts, who is demonstrating a genuine desire to get better, I’ll ask that athlete if he or she wants to try the hurdles."

Strong work ethic, high standards, perseverance: These are the components that make a good hurdler. These are also the qualities demanded of us in Parashat Shoftim. In the words of the Sefat Emet: “We have to keep pursuing justice, knowing that we have not yet attained it.”

Shabbat shalom,
MS