Dear Friends,
“Tzedek, Tzedek tirdof - Justice, justice, you shall pursue.” (Deut. 16:19)
Clearly, this is not only one of the most of-cited texts in Torah, but also it is among the most compelling - and complex statements in Torah.
Its message the centrality of justice is patent. It has inspired and driven Jews and non-Jews for millennia to seek what is fair and proper – just – for one’s community. We have marched with Dr. King, because we were charged to pursue justice. And, we stared down the Klan and stood up to dictators in faraway places, because justice was not only stated, but repeated in our verse.
The repetition of “Justice” has allowed commentators to proffer various rationales for the sentence structure, from merely emphasis, to seeking different kinds of justice, to recognizing that people may see justice in different ways.
It is the last idea which I have been pondering this week. It is not my usual direction, but given the polarity of political opinions in our nation, I have been concertedly striving to listen to varied positions, and to understand the truths which heretofore have differed with my own. Not only has it, hopefully, broadened my understanding, but it has opened dialogues which were less open previously, and which now I cherish.
Could “Justice, justice, you shall pursue” compel us to recognize that – polemics, manipulation, disingenuity all aside – there may very well be honestly different perceptions of justice in the world? Could there be a Russian position for its attack on Ukraine which has a tiny nugget of truth and justice? Could January 6 attackers have felt a legitimate, just grievance with their place in America – which may not justify violence, but could explain their point-of-view? Could there be two truths, each claiming justice, asserted by divorcing couples, by Elon Musk and Twitter, by Yankees and Red Sox fans (I know that is truly pushing the envelope!), and other parties which are contending, yet claiming their honest pursuit of justice?
Might our verse not be pressing an absolutist sense of justice, but in its doubling of Tzedek, Tzedek – Justice, justice, be urging us to look both more carefully and more widely at justice in our world? If so, it helps me to live in this complex ecology which is our world, today.
Shabbat Shalom, and as we are in the Hebrew Month of Elul, we begin to express our wishes for a New year of meaning, commencing in a few weeks.
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
“Tzedek, Tzedek tirdof - Justice, justice, you shall pursue.” (Deut. 16:19)
Clearly, this is not only one of the most of-cited texts in Torah, but also it is among the most compelling - and complex statements in Torah.
Its message the centrality of justice is patent. It has inspired and driven Jews and non-Jews for millennia to seek what is fair and proper – just – for one’s community. We have marched with Dr. King, because we were charged to pursue justice. And, we stared down the Klan and stood up to dictators in faraway places, because justice was not only stated, but repeated in our verse.
The repetition of “Justice” has allowed commentators to proffer various rationales for the sentence structure, from merely emphasis, to seeking different kinds of justice, to recognizing that people may see justice in different ways.
It is the last idea which I have been pondering this week. It is not my usual direction, but given the polarity of political opinions in our nation, I have been concertedly striving to listen to varied positions, and to understand the truths which heretofore have differed with my own. Not only has it, hopefully, broadened my understanding, but it has opened dialogues which were less open previously, and which now I cherish.
Could “Justice, justice, you shall pursue” compel us to recognize that – polemics, manipulation, disingenuity all aside – there may very well be honestly different perceptions of justice in the world? Could there be a Russian position for its attack on Ukraine which has a tiny nugget of truth and justice? Could January 6 attackers have felt a legitimate, just grievance with their place in America – which may not justify violence, but could explain their point-of-view? Could there be two truths, each claiming justice, asserted by divorcing couples, by Elon Musk and Twitter, by Yankees and Red Sox fans (I know that is truly pushing the envelope!), and other parties which are contending, yet claiming their honest pursuit of justice?
Might our verse not be pressing an absolutist sense of justice, but in its doubling of Tzedek, Tzedek – Justice, justice, be urging us to look both more carefully and more widely at justice in our world? If so, it helps me to live in this complex ecology which is our world, today.
Shabbat Shalom, and as we are in the Hebrew Month of Elul, we begin to express our wishes for a New year of meaning, commencing in a few weeks.
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
