Deuteronomy 16:20
צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף לְמַ֤עַן תִּֽחְיֶה֙ וְיָרַשְׁתָּ֣ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְקוָ֥ק אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ׃
 
Justice, Justice you shall pursue so that you may live and inherit the land which God, your God, is giving to you. 
 
“Justice, justice you shall pursue”- this verse, found in Parshat Shoftim, imparts upon us one of the most challenging obligations we can carry as Jews- pursuing justice, whatever that means, on an ongoing basis.  One facet of this challenge is defining what we mean by “justice”. There are a number of questions we can ask to help define the term: 

• Is the obligation to pursue justice personal, or communal?  In other words, are we pursuing justice only in our immediate arena of control, or are we obligated to ensure the structures and organs of our society beyond ourselves are also just?
   
• What does justice look like? How do we know when we are pursuing it? 
   
• What aspects of our lives must be just?  Must we ensure economic justice- everyone receiving a fair share of wealth based on their actions and needs?  Is it social- ensuring everyone is treated fairly regardless of background or personal traits?  Is it political- ensuring power is distributed in ways that respect the agency of all involved?  

 
To untangle some of these questions, we are blessed to have some guidance from our tradition.  The Torah itself, in the verse before (16:19) sets the parameters for a just court as one that avoids unfairness, partiality, and refuses bribes.

 Rashi (France, 11th century) understood this commandment to mean that we must always look for a reliable court.  Justice, in his mind, was about the institution.  Without a court we can rely on to be just,  there can be no justice. I would add that there is an implied expectation that a court’s authority is ultimately dependent on its ability to be fair, impartial, and free from corruption in the first place. 

Ibn Ezra (Spain, 11th century) understands our verse to be speaking to potential litigants, instead of to the nature of the court.  It is upon anyone seeking legal redress to approach the matter without regard to one’s gain or loss- that the process of justice requires a willingness to commit to a just outcome regardless of how it impacts you personally. Ibn Ezra essentially asks us to accept the pursuit of justice as a commitment to a principle good, rather than the personal.  

I admit these insights are helpful but not conclusive. At a time when our political, legal, and social institutions are facing incredible pressure on all sides, it is difficult to find a clear path to pursue justice in the way our Torah commands us. Yet the reward for doing so is great. 

We pursue justice because doing so will allow us to “live and inherit the Land that God, your God, is giving you.”  Either the reward for pursuing justice is to live and inherit, or the preconditions for living and inheriting the land is that we are each people that pursue justice. 

Lest we think this is a communally directed reward only, the Hebrew itself uses the singular “you” to make its point. Each of us is commanded to pursue justice, and each of us needs to do so in order to live and inherit the Land. Each of us has our own ideas of what it means to pursue justice, and what is evidence of a lack of justice in our world. But may we each hear the Divine call to pursue that justice, to never let ourselves become complacent or deaf to the cries of those suffering from injustice in our world, now and always. The one clear, unequivocal message of this verse is that we cannot be indifferent to questions of justice in our lives or our world.  

May our pursuit merit us life and legacy in the Land, and our efforts bear fruits now and in the world to come. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Brodie
 

Prayers are needed for Chaim Laib ben Esther, brother of Walter Berkey; Alexander Moshe HaLevi ben Rivkah, father of Regina Fischer; Brenda Carson, sister of Rebecca Toledo;  Donnie Carson, brother-in-law of Rebecca Toledo; Roberta Rosenberg (Rivkah Fradel bat Sara);  Shimson ben Etel, father of Florence Wibel; Irene Simpkins​ (Yocheved bat Miriam); Barbara Tricoci (Baila bat Rifka); Elazear ben Dreisyl; Eric Taylor; Sid Brodsky (Zundel Be'er ben Esther); Linda Heartquist; Allen Simon (Aaron Hirsch ben Ceil); Carol Osman Brown, friend of Linda Radke; Rijon Erickson; Chano Ruven ben Shaina Chaya; Matthew Werdean, friend of Regina Fischer; David ben Sarah, father of Rabbi Aberson; Jack Heller; Liba Yetta bat Tova; Ilana bat Bella, sister of Ruti Keren; David Ramirez, brother of Louis Ramirez; Pasha bat Fayge, friend of Gloria Windmiller; Moshe ben Hana, brother-in-law of Ruti Keren; HaRav Haim Baruch ben Chana; Raphael ben Rebekah, friend of Alan Sapakie; Jack Rosenberg (Ya'acov Avram ben  Sarah Ruchel); Walter Berkey (Yossel Velvel ben Esther); Warren Stern (Binyamin ben Meyer Rav); Rose Tufarelli; Sarah Caliandro (Sarah Nechama bat Leah); Ingrid Gallegos; Chaim Shneur Zalman Yehuda ben Hinda Yocheved;  Alex Shekhel; Avraham ben Chaya Udel; Mordechai Shimon ben Sarah, brother of Roberta Rosenberg;  Harve Kimmel (Herschel Yehuda ben Avraham Ya'acov HaCohen); Chana Nassia bat Civia; Aharon Shmuel bat Tzinyah.