As we begin the
first week of Elul, the Jewish month of reflection and preparation for the
coming Days of Awe, we have a lot of work to do. Our nation is bleeding. In the aftermath of last weekend’s events in
Charlottesville, so much is broken, starting with the moral abomination at the
helm whose comments have empowered bigots and abused the vulnerable.
And then this
verse shouts out at us from this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim: “Justice, justice you must pursue!”
Why is the word
tzekdek—justice—repeated twice in
succession? Rabbi Simcha Bunim of
Peschischa teaches: "Torah is telling us to be just also in pursuit of
justice—both the end and the means by which it is obtained must be just."
This is
crucial. Our tradition insists that if
we wish to repair the world, we cannot pretend that a positive end justifies
negative means. Justice will only
endure if we achieve it with integrity.
Rabbi Mordecai
Liebling was in Charlottesville during the white supremacist rioting. In his article, “Fighting What the Nazis
Fear,” he speaks of the imperative to resist evil and, concurrently, to reach
out, even—or perhaps especially—to those whose views are repugnant to us. He writes:
“We are faced with
a difficult challenge: we cannot tolerate white supremacy and we must listen to
the fear and pain that many of its supporters carry. . . The truth is that they
are not getting what they were led to believe and their economic future is not
promising.
It is the work of
those white people who are able to hear their pain, attempt to reach over
barriers and advocate for policies that will benefit them as well. Dehumanizing
and dismissing them leads to more hatred. We will not bring about a more just
society through violence.”
This is our enormous challenge in the coming year.
Tzedek, tzedek
tirdof. Justice, justice shall you puruse.
Resist and reach out.
Reach out and resist.
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