Rabbi's Blog

From time to time every good American citizen is called upon to do his or her civic duty by responding positively  to jury duty. My attitude towards this responsibility has wavered over the years; sometimes I’m excited and want to go and other times not. Throughout the many years I went through the selection of jury duty, only once did I get called to the second phase after which the judge asked me a few questions and I was dismissed. Besides traffic court this has been my total exposure to the legal process of our judicial system.

That world was shattered as the Eruv Corporation is now being sued for damages by an individual claiming he was injured and I was thrown into defending the Eruv. This ultimately resulted in my being deposed as a witness. As of this time, the case is ongoing and open so I am forbidden to speak or write about the case and its details.  I would, however, like to share the positive and negative experience of a deposition. Going through a deposition is quite stressful and, at times, is a very unpleasant experience. Being a religious Jew, I felt an added burden of responsibility. At the end of the day I had an inkling of how, after 120 years, we will be cross examined in heaven. Every response should be clear when answering each  question, taking care to avoid being tricked into a line of questioning by the opposition. It took extra time to think about the answers, responding to each question to the best of my ability without misconstruing the truth an iota. I needed to take great care to distinguish between “I don’t know” and “I don’t recall or remember”.

Overall, having experienced this small glimpse into the judicial system, I walked away a bit disturbed, particularly when  comparing our secular judicial system with the legal system of the Torah. Please keep in mind that this is only my opinion, and that it is based on a very narrow point. I don’t want to  generalize this experience to the entire system, but it left me with a bad taste. Justice and judgment are critical areas for the governance of the world. In fact, establishing courts is the one positive Noachide commandment among the seven. The other six are negative precepts. Within the Torah there are numerous places that discuss the setting up of courts and judges. The entire legal system of the Sanhedrin and Batei Dinim courts throughout Jewish communities has been a necessary center of Jewish life. It is very poignant to notice the influence of judges as a criteria for the rebuilding of Jewish life after the destruction of the Temple.

This week’s Parsha Devarim haftorah is taken from the beginning of the Prophet Yeshayahu or Isaiah. The last two verses of the Haftorah Yeshayahu 1:26-27 state: “V’Ashiva Shoftayich K’Varishona V’Yoatzayich k’Vatechila, Acharei Chein Yikarei Lach Ir HaTzedek, Kirya NeEmana. Tziyon B’Mishpat TiPadeh, V’Shaveha B’Tzedaka”. “And I will restore your judges as at first and your counselors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City. Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her penitent through righteousness”. The Gemara in Sanhedrin explains the original judges to be Moshe and Aharon while the original counselors or advisors refer to Dovid and Shlomo HaMelech. The Gemara in Shabbos explains that if a city is having trouble, it should check its judges because God does not rest His presence on Yisrael until all of the bad and crooked judges are eradicated. The importance of appointing honest and good judges is underscored later on in the Torah. In Devarim 16:20 the Torah states: “Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue in order that you shall live and inherit the land of Israel”. Rashi, regarding that verse, says it is worthy to appoint kosher judges to revive the Jewish people and to restore them on their land. If the cure for the Jews to return to Israel is predicated on appointing proper judges, the reason we must have been kicked out of our land is because we had corrupt judges! In a prior incident, Shmos 18:23, Moshe, at the behest of his father in law Yisro, created a system of law that that had judges under Moshe so that Moshe would become the supreme court judge, therefore removing the burden of judging all cases from his shoulders. The passuk  concludes that it will bring peace to that place, referencing Eretz Yisrael and that peace will bring Hashem’s Shechina, Presence, to rest.

The Malbim explains judges are to adjudicate between man and his fellow man while the advisors give advice between man and The Place, referring to Hashem.   The relationship between man and Hashem is almost predicated on the relationship that man has with his fellow man. We must be honest and have a correct system of laws in place so that there is a sense of shalom between people.  This shalom, in turn, will directly influence our relationship with Hashem.

In conclusion, the Midrash in Shir HaShirim says it is through judgment we will be redeemed.  This is the ultimate Geulah, redemption, while returning with righteousness refers to the exiles. The passuk teaches us that in the merit of Tzedaka the Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt and all of the exiles will return. The context of Tzedaka here does not necessarily mean giving money but rather doing kind things to others in need. No matter what the judgment may be,  if I still do Tzedaka, that act will create the redemption and an ultimate return.

On a personal level, as we approach Tish’a B’Av we need to ‘fix’ our personal judicial system by judging everyone favorably and giving the benefit of the doubt. If we put forth conscientious effort to judge people properly, that, in turn, will create shalom/peace amongst us and create Ahavas Yisroel – love for our fellow Jew - and get rid of sinas chinam – groundless hatred. When we say the words ‘bring back the original judges and advisors’ we should be reminded that  how we judge and advise others is for their benefit,  not for their detriment. We do not need to wait until this time of year to recognize this challenge. Rather, three times each day we say this in the Amidah:  bring back the good, honest judges. Well, if that’s the case let’s start with ourselves.  Then this  will snowball into something greater for the Jewish people. May we merit seeing the restoration of the great Sanhedrin in its chambers in the Third Beis HaMikdash.  May it  be built speedily in our day.

Ah Gut Shabbos and a meaningful Tzom

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky