30 Aug PARASHAT SHOFETIM: THE ENDS AND THE MEANS
The Torah in the
beginning of Parashat
Shofetim speaks about
the judicial system, and it
famously exhorts, “Sedek
Sedek Tirdof” – “You shall pursue
justice.” Already the Gemara raises the
question of why the Torah found it
necessary to repeat the word “Sedek”
(justice) in this verse. What message does
the Torah seek to convey with this
additional emphasis? The Gemara
explains that the additional word “Sedek”
teaches that when choosing a Bet Din
(Rabbinical Court) for settling a dispute,
one should select the court with the
greatest expertise and highest professional
standards. The Torah instructs us not only
to settle our legal disputes in an
established Bet Din, but to ensure to
choose the most qualified Bet Din
available. There is, however, an additional
reason for why the Torah repeats the word
“Sedek” in this verse – to teach us that
must not sacrifice “Sedek” in the pursuit
of “Sedek.” Many people set for
themselves lofty, noble objectives, but act
ignobly in their pursuit of those
objectives. The Communists, for
example, sincerely believed that their
movement would solve the world’s
problems and create a utopian society.
And this conviction led them to slaughter
an estimated 15 million people in the
process of promoting and establishing
Communist rule. They felt that the lofty
end of equality justified the violent means
of bloodshed and warfare. They pursued
“Sedek,” but ignored “Sedek” in the
course of this pursuit. The Torah does not
subscribe to this belief that “the ends
justify means.” From the Torah’s
perspective, the means must be as kosher
as the ends. When God appeared to
Moshe at the burning bush and instructed
him to return to Egypt and lead Beneh
Yisrael to freedom, Moshe initially
refused to accept the mission. One of the
reasons for his refusal was his concern for
the feelings of his older brother, Aharon.
Moshe had been away from Egypt for
many years, during which time Aharon
had been serving as spiritual leader,
tending to the many needs and hardships
facing the people. If Moshe would
suddenly return to Egypt and present
himself as leader, this might trouble
Aharon and offend him. God assured
Moshe that Aharon, in his selfless piety,
would actually rejoice upon hearing of
Moshe’s appointment as leader. If we
analyze Moshe’s situation a bit more
closely, we learn a very powerful lesson
about the ends and the means. Moshe was
offered the sacred mission of leading
Beneh Yisrael out of Egypt to become
God’s nation, and taking them to Mount
Sinai, where he would be the one to bring
them the Torah and spend forty days
personally learning the Torah from God.
Yet, he was prepared to forfeit this
opportunity because of the infinitesimal
chance of possibly offending his brother.
This was undoubtedly a lofty goal – can
we think of any loftier goal? – but it was
not worth the expense of offending
somebody, or even the risk of possibly
offending somebody. We may not act
wrongly to do something right. We must
never trample on “Sedek” in the pursuit of
“Sedek.” Our Sages teach that the one
who arrives first in the synagogue for the
Minyan gets as much credit as everyone in
the Minyan combined. But if a person gets
there first by pushing and shoving, or by
speeding or parking illegally, then he does
not get any credit. The person who shows
up last gets more credit than him. And the
same is true about finances.
Unfortunately, we often hear of people
involved in financial scandals who try to
justify their corruption on the basis of the
large sums of charity they donate from
their ill-begotten gains. This is
reminiscent of the Robin Hood system of
stealing from the rich to give to the poor.
The Torah absolutely rejects such an
approach. It requires “Sedek Sedek
Tirdof” – pursuing righteous goals
through righteous means. The road to
justice must pass through justice; a noble
end does not justify unjust means. Our
determination to do great things must
never lead us to compromise our values in
the process. We must pursue “Sedek” only
through the means of “Sedek.”