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    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.”