At the end of July, my husband Gary was called for Jury service. He was less than excited – and strangely I was rather jealous! I have not yet been called on, and I love the idea of hearing the ins and outs of a case, seeing up close how our justice system works, and perhaps a little of its brokenness too! In the end Gary didn’t get to be much use – he went in once for a briefing along with about 100 other on call jurors, and was called in for one afternoon to be part of a selection process for a jury. He was selected and then the defendant pled guilty, so the jury never even made it into the courtroom. Our justice system has been in the news a lot over the last few months, with plans to cut custodial sentences, and the recommended introduction of jury free trials to speed up the possibility of cutting the backlog of cases that has developed: At the end of last year cases waiting to be tried stood at 74,000, and were being scheduled for 2029. This figure is up 126%, from 33,000 at the end of 2018[1]. This means both victims and the accused are waiting years and years for any justice to be done. Torah would not approve I suspect.
Our UK system may be facing a time of crisis, but it is a crucial part of forming the society we live in. And it is, of course, deeply rooted in this week’s portion, which Nurit so beautifully brought to life for us. Shoftim demonstrates that Judaism is a way of life, at the core of which sits Torah. Torah invites conversations and questioning, and doesn’t just outline rituals and religious practices, but tries to put down what it looked like some 3000 years ago to build a functioning society. It has of course had an enormous influence on our own societies as well as on Jewish life in how that is done. In Judaism it is the conversations and questioning that continue to keep it alive and real in each generation.
The start of parashat Shoftim opened with the commandment to establish a just and effective judicial system. If we are to build a society together, it must be a just one. We are to pursue justice vigorously and avoid the corrupting tactics of bribery and favouritism. This portion, consistent with the entire book of Deuteronomy, serves as a sort of users manual for the Jewish people beginning their path as a nation, about to enter their homeland, devoted to righteousness and justice. And it is these behaviours that will make us holy. And that can also render us unholy if we fail in them.
Justice in the Jewish world is a hotly debated topic today. Justice for one group sometimes feels like injustice for another. We seem to exist in spaces that are so black and white that we cannot countenance another view of justice being expressed. In 2014 I had the pleasure of attending a conference all about Shmitta – the sabbatical year, and how it is applied in the modern world. The then Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub, joined us in a closing session and spoke very movingly about how his Judaism informs his love of and work for Israel. I am quoting from memory, but he said to us that he figuratively keeps two quotes in his pockets at all times. In one pocket is a quote from Rashi, in the other, a saying of Ramban or Nachmanides. When people deny the Jewish homeland, after our long wanderings, and speak of boycotts, he found he was comforted by Rashi who said ‘this land is the land of my forefathers, of my people’s history, and was promised by God’. But when he is confronted by the injustices that are carried out in the name of Israel (and remember he was Israel’s ambassador!) he turns to Ramban, who grates against his sense of comfort and platitudes saying ‘This land is only our land so long as we act with moral exactitude towards stranger and citizen alike’.
Both Rashi and Ramban are sources rooted in Torah and deep learning, and they helped the ambassador walk the tightrope of balancing the world as it is, and the world as he would like it to be. His words also reminded me that we can use religious texts to justify many different, sometimes conflicting principles.
Justice systems are a core part of how we begin to think about the world as we would like it to be, and here in the UK we are also trying to find within the system a balance of ‘moral exactitude towards citizen and stranger alike’. They can be systems that are slow and unwieldy, but our ancestors already understood the importance of having more than one eye witness, ensuring judges are not corrupt, and creating opportunities to protect those who make mistakes but are not criminally minded and truly repent of such mistakes. The Torah does not shy away from the reality of war. But Shoftim does ask that it be waged both ethically, and with thought for the future of the people and their sustainability. As a community we are not in agreement on how that is done, and how one person’s justice doesn’t become an injustice to another. I don’t have any simple answers, and I am not convinced the Torah does either, but I like the model Ambassador Taub suggests – find the tension that you walk in life, and hold it carefully in your pockets. Allow it to guide you to goodness, and above all, to be a pursuer of justice wherever you feel you can make a difference.
Naomi and David, as you set out on your married life together, I know that you are people who will work for what you see as right in the world, and will put yourselves into doing it with kindness, compassion and thought, as well as excellent snacks. There are few quick fixes in life, especially when trying to negotiate competing needs! But I hope you find the right answers to hold in your pockets, so that you can find the answer that holds both of you through whatever storms you have to weather.
The rallying cry of Shoftim is a famous one: ‘Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof’ – Justice, Justice shall you pursue. As we approach the High Holidays and our chance at repentance and change, may we recommit ourselves to work together for justice in the most effective ways wherever we can, and to navigate the complications of what that means in the modern world with care for one another.
Shabbat Shalom
[1] Court system in crisis as ‘jaw-dropping’ delays see first trials listed for 2029 | The Independent
