Shoftim

We are in the month of Elul -- our children are back at school, Hebrew School begins this week, and we are in the midst of preparing for the new year ahead. We find ourselves at Parshat Shoftim – translated as Judges. The Torah portion sets up a number of legal constructs that relate to fairness when adjudicating cases, including the information that one witness is simply not enough to convict someone of a crime. Instead, two or even three are needed.

The one line that most remember from this Torah portion is “Justice, justice shall you pursue." The implication is that true justice is not easily found and must be pursued and fought for. The Hebrew word for justice, Tzedek, has the same root as the word Tzedakah, which is often translated as charity. Both words strive to right the wrongs that are all too common in the world we live in. This state of affairs has always been true.

With that in mind, let me share a story with you that comes to me by way of The Five Books of Miriam. This story is part of the Jewish folkloric tradition surrounding Alexander the Great, who was seen as a hero because he allowed the peoples he conquered to maintain their religious practices, including us.

Once Alexander came to a far away land ruled only by women. He wanted to conquer them, but they mocked him: “If you defeat us, what dishonor! And if we defeat you, what shame!” So he made peace with them.

Then he said, “Show me your justice.”

So they brought him to the court, where a woman sat in judgment. Two men came before her, each accusing the other of foul play.

“I bought land from this man,” said one of them, "and I found treasure buried in my field, which I had not agreed to buy. But when I ordered the seller to take the treasure back, he refused.”

The other man protested, “When I sold my property to this man, I sold him both what was above and what was below the land. If I take back the treasure, then I will be a thief!”

The judge then asked the two men if they had children of marriageable age. "Yes," said one, "I have a daughter;" "yes" said the other, I have a son."

“I order them to marry one another,” ruled the judge, "and share the treasure between them.”

When Alexander heard the judge’s ruling, he laughed. “In my kingdom, I would have had both men killed and I would have kept the treasure for myself!”

The women asked, “In your country, do you have sheep, goats and cows?"

“Of course!” answered Alexander.

“Then it is for their sake that the sun shines and the land yields its bounty, for the people clearly don’t deserve such blessing.”

And when Alexander departed from this land ruled by women, he left behind an inscription on the gate: “A fool was I until I came here to learn wisdom from the women.”

Whether we learn from our children, from our elders, or from those who have been "othered," we, like Alexander, have the capacity to see things differently from the way it has always been. The road to justice is not always straightforward and clearly demarcated. But if we, like Alexander, allow ourselves the ability to take in what others have learned, new roads and approaches suddenly appear, allowing us to pursue justice together.