The right to a fair trial is vital to a justice system. Impartiality of judges is part of the foundation for such trials. Our Torah reading this week, Shoftim (Judges), instructs judges against accepting bribes or rendering a decision they know is unfair. Some of the instructions seem clearly aimed at those who serve as official judges, and others can be understood to be part a moral code for all of us. The text includes the fundamental and all-encompassing directive, Tzedek, tzedek tirdof – Justice, justice you shall pursue – which animates much of what many Reform Jews as well as others find most compelling in our Judaism.
The repetition of the word for justice has been interpreted to convey emphasis, resulting in the translation “you shall surely pursue justice.” Medieval commentator Rashi takes the repetition to mean that just ends must be achieved by just means, while his contemporary in Spain, Ibn Ezra, writes that Moses repeats tzedek to indicate that one should pursue justice whether it leads to one’s gain or loss.
We are now witnessing and experiencing the dismantling of our country’s justice systems, from deporting immigrants without due process to misusing the power of the legal system to investigate political opponents as a means of retribution. The unabashed and purposeful attacks on our educational, economic, political and health institutions flaunt the Torah’s teachings against partiality, bribes and the taking advantage of people’s vulnerabilities.
In this context, how shall we read the repetition of the word tzedek? Today, I offer us this reading: Our tradition teaches us to persist in pursuing justice – to stand, sit, speak, write, love, sing, dance, defend and fight for justice/tzedek for ourselves and others, to share our actions so others will be strengthened and share theirs with us, and to know that our tradition and our ancestors stand behind and beside us.
Wishing everyone a restorative Shabbat,
Rabbi Julie
Shof’tim (Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9) Shabbat, August 30, 2025: What is Justice Times Two?
August 26, 2025 by Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller • D'var Torah
The right to a fair trial is vital to a justice system. Impartiality of judges is part of the foundation for such trials. Our Torah reading this week, Shoftim (Judges), instructs judges against accepting bribes or rendering a decision they know is unfair. Some of the instructions seem clearly aimed at those who serve as official judges, and others can be understood to be part a moral code for all of us. The text includes the fundamental and all-encompassing directive, Tzedek, tzedek tirdof – Justice, justice you shall pursue – which animates much of what many Reform Jews as well as others find most compelling in our Judaism.
The repetition of the word for justice has been interpreted to convey emphasis, resulting in the translation “you shall surely pursue justice.” Medieval commentator Rashi takes the repetition to mean that just ends must be achieved by just means, while his contemporary in Spain, Ibn Ezra, writes that Moses repeats tzedek to indicate that one should pursue justice whether it leads to one’s gain or loss.
We are now witnessing and experiencing the dismantling of our country’s justice systems, from deporting immigrants without due process to misusing the power of the legal system to investigate political opponents as a means of retribution. The unabashed and purposeful attacks on our educational, economic, political and health institutions flaunt the Torah’s teachings against partiality, bribes and the taking advantage of people’s vulnerabilities.
In this context, how shall we read the repetition of the word tzedek? Today, I offer us this reading: Our tradition teaches us to persist in pursuing justice – to stand, sit, speak, write, love, sing, dance, defend and fight for justice/tzedek for ourselves and others, to share our actions so others will be strengthened and share theirs with us, and to know that our tradition and our ancestors stand behind and beside us.
Wishing everyone a restorative Shabbat,
Rabbi Julie