Last weekend, while our son
was reading Torah and chanting Haftarah in a shul in Efrat, while Neo Nazis had
already marched and the world was waiting for the President to denounce the Neo
Nazis, and while Israel waited three days
for Prime Minister Netanyahu to denounce the Neo Nazis; a story of
corruption has been plaguing Prime Minister Netanyahu. In fact four cases of corruption have been
raised including the acceptance of gifts, illegal purchases of submarines and negotiating
with an Israeli newspaper to insure positive coverage. Being here in Israel,
there is weariness when it comes to Netanyahu. Nowhere was this more evident
than last Shabbat lunch. Two friends of
ours, one political liberal from Tel Aviv and one political conservative from
Efrat were arguing politics as all Israelis do. However as much as they
disagreed about solving the Palestinian –Israeli conflict, both agreed that
Netanyahu was not part of the solution. Why? The perception is that Netanyahu
is only concerned about Netanyahu and remaining in power.
This week, we read from Parsha Shoftim.
Moshe has completed his lecture on the values of monotheism and covenant. Now
he begins telling B'nai Yisroel all the nitty gritty details of living a Jewish
life within this community. What a downer! B’nai Yisroel is inspired and ready
to enter into Eretz Canaan and begin living the life in the land that God had
promised their ancestors. They are now ready to begin fulfilling the dream that
allowed them to survive centuries of slavery. So what does Moshe Rabeinu do? He
brings them crashing back to reality. Now they will listen and understand laws
concerning war, punishments for idolatry, choosing a king, jurisprudence,
priestly entitlements and unsolved murders. Moshe gives B’nai Yisroel a healthy
dose of reality by supplying all the details required to uphold the Covenant.
Implicit in Moshe’s lecture,
implicit in a society, any society for that matter, is the role of justice.
Justice provides a check and balance to corruption. However the concept itself
let alone the reality of it can also become corrupt and perverse. Hence it is
not enough for Moshe to tell us Shoftim
v’Shotrim Titen Lecha Sh’Arecha Asher
Adoshem Elokecha Notein Lecha Lishvatecha
V’Shaftu et Ha’Am Mishpat Tzedek – Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your cities- which Hashem,
Your God, gives you - for your tribes;
and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. Moshe must explain
what “righteous judgment” means, its foundation for a civilized society, its
difficulty to maintain, and the brutal honesty required. Lo Tateh Mishpat – You
shall not pervert judgment, Lo Takir
Panim – you shall not recognize a
person’s presence, V’Lo Tikach
Shochad Ki HaShochad Ye’Averi Einei Chachamim Visaleif Divrei Tzadikkim – and you shall not accept a bribe, for the
bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words crooked (Deut
16:18-19).
Justice, as we have learned, is
supposed to be blind. Whether poor or wealthy, whether blue collar crime or
white collar crime, justice is supposed be oblivious to our tendency to
automatically side with the downtrodden or the wealthy and privileged person.
Why? Because corruption is blind as well. The poor can be corrupt and so can
the wealthy. Corruption knows no barriers to color, religion, gender or
nationality. The only barrier to corruption is our own individual constitution
and desire to Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof – Righteousness Righteousness shall you
follow (Deut. 16:20). For Bnai Yisroel and for the Jewish people, our sense
of Justice comes from Torah, these laws and the fact that justice must remain
utterly pure without a blemish. Later on in the Parsha we are taught that a
king, the one person who must wield justice, must write two Sifrei Torah. One
he carries one he keep pristine and locked away only to be used to check
against the “everyday Torah”.
No, the corruption charges that
Netanyahu faces don’t appear to be going away. Yes, the corruption charges have
diminished the effectiveness by which Netanyahu governs. Yes it’s frustrating
to listen to our son the Bar Mitzvah, shake his head and wonder aloud about
moral leadership, and the importance of service when a leadership is more
worried about self promotion, enriching
his own wallet, and working outside the democratic process. However even more
troubling, as we have seen Israel, and spent time with close friends who have
made Aliyah, is to hear our son’s concern and disillusionment when he says that
he didn’t think that a country built upon Torah would have leaders that were
corrupt, just like leaders in other countries. All I can tell him is that
whether a society is built upon Torah or not; power can corrupt.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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