Thursday, July 18, 2013
TZEDEK JUSTICE and COMPASSION By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
As Moses begins his great closing addresses to the next generation, he turns to a subject that dominates the last of the Mosaic books, namely justice:
I instructed your judges at that time as follows: “Listen to your fellow men, and decide justly [tzedek] between each man and his brother or a stranger. You shall not be partial in judgment. Listen to great and small alike. Fear no one, for judgment belongs to God. Any matter that is too difficult for you, bring to me and I will hear it.”
Tzedek, “justice,” is a key word in the book of Devarim – most famously in the verse:
Justice, justice you shall pursue, so that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 16: 20)
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