Foundations for Life (Ki Tetze)

“If we do not maintain Justice, Justice will not maintain us.” — Francis Bacon

In the period approaching the New Year and Yom Kippur, one may wonder about the preponderance of concern with Divine Justice. If, as we believe, God is also merciful, then why the excessive concern with justice? Can’t He just go easy on us and understand that man, whom He created, inevitably sins? How can He demand that everyone behave with integrity? How can He expect everyone to uphold justice in a world filled with deceit and injustice?

Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 25:15 explains that justice is not only a Divine attribute, but also a requirement of the human condition. Man cannot live long or well without justice, fairness and evenhandedness as basic elements of his existence.

Ibn Ezra compares justice in man to the foundations of a building. If we chip away at the foundations, the building will eventually collapse. Likewise, if man erodes his sense of justice, integrity and honesty, Ibn Ezra suggests that eventually such a person will also collapse, and perhaps that his life may even end earlier than it otherwise might have.

May we stand guard against the erosion of our principles, reinforce the elements of integrity and fairness in our lives, and prepare ourselves for the upcoming High Holidays, so that the structure of our lives may endure and prosper.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the archeological discovery of a 1,300-year-old “shopping hub” in Central Israel