Book 3, Chapter 29
"Tzedek, Tzedek, tirdof." "Justice, justice, you shall pursue." This week's parsha has this famous injunction, given by Moshe Rabbenu, on how we shall pursue justice. It is not merely stated, but repeated for emphasis, in the context of instructions on the appointment of judges and enforcers of law, of the treatment and behavior of everyone from the highest king to the lowliest beggar, from the staunches of allies down to the worst of enemies.
And from this we learn much. Justice is not merely a perfect product, dispensed from a court of law like goods available at the market for purchase. No, justice is an ideal, one which we strive towards but never truly accomplish, for it would mean that in all times and in all places, we meet the standards to which we are held, and to which we hold ourselves—for the Torah is not in Heaven, and neither is Justice. No, it is ours, here, in Olam Hazeh, and to pursue Justice is to engage in Tikkun Olam, and make of our world a better place in accordance with the Law.
The usual response heard to this perspective is that, as Rashi said, that the rest of the verse goes, "that you may live and possess the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you," meaning that it was only incumbent upon us to appoint judges and hold courts of law while living in the Land of Israel, and is not binding outside of it. This is not true. Yes, it referred to the long-ago time when we lived as a nation in and of ourselves, and we are since dispersed, and, as Rashi said, it is on that merit that we held our long-ago home. But we are still told to pursue that justice, even if our home is lost, and hold to what we can, even if we do not live in that land any longer.
But perhaps one might think that our justice is only for ourselves. After all, the injunction to pursue justice was spoken only to the Bnei Yisrael. But this is also not true. "Mishpat achad yihiyeh lachem", we are told. "You shall have one single standard of justice." There is no comment there stating that variation in Law, in the ideal of Justice, is acceptable because we now live in a different land. And it is to that standard that we hold ourselves, the standard which we were told was holy, which we were told to pursue, no matter where we live, no matter with whom we live. And too,"Ve'ahavta l'reieha komocha"—"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." "Lo ta'amod al dam reiecha"—"You shall not stand by the shed blood of your neighbor." From this we see that no matter where we live, no matter who our neighbors are, we are commanded to stand by them and to pursue justice for them and for ourselves.
Collected Divrei Torah of Rabbi Shihook ben Dror, Rosh Yeshiva of Vedrarfjord, AM 4892-4919 (AD 1132-59)
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- Content Warnings:Chapter Trigger Warnings: Implied Act of Dub-Con/Non-Con (Berserkers again)
- Death by Adaptation: Niall mac Eochada dies in 1042, twenty one years before his historical death date.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Drago cannot acknowledge that the reason one of his riders is so much better than the others might be due to their more positive relationship with their dragon. He simply cannot comprehend it due to a lifetime of bad experiences with dragons.
- Hidden Depths: Rodhlaug is not as innocent as she appears, being just as savage as her father, just a lot more subtle out of necessity due to her gender.
- Killed Offscreen: Niall mac Eochada's death is only mentioned.
- Too Dumb to Live: Eochaid is viewed as a complete and utter moron for having intentionally provoked Berk.Eochaid had admitted his guilt after his capture—which had turned the lower kings against him, both for his stupidity at provoking Berk and for his dishonorable conduct.
