Judaism’s Worldview Series 

Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer

Two men appeared as disputants before Rabbi Heschel of Kraków, stated their claims, and left. As the rabbi deliberated, one man returned with a bag of gold coins and a request to decide the case in his favor, quickly leaving empty-handed.

At dinner that evening, Rabbi Heschel took out the bag of coins and began counting them, holding them aloft, even passing them around for his puzzled guests to examine.

Suddenly the rabbi asked, “Can you distinguish any fault in these coins?” Heads shook all around. He nodded.

“They were given to me today as a bribe. I simply wished to demonstrate to you that there is no intrinsic difference between ordinary coins and those given in bribery — except that the latter are given as bribes.”

“Corruption was not a problem at the beginning of history,” writes legal expert Timothy Martin. In the ancient world, “offerings” were made to gods or leaders, not as bribes but as tributes in hopes of securing favors.

As civilizations arose, the rule of law became necessary for society to function as desired. Its development is evident as early as the third millennium B.C.E. in the literary references and artifacts of Ebla, Ur-Nammu, and Hammurabi.

The longest continuously-practiced law codes, however, are those in the Torah. Initiated at Sinai in the second millennium B.C.E. and recorded in their current form on scrolls after the Babylonian Exile, a significant proportion of laws are still, directly or indirectly, observed today.

Among them is the biblical command, “You shall not take a shochad (offering, bribe, gift, or any form of benefit) which makes the clear-eyed blind and the words of the just crooked.”

With its 613 Commandments from the Torah alone, Judaism has often been called legalistic. However, focusing on individual laws misses their collective purpose: justice, one of Judaism’s foundational values.

This is evident in the wording of the above bribery law that essentially says, “Don’t bribe because it upends justice.”

The interwoven nature of justice and biblical law is expressed in the Hebrew.

Tzedek is justice expressed as righteousness, that is, ethical behavior in relationships with others and the world in which we live.

Mishpat is the pursuit of justice through laws and legal processes. And din is overarching judgment of actions and their consequences, not their intentions. Have actions — righteous or otherwise — or legal processes been accomplished in a just manner? Have their consequences increased justice in the world…or not?

“Justice, justice you shall pursue,” the Torah implores us (Deut. 16:20). Pursue it through law, pursue it in word and action. Pursue justice justly.

Coins. Preparing to visit family in a distant village, a widow secretly hid her gold coins in clay pots, filling them to the brim with honey. Happy to watch over the pots, her neighbor borrowed a bit of honey one day and discovered the hidden treasure.

After removing the coins, she refilled the jars with honey. When the widow returned, she discovered her gold was missing. But with no evidence against her neighbor, the court dismissed her complaint.

Having overheard the unhappy tale, young David suggested that the women and jars be brought to Saul’s royal court. There, David broke the jars one by one until two coins were exposed, stuck to the inner side of a broken jar. Found guilty, the neighbor was sentenced to return the coins, replace the broken jars, and fill them to the brim with honey.

Lots. In 1478, the monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella established the Spanish Inquisition. The Pope appointed Tomás de Torquemada as its grand inquisitor in 1483.

Once, when the perpetrator of a severe crime in Seville couldn’t be identified, Torquemada accused the esteemed Rabbi Pinchas, expecting conviction to foment a backlash against the heretical Jews. He put the rabbi on trial, but the jury concluded there was no evidence to convict.

Undeterred, the cunning inquisitor proposed a new public trial, “We’ll put this matter before God by drawing lots. Inside this box,” he pointed, “are two scraps of paper, one labeled guilty and the other not guilty. If the rabbi draws out the one labeled guilty, he will be immediately executed. If he draws not guilty, he will be free to go.

Rabbi Pinchas remarked cynically, “How just.” He drew out a scrap and promptly swallowed it.

“Wha- ??” sputtered the inquisitor. “Now we’ll never know!”

“On the contrary,” responded the rabbi. “If the remaining scrap says guilty, then clearly the one I ate must have said not guilty.”

He regarded Torquemada knowingly. Cornered, the inquisitor reluctantly removed the second scrap. “Guilty.” Red-faced with rage, Torquemada had no choice but to let the rabbi go free.

Teens. In a Virginia courtroom, five teens pled guilty to unlawful entry and destruction of property for having vandalized a historic Black school with racist and antisemitic graffiti.

The judge noted the boys, three of whom were minorities, had no prior legal encounters, and “(n)one of them seemed to appreciate…the seriousness of what they had done.”

So she prepared an unusual sentence recommendation that included reading works by prominent Black, Jewish, and Afghan authors; visiting the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; writing a research paper on hate speech and its effects on minority communities, and more.

After completion, their cases would be dismissed. The judge expressed hope that the unusual sentences would be both educational for the boys and a step toward healing for the community.

Our days are filled with countless opportunities to bring tzedek (justice) into the world by how we speak, treat others, tackle problems, address social issues, formulate solutions, administer the law, and more, all guided by the Torah’s laws.

As Rabbi Tarfon taught: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.”

Literature to share

Doña Gracia Saved Worlds by Bonni Goldberg. The complicated story of Jewish heroine Doña Gracia is beautifully captured with simple text and rich illustrations in this engaging book for primary ages. Woven throughout are bits of Sephardic history, Jewish culture, and even geography alongside values of resilience, community, freedom, and making a positive difference.

Unstuff Your Life! Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good by Andrew J. Mellen. If you regularly lose your keys or phone, can’t open your closet doors without an avalanche, or dread opening your mushrooming email or photo apps, this book may be your solution. Read the chapters that address your needs or listen to the audio while you commute.

To read the complete July 2024 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.