by Rebbetzin Malkah Forbes

It happens every time.  Everyone in the courtroom is asked to rise and the judge is announced.  Then, all may sit and the proceedings begin.  No matter what the legal issue, the protocol is the same.  After the initial formalities are over, the judge becomes intricately informed of the matters of those in his/her courtroom:  all the matters in question become familiar to him and for a time he mingles in the affairs of the people.  During Elul, our King makes himself known by our sounding of the shofar each day.  What relevance does this have for us?  In Chassidic thought in Likkutei Torah, before a king enters a city, all who wish to greet him personally go out to the field to do so.  Here, anyone has the liberty to greet the king face to face, and for a moment be with the king in the field in a more personal, connected way.  So too, as we hear the voice of the shofar, we are afforded the opportunity to rise and go out to the field, knowing that the King, the Ribbono Shel Olam, will be among us for a time to examine our ways, guide and help us.  We should hasten to greet Him in the field, mingle with Him, and have Him witness our daily affairs with approval before He enters His throne room: His holy courtroom on Yom Kippur.  And why?  So that we may practice His ways, pursue righteousness and change the world.

Elul - Hallmark is No Match

The very essence of this Torah parasha has to do with righteousness.  This verse by which this parasha is known is "tzedek, tzedek, tirdof - righteousness, righteousness, you shall pursue."   With this verse, we are given the very essence of what Hashem  views to be a valiant endeavor for us to take upon ourselves for all our days.  As the King descends upon us during Elul, what He longs to see is a people caught up in acts of righteousness.  For in the very everyday acts of doling out justice and making sure that our actions towards others are ethical and fair, we stir in our Maker the very love and compassion which is necessary to balance our heavenly accounts.  Chassidic thought spells out Elul as Ani L'dodi V'Dodi Li  - I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.  With this in mind, we begin to take more seriously the fact that the King, our Divine Creator, wishes to walk among us and greet us personally.  He wishes to be closer to us, and He wishes for us to be closer to Him.  He beckons us during this time and woos us so that we may rekindle a more sensitive  spirit  towards Him.   He makes Himself available so that we may show our true selves to Him and He may see our actions.  Because of this, we allow ourselves and our actions to be open to  Him so that He may  see our lives in true form.  We are given the ability to check our behavior and refine it during this time, knowing that He is among us: watching, waiting, yearning. 

So how do we interact with this month and the Divine?   Do we spend our time primping our souls, trying to look our best, and always cracking a Torah so as to appear on our best behavior?  While it is desirable to increase one's Torah study during this time, that isn't all the King is looking for in the field.  What would be better is seeing a people in action, actively engaged in what the Torah describes as "righteousness" - despite how broad that category may be.    He wants to walk among us and see us disengaged from idolatrous pursuits.  The Holy One will see our love for Him through our actions of restitution,  through our upholding of land boundaries,  preservation of witnesses, abhorrence of bribes,  intolerance of idolatry and appointment of judges and magistrates.  When He sees us holding fast to the decrees set forth by  judges and magistrates that are appointed, all for the sake of Heaven, He will unleash His attributes of compassion and love for us during this time and pronounce a favorable judgment upon us.  No card could flatter us more than the name of the month itself:  for in this month lies the potential for us to rectify our relationship to Divine and the chance to start anew.  Hashem wants us to show our love for Him as we did as His bride at Sinai.

The Heart of the Matter - Participating in Justice Daily

As we recall that our Messiah walked among His people for a time, we can understand what it means for us to have a King in our midst.  Our Messiah walked among the people of Israel and surveyed their afflictions, heard their cries for healing and witnessed their oppression under the Romans.  He also was privy to their weaknesses and stumbling blocks to following Torah.  What would he say to us today as we edge towards the Days of Awe?  What do we suffer from today?

If we were to examine the heart of this week's parasha, we would realize that the sum total of the mitzvot associated with personal and communal justice issues equal peaceful relations within our community.   We would realize  that the reason for following Torah scrupulously is to activate communal and global certainty for all players:  each person would be afforded social justice and given a chance to not only live peacefully, but also have an equal hand in participating in the world in a meaningful way.  We would see that neglecting the matters of justice due to our fellow  causes not only a void in those to whom injustice is done, but also to ourselves.  When we increase our freedoms at the expense of others, we too risk falling later on.  When we deny our fellow the opportunity to operate in a basic and humane fashion, neglect giving attention to their physical and emotional needs, then we deny them not only the hope but the possibilities that await them and future generations:  thus causing them to fall more immediately.  We essentially rob a world away from an individual when we short-circuit what the Torah proscribes.  This is why we are commanded to pursue righteousness.  For in this divine effort, we cause the future to be erected in a holy and considerate fashion, giving attention to that which cannot be perceived but that which is right and just because of the Torah's precepts.

Hence the force of, JUDGES AND OFFICERS. God said to Israel: ' My children, by your life, as a result of your respecting justice, I am exalted.' Whence this? As it is said, But the Lord of hosts is exalted through justice (Isa. V, 16)3; ‘and because you exalt Me through justice I too will act righteously and will cause My holiness to dwell amongst you.' Whence this? As it is said, And God the Holy One is sanctified through righteousness (ib.). ‘And if you will respect both righteousness and justice I will immediately redeem you with a complete redemption.' Whence this? As it is said, Thus saith the Lord: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come, and My favour to be revealed.   (Midrash Rabbah - Deuteronomy V:7)

Our very observance and adherence to the Torah causes us to be closer to Hashem and strengthens our relationship to Him.    By this performance, we draw nearer unto His forgiveness and well as the rectifying power that social justice brings.   The amazing power of justice is such that when our fellow men and women are given the privileges which are due to them, the feelings of malice and malevolence dissipate.  The effect of integrity and ethical behavior has an indelible result:  it changes lives and brings faith in the G-d of Yisrael. 

When The Moon Hits Your Eye

As we edge toward a greater slice of the moon each night, we need to remember that it represents the timepiece of the Heavens.  Our observance of mitzvot must increase as the Days of Awe draw near; at the same time,  our imperfections and shortcomings that are illuminated must be addressed.  In this way, as the light dims and we near the beginning of Tishrei, we encounter the new moon and the new year not in darkness, but as a child entering the world and beginning anew - free from the hang-ups and burdens of the previous year.  Our Mashiach speaks of this briefly when he says: "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] positively shall not enter it at all." (Mark 10:15)   We should find ourselves wide-eyed and ready to listen as a child does to his/her loving parent and correct that which causes us to falter.

During the month of Elul, Tehillim 27 is recited daily.  It is a psalm which we know very well from the havdalah service:  "By David, G-d is my Light and my Salvation..."    How fitting as we approach this season that the sense of light and restoration plays a theme not only in the psalm, but in our walk towards a holiday that begins on a day with no moon.  Even in the culmination of our teshuvah, Yom Kippur, we still have not yet arrived at a full moon.  However, the psalm exhorts us to remember that our Creator, the love of our life, is a light unto us even though we may not perceive Him with our sight.    It is pure love, the combination of the compassion of Hashem, and His desire to restore us after we do teshuvah that enhances our  feeling of amore, of pure devotion to the Holy One, and lights our path with salvation.

Shlema and Shalom

So what does our Mashiach say about justice and righteousness?  As we imagine the King in the field, we see our Messiah examining our deeds like a lawyer for the Holy One.  What did he advocate?  What case would he be able to present on our behalf, if we choose him to represent us?  What do we stand for?  Do we have a hunger and thirst for righteousness?  If so, do we tolerate the conditions around us, or do we feel an inner indignation over injustice and immorality?

Yeshua's concern over the social sins of his day is indisputable.  He speaks of goats as people and separates them based on their deeds of righteousness:

"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Mattitayu 25:40)

"Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."  (Mattityahu 25:45-46).

And if we question what is his basis for saying this, it hearkens back to this week's very portion: the Children of Yisrael have been given the task to treat one another well.  One of many such injunctions reads:

"You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry." (Shemot 22: 21-23). 

The wholeness, or shlema,  of those around us is directly proportionate to the justice they receive daily.  The peace, or shalom, of a society is also linked to the shlema of each individual.  In other words, when the King walks through the field and sees His people, those who claim to have Mashiach Yeshua as their representative, will He find us doing works or righteousness, promoting peace, and creating shalom in the world?  Will He find us tending to the social justice needs of those around us, healing those filled with rage by inserting compassion, tenderness and impartiality in the world?  Or will he find us just sitting in the field, idly watching as those around us suffer in unjust conditions?

As we go to greet the King this week and throughout the month, may the words of Shoftim ring in our ears.  May He catch us doing acts of justice that will not only restore the integrity of our relationships within our communities, but also foster a greater wholeness that will spread and affect all people  - wherever they may be .   Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof...

Chodesh Tov and Shabbat Shalom...