{"id":50777,"date":"2019-03-05T18:56:21","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T16:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=50777"},"modified":"2022-09-27T16:23:53","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T13:23:53","slug":"be-careful-who-you-choose-a-cautionary-tale-for-our-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/be-careful-who-you-choose-a-cautionary-tale-for-our-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Careful Who You Choose: A Cautionary Tale For Our Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[628,837],"acf":{"old_id":"50777","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":46656,"related_cahpter":"169","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"If we the people haven\u2019t chosen wisely, we are held accountable","content":"

At the end of Chapter 16, which also marks the start of the Torah portion of Judges, Moses directs the Israelites to appoint for themselves judges and officers of the court in every city. Following on the heels of the verses regarding the three pilgrimage festivals, this verse is a directive to the people to not hold up the judicial process until they make their pilgrimage, but to set the wheels of justice in motion without delay.<\/span><\/p>\n

The injunction to set up judiciaries is coupled with the order to ensure the appointed judges are of righteous character, and the caution in verse 19 that \u201cyou shall not pervert judgement.\u201d Why is that cautionary note directed toward the Israelites? Surely it\u2019s the judges themselves who should be held accountable for any perversions of justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Or HaChaim takes an extraordinary view, stating that \u201cthose who fail to appoint the proper judiciary contribute to unfair judgements\u201d and God holds accountable both the appointers and appointee for any perversions of justice. It\u2019s not a far leap to substitute \u201celectors and elected\u201d for \u201cappointers and appointees\u201d which should stop us in our tracks when we consider current political climates and the modern electoral process. Be careful about who you appoint\/elect, not just because of potential outcomes but also because you are at least in part responsible for their actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

And finally comes the peculiar final verse of Chapter 16, admonishing the Israelites to not plant idolatrous trees. What does an idolatrous tree have to do with corrupt judges? Rav Nachman, in his work Otzar haChaim, teaches that a corrupt judge is one who is easily influenced by public opinion, just as a tree bends and sways to the whim of the wind. And, according to the teachings of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, though it may look much like all others from the outside, the corrupt judge, like the idolatrous tree, is rotten in its core.<\/span><\/p>\n

We won\u2019t see the perversions to come, or the rottenness, from the exterior persona or beautiful leaves, but it will eventually become evident. And if we the people haven\u2019t chosen wisely, we are held accountable.<\/span><\/p>\n

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