If you like “mitzvahs” (commandments), you will love Mishpatim as it contains the most mitzvot of any Torah portion. Every day this week Rabbi David Woznica will share his thoughts on one mitzvah.
You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong—you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty—nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute. (Exodus 23:2-3)
In many ways, the Torah’s insistence on a just society is embodied in this verse. We should not show deference to the multitude (or the mighty) nor inappropriate sympathy or favor to the poor. A judge should render justice in any given case.
In the words of Rabbi Abraham Geiger, the founder of Reform Judaism, “Sympathy and compassion are great virtues, but even these feelings must be silenced in the presence of Justice.”
And yet, it is a Jewish imperative to show compassion. Earlier this week, I referenced mitzvot protecting some of society’s most vulnerable (the stranger, widow, orphan, poor). And many of you are keenly aware of the mitzvah of tzedakah and our responsibility to help those in need.
A moral society needs both compassion and justice. Knowing how and when to render them can be a challenge. Achieving the proper balance is a hallmark of a decent world.
Shabbat Shalom
— Rabbi David Woznica