By Rabbi Naftoly Bier
The month of אלול is an acronym for “אני לדודי ודודי לי”, “I am for my beloved and my beloved is for Me.” חז”ל are teaching us that it is a propitious time, that Hashem’s ‘fatherly’ connection to His children, כלל ישראל, can be acutely felt and experienced due to His relentless love of every member of the Jewish people.
How significant is every single member of Klal Yisrael? What is one’s view of a wicked person? To answer this question, let’s learn the דרשות הר”ן דרוש י”א, the Droshos HaRan #11. The Torah instructs us to appoint judges in every community; they in turn appoint officers to ensure that all business and commerce be executed with pure integrity. At the same time, in Parshas Shoftim, we are instructed to appoint a king. How do we define the unique role of each one, or what is the “separation of powers”?
The ר”ן explains that the role of the בית דין, the court system, is to ensure the eternal integrity, authenticity, ‘holiness’, of Hashem’s manual of living- the Torah. It is not about protecting the rights of individuals, but rather the utter, awesome responsibility to live every moment with pure, unadulterated commitment to assiduously and incessantly follow all the mitzvot of the Torah. In order to ensure that there is civility, and social harmony, a king was appointed.
There are many mitzvos in the Torah which are definitively given to enable us to act in a manner which places one in the presence of Hashem, that we be embraced by Him, such as קרבנות, the offerings, and all that transpired in the בית המקדש, the Holy Temple. Another example is the חוקים, the commandments that are not reasonably understood, but obviously, they engender an ‘abundant impact’ from Hashem. That is the main focus and purpose of the ‘judicial system’; to make certain that the uniqueness of Klal Yisrael whose very experience transcends the normative lifestyle of the nations of the world, should be safeguarded.
In שמות כ”א:כ”ג, Exodus 21:23, it states: “ונתת נפש תחת נפש” “… you must give a life for a life.” The Torah does not obligate the בית דין, the Jewish court to take revenge on the murderer, or to execute him as a deterrent. If so, it should have said ‘ולקחת’- you take the murderer’s life as a consequence of his actions.
It rather states, ונתת: when one commits a murder, it desensitizes society to some degree to the value and dignity of human life, and a breach in the law, the Torah. In order to resensitize to any value lost, the Torah instructs us to “give and surrender” the criminal’s life for the sake of repairing the damage done.
The theme of protecting the infinite value of human life is manifested by the Torah teaching us that even if the murderer caused an extensive monetary loss, either to the victim or to a third party while trying to murder- the courts are not allowed to render judgment on the monetary loss. The unparalleled dignity of human life which has been seriously damaged does not allow discussions of money. The בית דין, by not involving themselves in the monetary loss are ‘sending a message’ to all; billions of dollars are incomparable to human life! (For further elaboration, please see R’ Hirsch)
The role of סנהדרין is to protect the infinite value of every member of Klal Yisroel all endowed by our creator with a נשמה, soul, which is חלק אלוקה ממעל, a ‘part of Hashem placed in one’. This idea validates a person, inspires one to do Hashem’s will, and empowers one to follow His ways despite hardships.
The רמב”ן, Nachmanides teaches us a profound lesson regarding the aforementioned jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin and the Jewish court system. There are four cases where the ‘death penalty’ is to be carried out by the court in order to protect and insulate Klal Yisrael from actions that could cause great harm to our collective society. They are the 1) בן סורר ומורה- rebellious child, 2) זקן ממרא- the Torah scholar who publicly acts in a manner opposite to the court’s ruling, 3) עדים זוממין- witnesses who testified despite being in a different locale, that someone had done something wrong, and 4) מסית- a person who convinces others to perform idol worship, though he himself doesn’t.
1) The rebellious child- a child of thirteen years who doesn’t respect his parents and doesn’t adhere to the מצוה of קדושים תהיו- to minimize one’s relentless drive for physical pleasures- two fundamentals of successful living- is put to death under definitive circumstances (though it never happened). It is solely done as a means of teaching the public the grave importance of following these mitzvos, principles always.
2) The Torah scholar who due to his feeling that he is correct in his evaluation of what the Torah would rule in a certain case- if the majority rules the opposite, is put to death, despite his righteousness. For his actions will wreak havoc on other people’s adherence to follow the rulings of the Sanhedrin, the majority.
3) False witnesses- עדים זוממין- are only punished if their testimony was disproved before the court has the ability to carry out the sentence. The Torah wants the court to send the message that integrity and decency are expected from every person.
4) Despite the fact that the מסית- inciter- didn’t actually worship other gods, the fact that he tried to instigate others is punishable by death, to warn others not to be involved.
Again, we are taught that the purpose of the בית דין is to protect and ensure the קדושה of Torah, the relentless adherence to all of Torah, by all of Klal Yisrael, even if it means to sacrifice a life. (Where there is a question of social harmony, civility, or safety, the kind has the obligation to ensure that is taken care of. If there is no king then the court takes upon themselves this role.)
This idea of the role of the court system to protect the dignity and nobility is a lesson of how important every person is to Hashem- a reflection of אני לדודי ודודי לי, the love Hashem has for every person.
