Community Magazine August 2012

Dedicated inmemory of Mr.&Mrs. Jacques&Rachel Gindi  Do the Ends Justify the Means? A s children we all read or heard of the story of Robin Hood, the English folk hero who, together with a fellow group of outlaws, would steal money and possessions from the rich in order to give them to the poor. Robin Hood is commonly portrayed as a hero, a champion for the cause of equality. Although his methods amounted to criminal behavior, he is still depicted as a noble, heroic figure for his willingness to risk his life for the sake of the underprivileged. The concept underlying Robin Hood-type heroism is that “the ends justify the means,” that noble goals may be pursued through ignoble behavior. Robin Hood would agree that theft is wrong, but he felt it becomes acceptable, and even admirable, when done for the sake of a noble purpose such as feeding the poor. A recent historical example of this line of reasoning is the Communist movement. Communism began as an idealistic campaign to bring an ultimate end to all strife and animosity among people by dividing material assets evenly among all citizens. Communist rebels, such as the Bolsheviks, were convinced that this movement would cure all the earth’s ills, and thus felt it was justified, and even necessary, to wage bloody wars and kill opponents for the sake of the communist ideal. According to some estimates, approximately 50 million people were killed for the sake of Communism. Horrific as it sounds, communist leaders ostensibly waged this campaign with a clear conscience and fierce idealism, sincerely believing that the carnage was perfectly justified in the interest of realizing the movement’s lofty vision. “Justice, Justice” The Torah fundamentally rejects the notion of “the ends justify the means.” We are to pursue noble goals through noble means, and goals that can be achieved only through nefarious means must not be pursued at all, period. The Torah in Parashat Shofetim (Devarim 16:20), in the context of the laws of judges, exhorts, “ Sedek sedek tirdof – Justice, justice shall you pursue.” Already the Talmud, in Masechet Sanhedrin, raises the question of why the Torah here repeats the word “ sedek .” The Talmud explains that this emphasis indicates that litigants should bring their cases to well-trained, expert judges. If a court of seasoned, scholarly judges is available, litigants should not compromise judicial standards by submitting their case to judges of lesser stature. The added emphasis of “ sedek sedek ” suggests that when it comes to justice, we must pursue the very highest standards we can, and not settle on anything less. However, there is also an additional interpretation. When the Torah commands us to pursue “justice, justice,” it means that we must pursue justice with justice. We are to use only sedek – just, moral conduct – in the quest for sedek , in our efforts to create RABBI ELI J. MANSOUR 14 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE