My Weekly Drash ( a mini D'var Torah) - Devarim (2)
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on July 24, 2009 | Tags: Devarim
Given the recent hearings on a Supreme Court appointment, it's interesting to come across Moses's charge to judges: "You shall not be partial in judgment; hear out high and low alike.." (Deut. 1:17). It sounds like what you may have heard at the hearings, an insistence that all litigants be treated equally. That's there, but there's another message as well. All cases are to be deemed equally serious, not divided between "important" and "minor" ones. The idea is that what may seem trivial to an outsider is of importance to the parties involved, or else they might have been able to resolve it themselves. Moses wants judges who will focus on the matter at hand, hearing out both sides, and taking it as seriously as the parties involved. Every decision is to be deemed a "major" one.
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
