Dvar Torah - Shoftim 5784

The Torah opens this week with laws regarding judges. The Torah mandates that the judges “shall judge the people with righteous judgement.” (Devarim 16:18). The Torah continues (Pasuk 17);“Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a bribe.” The Torah then concludes with צדק צדק תרדוף (righteousness, righteousness you shall pursue). Why does the Torah repeat the word צדק  (righteousness)?

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 32b) brings a beraisa to explain this pasuk: “When the verse states: “Righteousness, righteousness shall you follow,” one mention of “righteousness” is stated with regard to judgment, and one is stated with regard to compromise (פשרה). How so? Where there are two boats traveling on the river and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to pass, both of them sink, as the river is not wide enough for both to pass. If they pass one after the other, both of them pass. How does one decide? If there is one boat that is laden and one boat that is not laden, the needs of the one that is not laden should be overridden due to the needs of the one that is laden. If there is one boat that is close to its destination and one boat that is not close to its destination, the needs of the one that is close should be overridden due to the needs of the one that is not close.”

In other words, the Torah tells us that judges must act with righteousness not only in the way they judge a case, but also how they handle פשרה, where they help work out a compromise between the parties. The Netziv asks why the Talmud brings this as an example of righteousness with compromise. We know what compromise is. What is the righteousness in this example?

He answers that the righteousness is that the court must impose a compromise between the parties and not allow the parties to insist on their rights. The boat that is not laden is going to lose out because it must wait for the boat that is laden to pass. It may incur substantial down time and may suffer significant losses. However, the court cannot permit strict justice here because if both boats stick to their positions, both will sink as they attempt to simultaneously cross. Accordingly, the “righteousness” in compromise means forcing the parties to accept a compromise based on the circumstances.

We see here that parties must be forced to compromise, because people are reluctant to give up what they deem they are entitled to, even if it may involve both parties losing. It seems that it is human nature to want to “win” at all costs and not lose face, even if it involves one’s own loss. People in matrimonial and other types of disputes frequently lose their life savings in legal fees attempting to “prove” that they are right. We should accept the idea that compromise is an act of “righteousness”, and that the Torah sometimes wants us to give up our rights for the sake of others. Rabbenu Bachya introduces this parsha with the words of Mishlei (3:17) “Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths, peaceful.” The foundation of the Torah is peace. When one compromises with another, one not only brings about the peaceful resolution of the dispute, but also helps advance the essence of the Torah and brings peace to a world sadly lacking in שלום.