Dvar Torah - Ve'eschanan 5784

The Torah says (Devarim 6:18) “And you shall do what is upright and good (הישר והטוב) in Hashem’s eyes that it may go well with you and that you may be able to possess the good land that Hashem swore to your fathers.” This is puzzling. The Torah has already told us, earlier in this parsha, that we need to follow the Torah and not to deviate from it: “You shall not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it but keep the commandments of Hashem your Lord that I command you.”  (Devarim 4:2). Isn’t it implicit that if we follow the Torah exactly and do not add or subtract from it that we will be doing what is “upright and good” in Hashem’s eyes? What is the Torah adding here with the language to do “what is upright and good”?

Rashi interprets “upright and good” to mean פשרה ולפנים משורת הדין, to compromise and to go beyond the letter of the law. How is that הישר והטוב, upright and good? Rav Hirsch, Z”TL explains that the term הישר, that which is right, refers to the legal rights that one is entitled to. However, one’s legal rights must be tempered with הטוב, that which is good in the eyes of Hashem. Thus, the Torah tells us that one must relinquish one’s legal rights for the sake of the higher purpose of fostering peace and equity. Hirsch and the Ramban bring the example of דינא דבר מצרא (Bava Metzia 108a), where the owner of a field must sell the field to an adjoining neighbor, even if he desires to sell to someone else. The one who wants to buy the field must sacrifice his right to purchase for the good of the neighbor who wants to combine two contiguous properties. Similarly, Hirsch, Rashi and the Ramban speak about the concept of פשרה, where the court and the litigants are adjured to pursue a compromise to settle any dispute. Inherent in a compromise is that the aggrieved party in the lawsuit must sacrifice some of his legal entitlement for the sake of peace with his neighbor, even though he believes that the neighbor is wrong.

Unlike a secular legal system, which produces winners and losers, Hashem does not want us to “win” and “lose”. Our overriding goal must be to do Hashem’s will, which is to act in peace and brotherly love with our fellow Jew. Our pasuk tells us that we must always do what is “upright and good” in order to merit the land of Israel. This week we fasted and grieved for the destruction of Jerusalem and prayed for its restoration. Rabbi Yochanan tells us that Jerusalem was destroyed because the people did not go beyond the letter of the law (Bava Metzia 30b). The Torah expressly tells us that if we insist on doing only what the Torah technically requires and enforce our legal rights irrespective of its impact on others, we will forfeit the land of Israel. One should always try to do what is הישר והטוב, “upright and good”, and be willing to compromise and מוותר (forego) what one believes he is entitled to for the sake of peace. In that merit, we should see peace in Israel and salvation from our enemies.