Hello and welcome back to another week of MPT!
This week the Torah portion is Shoftim. This portion is all about justice and leadership. Moses is still instructing the Israelites on all they need to know before he dies. There’s a whole chunk of this portion where Moses is talking about justice.
No, not that kind of justice, the other kind.
No…well…I mean kind of. Yeah, sure. Close enough. So anyway, back to the portion. I know we’re not typically ones to include long quotes from the Torah in our posts, but this one is important. Moses says:
You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Let’s break this down one sentence at a time and talk about it a bit because honestly, it’s pretty rad. First Moses says, “You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice.” Does this sound familiar to you? It should. They’re selecting people to represent their tribes, their own little communities. Then these people will be the ones in charge of the tribes. It’s like they’re voting for mayor or governor. Appointing someone from the tribe to represent and lead them is so important. This person will know and understand the needs of the tribe and, for lack of a better word, the vibe of the tribe. Having someone from another tribe representing them would be kind of like having someone from the big city be a mayor for a small rural town. It’s not that they’re incapable of doing a decent job, they just wouldn’t understand the specific needs of the community because they aren’t used to it. Make sense? Great! Let’s move on to the next sentence.
The next sentence says, “You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just.” This part is all about being an honest person. An honest politician, what a concept. To quote Newsies:
“How bout a crooked politician? Yeah, nitwit, that ain’t news no more!” This isn’t a rule that has been followed very much. All throughout history people have been taking bribes, voter fraud, and doing so many other not-so-great things. It would be nice if all politicians were honest and judged without bias. You know, just a thought.
In the last sentence, Moses says, “Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” For this sentence, and to keep things on topic, we’re just going to focus on the first half of the sentence which talks about justice. So, what is justice? It’s a word that gets tossed around a lot, but do you actually know what it means? Let’s pull a cheesy speech cliché for a moment and grab the definition of justice which according to dictionary.com is:
the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness rightfulness or lawfulness, as of a claim or title; justness of ground or reason the moral principle determining just conduct.
Justice is all about doing what’s right. A just society is an equitable society. It means that people can work for and achieve what they set their minds on and that everyone can live the way they want to and feel safe doing so. It means that people are rewarded fairly and are punished fairly. Justice means so much; even more than what we’ve just discussed. What does justice mean to you?
Voting this year is extremely important; no matter which candidate you are voting for. Everything going on can make us nervous about standing in lines at the polls, making sure our mail in ballots get in to election offices on time, voter suppression, and voter turnout. Just know that this is an important election and that if you can, you need to vote. If past elections have proven anything, it’s that voter turnout can really influence an election.
First and foremost you need to make sure that you are registered. You may say, “It’s already August! Is it too late to vote?” Absolutely not! Check to see when your state’s registration deadline is. Unsure if you’re already registered? You can check!
Okay, so you’re registered. Now what? Well, make sure you know when election day is! The General/Presidential Election for this year is:
★Tuesday, November 3, 2020★
There are several ways you can make sure your voice is heard this November. First, you can show up to the polls on election day (which is November 3, 2020 btw). Not sure where your polling place is? You can use this tool from Rock the Vote to find out. If their website can’t find your polling place, it will direct you to your state’s election website to find the information! You can also vote early if your state allows. Be sure to visit your state’s online voting hub to see what their rules are.
Not able to get to the polls? You can request a mail-in ballot. Some states are automatically sending their citizens mail-in ballots. Rock the Vote has information on absentee voting – just find your state! Once you’ve gotten your mail in-ballot, have filled it out and are ready to send what can you do? You can mail it through the post office, but this can be tricky with delays going on right now. We suggest dropping it off! Your state’s election website will give you information on locations of ballot drop boxes and where else you can drop it off. Some places will allow you to bring it to your polling place. Just make sure to check before you do to make sure your vote counts!
Remember that you can make a difference in America’s future, and it starts with your vote in the next election. Help elect a politician and use your voice to effectively influence that politician to enact the change you want to see. As Michelle Obama writes in her memoir Becoming, “Do we settle for the world as it is, or do we work for the world as it should be?”
Wash your hands, wear a mask, and remember, Black Lives Matter.
Love,
Amanda & Marissa
