HOLY
What issue could there be with going to a secular court?[1]
The real issue is what is the guidepost for making decisions and determining what is right or wrong? I recall the distress of a doctor, who approached me after I related the following story. Dr. Sarhai was a famous physician and great Torah scholar. Rav Aharon Walkin (1865-1942) came to the doctor’s office for an exam and expressed his amazement to the doctor. “I don’t understand. Typically doctors spend a few moments with the patient. Yet you, who are known as the expert, tops in the field, have spent hours with me!”
Dr. Sarhai responded: “But there are others who also spend a lot of time evaluating health: Rabbis. They check the health of animals to see if they are Kosher. There are times that they will spend countless hours analyzing, questioning, poring over books, in order to determine the condition of the animal and meat in question. Yet doctors are expected to have an immediate response to a patient regarding the source of the illness and the solution. “
“To what can we attribute the hours devoted to assess the health of an animal?” asked Dr. Sarhai. “It is due to fear of G-d. If someone has fear of G-d, matters will not be dismissed as insignificant, not worth one’s bother or time.”[2]
A G-d fearing physician came over to me after I shared this and said, “This is what happens in my office. The CEO’S of my practice complain that I spend too much time with my patients. They want me to shorten the length of the patient visits, something which I find very distressing.”
There is a unique hospital in Netanya which was founded by the Klausenberger Rebbe. The decisions made regarding the operations of the hospital and treatment of the patients follow Torah law. The protocols of the hospital indicate that employees should be full of love for their fellow Jews and every human being and the goal is to cure the patient, not just cure the disease. Dr. Andre de Freis, former director-general of Beilenson Hospital later served at Laniado. He described the difference: At Laniado, “There is a feeling of being involved in holy work.”
In the midst of presenting matters of civil law, the Torah states, “Be, anshei kodesh, people of holiness, to Me.”[3] What follows is a law stating that if we have meat that we cannot eat because it is not kosher, we should give it to a dog to reward dogs for their respectful behavior during the time of the Exodus. Holiness is the foundation in how we are to treat even animals, how much more so should it be when dealing with people. That is why secular courts present an issue. Although they could be effective, and at times might be the avenue that must be traveled, their objective may not represent what we seek to attain in life and our way of living – holiness.
Do fear and reverence of G-d influence our work in the secular world? Is our concept of a justice system an effective means to manage society or is it means to help us raise the bar of holiness?
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Hershel D. Becker
[1] Rashi Mishpatim 21:1
[2] Shnayim Mikra Mishpatim 21:19
[3] Mishpatim 22:30