"צדק צדק תרדוף"
"Justice, justice shall you pursue."
* Rashi comments 'Go after a good court."
* Ramban comments 'Justices need to seek the just answer, so to YOU need to seek proper justice.'
* Rabbi Akiva taught: 'It is doubled, because one should pursue justice, whether one financially profits or loses.'
* Ibn Ezra teaches 'Not just once, but each and every time.'
Yesterday we spoke at length about what 'justice' means to you. Comment below on your definition, AND the Torah and commentaries thoughts, too.
My definition of justice is being fair. For an example if I commit a crime and am forced to have a court case. They should not judge me on my racial ethnicity or religion. The Torah and commentaries say that justice is proper and fair. As said above rashi says "Go after good court." I think good court means a fair court.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Postolovskiy # 7
ReplyDeleteI think that Justice means to be treated as fairly no matter what race you are or religion. For example if you get arrested and they just want to put you in jail because you have are colored that is not being treated with justice. Every person should have right to a fair trial and be treated as if they are innocent. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, because if you walk in to court and you are "guilty" until proven innocent then people would not treat you the same because they would think that you did the crime. Rabbi Akiva says that one should be treated with justice whether they loose or win. Like in the unit truth VS. honesty I think that you should be honest wether it hurts the person or helps them. Whether or not the person is guilty they should be treated with justice. Like we talked about in class there was/ kind of is major equality with blacks and whites. No matter what a person should be treated with justice.
Aliya Lofland comment #7
DeleteMy definition of Justice is that the treatment of a person is equal to the level of their crime, or the level of their innocence. Everyone should be treated equally when looking at their crime, and not be discriminated against because of race, religion, or gender. Like Michelle said, everyone should be treated as if they are innocent until proven guilty. Just because Rubin Carter was colored, he was put into jail for a crime that he did not commit. That should not be the way that our justice system works. The Torah tells us that justice should be something equal and fair, there should be no tainted opinions because of race or religion. Everyone should be treated innocent until proven guilty, and chance is, many people, just like Rubin Carter, are really innocent.
I think justice can be truly defined by equality. No matter what a defendant may have done, they should always be treated as if nothing had been done. Although certain cases may be judged justly, in order to attain justice, a court bust be equal and fair all around the board.
ReplyDeleteMy definition of justice is when you are innocent till proven guilty and having my Miranda Rights. The torah says that you have to seek a good court, it could refer to a good lawyer because one is not allowed to seek a good jury. If that is what they mean by good court. The torah also says YOU need to seek justice, so does that mean that you need to seek good evidence to prove your innocence?
ReplyDeleteSarah Brill Comment #7:
ReplyDeleteMy definition of justice is that every person within the court system should treat every man and women equally. Justice means that every person should be treated like they are innocent until proven guilty. Justice is the treatment that the court system gives to you. For example some people are treated differently than others when it regards the court. Back in the old days and even now in some states there was major segregation against blacks and they were not treated fairly in court. For instance in To Kill a Mockingbird it stated that the white word was more reliable than the blacks. In the Torah, it states that us a person is responsible to make sure that when we go to court that we have a fair justice system and that we are treated as though innocent and we get a fair trial. I agree with this statement because if we are proven guilty first, then our chances of winning the case are very slim. We have always had prejudice in the courts and that won't change. Some people are pulled more toward the person who can tell the truth or people who sound truthful. We should always pursue justice whether the person is guilty or innocent according to the Torah, and in my opinion I agree.
Adina Kalantarov #3
ReplyDeleteMy definition of justice is fairness and treating everyone equally. In some cases, people who are charged with a crime that they committed have different consequences. Many years ago, a white man was treated better than a black man was. A white man would have more lenient consequences when the black man would get a harsher ones. I think that this is wrong. No matter what, there will always be prejudice and unjust in the world and there is nothing that we can do about it. The Torah states that we should always pursue justice even if the person who was accused was guilty. I agree with what the Torah says because it is reasonable and correct.
Alex Gage comment #5
ReplyDeleteMy take on justice can be summed up in one simple word. Equality. when you get arrested you can be white, black, Mexican, or Muslim chances are there are probably cops who are of the same ethnicity reading your Miranda rights. speaking of Miranda rights. you are entitled to the same rights that everyone else is when regarding the law. you are given an attorney and the benefit of the doubt in every case you walk into. Also when you are at trial you are innocent until proven guilty this means that you are treated like everyone else and are an innocent man until you are set free or are officially convicted of whatever crime you committed. All in all equality is the name of the game when keeping things fair for everyone.
Rachel Ship
ReplyDeleteTo be treated justly in my opinion is to be treated humanely. We see people in a different light once we know everything that they've done, both good and bad. When someone does something terrible, many people stop seeing them as truly human. Instead of a human being, the criminal is treated like a monster. Once the public eye starts to perceive this person as subhuman, then do they really have the ability to judge them fairly or will they judge them, while believing that they were being fair?
Sam Comment #4 Personally I connect with Rashi the most, in that you should "go after a good court" However, it does not say as to what a good court is or looks like. I assume that he does not mean aesthetics, but it may if that could affect the outcome of the case. That is where the hardest part lies. The best court is one where everything is exactly neutral. But that is impossible, so long as there are people involved. And I don't think robots are nearly capable enough to be making decisions in a court of law. So for now what is currently in place is very good. Each side presents their argument, and then it is voted on as to whether the defendant is guilty or not, and if it is found that they are, then the judge decides what the punishment will be.
ReplyDeleteI think that justice is to treat, care for, punish, and look at someone fairly. If someone did something bad, then they should get a punishment that corresponds to the level of badness that they caused. It shouldn't be either too harsh or too lenient towards the offender. The Torah agrees with this. It believes that we should serve justice or treat the 'defendant' fairly all the time and to always pursue the right path of punishment. I agree with the Torah's standing on justice, which is all about fairness and truth.
ReplyDeleteAlex R comment #3. I think that justice is when you judge someone fairly. When a person does something bad you must treat him with justice meaning that he should be treated humanely and judged fairly. Whatever the punishment should be towards that person it should correspond to how bad the act that the person did. The punishment should also be fair and not too harsh or too lenient. To make a fair judgment and punishment both sides should present there argument and then a punishment should be made.
ReplyDeleteJustice to me is when people a treated fairly in anyway, even if they are accused of murdering or stealing. The shouldn't be treated differently because of race or religion either, they should be treated as any other human. The punishment should be treated the same for everyone, and if two of the same cases come up, but to different races, it should still be the same punishment. If the president killed a man and the same case happened with a man who is just a normal guy, they should be treated with the same punishment. Even though the president has worked harder, he doesn't have any right to get away with everything.
ReplyDelete