Pursuing justice – Shof’tim
Justice comes in two senses in this sidra.
There must be judicial officials – judges and officers in our gates (Deut. 16:18) – and their constant aim must be to pursue justice (Deut. 16:20).
Why the Torah speaks of pursuing justice is because no human being – but only God – can be relied upon to achieve and exercise true justice.
Human judges can only try (as hard as possible) to reach the goal. They can never be completely certain that they have attained it, which is why they must say to themselves, “I think I did quite well on this occasion but I will try and do even better next time”.
