Social Justice

Lately we have been contrasting Avraham with Sdom and pointing out his focus on Tzedek and Mishpat or social justice. The two stories, the first of Avraham showing Hachnasat Orchim with the angels and the second being the destruction of Sdom, at first glance do not seem like they are connected and should not be one after the other in the sequence of the Torah. However the contrast between Avraham's values and the misguided values of Sdom show us how the two stories have a connection and give insight into why they are next to each other in the Torah.

Avraham was the paradigm of social justice. He was legendary for his focus on Tzedek and Mishpat. The Nevi'im Acharonim were also very much focused on Tzedek and Mishpat. Many of them, including Yishayahu and Yichezkel, preached social justice, including taking care of widows and orphans and the downtrodden of society. It was imperative that Bnei Yisroel follow moral laws and create a society dominated by Tzedek and Mishpat. This is even more important that Korbanot, as Hashem tells Bnei Yisroel in Yishayahu that He does not even want their korbanot because they are violating moral and ethical laws and instead bringing Korbanot. It is obvious to us how important social justice is, since it is dominant over Korbanot, which are an essential part of the relationship between Hashem and Bnei Yisroel.

Today this idea of social justice sometimes seems obvious. I think that we forget how important social justice is. Perhaps we think that since we live in a country of democracy, we don't have to remember how important social justice is for us to carry out. We need to remember the importance of social justice and how we must go out of our way to help the downtrodden in society. If the neviim acharonim stress this so much, it must be one of the most important aspects of Judaism.