The nations of the world have a social obligation of justice.

In the introduction of the section on the “Establishment of Laws and Courts” in the Divine Code 4th Edition, Rabbi Dr. Shimon Cowen writes,

The Noahide precept of justice, or ‘dinim’, is the obligation, incumbent upon societies, to establish the rule of law through courts in every district of the land.

The study of the obligation to establish just, moral and ethical systems of laws and courts can be fascinating. But for the most part the majority of us are not in a position to be involved directly with the establishment laws and courts of our respected nation, so, it begs the question, “How can we as individuals apply this law and obligation to our personal lives?”

Rabbi Moshe Weiner writes in chapter 4 of Establishment Of Laws And Courts section 1, Though the commandment of ‘dinim’ is primarily focused on the conduct of the community, with the purpose of creating a just society, each individual is nevertheless part of this community and will necessarily impact society as a whole through his or her actions.

There is an interesting quote from the Torah Sages found in the introduction to the Parsha Noah in the Artscroll Tanach Series Bereishis/Genesis,

Whether man will deal justly or be a thief is left to him.

As a child of Noah, many of the Torah Sages and Scholars teach us that Genesis 2:16-17 is a primary passage for us to learn and meditate on.

And HaShem God commanded man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat. But of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it, for on the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die.”

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch points out that verse 16 is the beginning of man’s moral training, And HaShem God commanded man, saying.

The Creator gives man his first command, and within this command we find the first establishment of a boundary, in essence, the Creator is telling Adam, “All of the trees of the Garden is yours and that one over there is Mine”. Adam was given a choice to act justly or become a thief. He was now given a choice to either live with what he had been given, or by crossing the boundary and taking something that did not belong to him.

We now see that the choice to be righteous or wicked is solely our responsibility. This inward choice that we all have, is our personal role in the commandment of justice.

Terry W. Hayes
12/30/23

Photo Credit: Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash