Parshat D’varim

Larry Weinman

In our parsha, D’varim, we have some principals for a judicial system and at the risk of venturing outside of my territory before an audience full of lawyers I will point out a few things nonetheless.

In D’varim 1: 17 we read, "Lo takeeroo ponim b’mishpat k’katan k’gadol teshmeoon lo togooroo mpnei eesh," or "You are not to (specially) recognize a face in judgment: As the small as the great you are to hear them out. You are not to be in fear of any man."

The commentators find much material in the phrase "k’katan u k’gadol."

Rashi takes it to mean that there is no small claims court in the Jewish system: "din proota k’din mona." He also brings a view that may not be what we always would think of immediately but are certainly not unfamiliar with: Beware the frivolous lawsuit in which the poor person is conniving to get money from the deep pocket.

Saadia Gaon, on the other hand, brings the inverted view: The court shouldn’t be intimidated when a well known man of high standing comes before it.

Nechama Leibovitz brought another view from the Mechilta: "Katan" refers to a person with a bad reputation -- in our parlance, someone with "priors." The court must be careful to judge the current case on its merits.

The more interesting interpretations to me are those that extend beyond the courtroom and into how we regard people in our daily lives. Our categories of who is "katan" and who is "gadol" are too often determined by externalities . A Chassidic commentator teaches the "katan" and "gadol" are only in the eyes of basar v’dam. When we see katan and gadol we are only looking at external appearances, but this is an illusion because man is only able to estimate and imagine.

A recent New York Times article caught my eye. It was a lengthy article complete with pictures entitled "Important ? If you are, torah study can visit." The article was about a program where rabbis come to study one on one with people at their place of business. A wonderful idea, but the article’s title raised a yellow light in my head which was verified a few paragraphs later. It’s too rich not to quote verbatim:

"Rabbi Shiff is one of five rabbis employed by an international Orthodox Jewish organization known as Aish HaTorah, which offers many services to regular people at its Upper West Side center, but offers some special attention to those whom its managing director, Rabbi Adam Jacobs, refers to as ‘very significant people.’ To participate in its Executive Learning Program, one makes a very significant contribution — $10,000 a year, more or less — and in return, a rabbi comes to one’s corner office about once a week to offer Bible study, Talmudic exegesis, personal counseling or just an hour of intellectual jousting."

To say the least, this struck me as quite a juxtaposition of torah values with the values of the marketplace, and I don’t think I am alone.

I think it’s appropriate that on this erev Tisha B’Av, I close with this little piece of torah from a Chassidic teaching:

"Lo taceero ponim k’mishpat……" To what does the pasuk refer? "You are not to (specially )," refers to elevating the katan (those that don’t merit being elevated), meaning that you confuse the katan with the gadol (gadol here meaning gadol in values or in wisdom) and you relate to the small one as if he is a gadol. The teaching cites Masechet Shabbat, which says that "Jerusalem was not destroyed until the katan was valued the same as the gadol."

So I think the lesson here takes us way outside the courtroom. We should be wary about which values we use as criteria for "katan" and "gadol" in our personal relationships, in our immediate community and in our society where the most exalted often seem to be famous for nothing other than being famous.