Obama’s nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court got me thinking about Jewish traditions of justice, at least as the Bible suggests and reflects. Near as I can tell, it bodes well for the work she’d be doing. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that justice is a major preoccupation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) — the Jewish Bible.
One thing that makes me optimistic, if Kagan is informed by these roots, is how the Bible clearly champions justice while accepting that the just thing is not always immediately clear. Rather, doing justice requires wrestling with the particularities of certain circumstances (think of all those specific “laws” in Exodus and Leviticus, for example), balancing absolute “thou shalt nots” with the fact that sometimes we do anyway, and determining where and when is the most just thing actually mercy.
Then there’s the central role of debate, argument, and conversation in determining how best to execute justice. Sometimes, the Bible supports different sides of the same issue, as I briefly note in one of Bible Babel‘s chapters, inviting us to bring our own experiences and judgments to the table. Shoot, even God’s judgments are subject to review and debate!… by human beings, no less (think Abraham in Genesis 18). In the Bible, priority and emphasis lie with doing the right thing, yes, but figuring out what exactly that is requires diligent wrestling, argument, and the confidence to be humble. Here’s hoping that Kagan brings that spirit to the bench.
