Drasha
Many are surprised to find out that the origin of the American idea of separation of Church and State is a non-legal letter written by Thomas Jefferson, and a clause in the Constitution itself. Of course, there is no such confusion when it comes to Halakha, as as a Jewish law code, Halakha outright rejects this idea of separation between law and religion, and provides us with a religious law code full of ritual and civil rules alike. That being the case, we are rarely surprised to find a blurring of boundaries between law and religion in the Halakha, as we expect as much from the Torah. And yet, while that may be the case, there are still some halakhot that feel a little bit funny in the way they conflate religious status with legal authority. While we expect that the Halakha will deal with ritual and interpersonal laws alike, we don’t necessarily expect halakha to confer legal and civil status upon someone because of their religious role.
Given that, one of the Halakhot that is learned from our Parshah feels a little bit uncomfortable. Rambam, reflecting the language in a Midrash in our Parshah, rules (Hilchot Sanhedrin 2:2) that there is a Mitzvah for the Sanhedrin, the High Court, to have Kohanim and Leviim in it. While a court of all Yisraelim is Kosher, there is still a Mitzvah that, ideally, the court should contain Kohanim and Leviim as well. The source for Rambam’s ruling is a Midrash in our Parshah. The Sifrei comments on the Passuk: “UVata El HaKohanim HaLeviim VeEl HaShofeit,” “you shall approach the priests and the levites, and the judges” and, noting the unusual conflation of Kohanim, Leviim, and Shoftim in the verse, concludes that there is a Mitzvah on the courts to have Kohanim and Leviim as judges.
At first glance, this Halakha seems to be advocating for a conferment of legal authority and status on the basis purely of religious lineage– a troubling idea. Why should Kohanim and Leviim get priority in judicial appointments solely on the basis of their religious status? Don’t we care about halakhic knowledge and qualifications to judge fairly? Of all positions to require religious leadership, and prioritize the priestly class, that of judge surely seems to be one of the most problematic. Especially given how our own Parshah emphasized the need to have qualified, just, and fair judges and magistrates...continued here.
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