The Challenge of Intellectualism

Intellect is a double-edged sword. It is true, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Even worse is to waste our minds on rationalizing our behavior.

Monarchy and the Judiciary

This week’s parsha addresses the Jewish system of governance. The parsha commences with the institution of the judiciary and subsequently discusses the role of the monarchy.

When we compare the way the Torah relates to these two branches of government we can detect an apparent inconsistency.

With respect to the laws that govern the king’s life, the Torah admonishes him to not take too many wives, amass too much gold and silver and also not acquire too many horses. The reason given for the restriction against multiple wives the Torah states is “so his heart will not be led astray.”

Our Talmudic Sages tell us that King Solomon violated this restriction against many wives with the rationale that the Torah’s reason for this prohibition did not apply to him. He was so confident of the strength of his character and faith that he believed that he was convinced that he was an exception to the general rule; he would be permitted to take many wives.

According to the Talmud, G-d did not therefore provide reasons for most of the commandments because the few areas where He did provide the reason for the commandment, it “backfired”; Solomon maintained that the law did not apply to him precisely because of the reason given in the Torah.

Why Give Reason for Not taking Bribes

Commentators ask, why then does the Torah provide a reason for the prohibition for a judge to take a bribe.

In the beginning of this week’s parsha the Torah prohibits taking a bribe with the rationale:

“For it blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.”

Why did G-d give the reason for bribery? Isn’t giving reasons a recipe for some to take exception to the law, as did Solomon? Wouldn’t that give some judge the pretext to take a bribe thinking that he would not be adversely affected by it?

What distinguishes Solomon’s taking advantage of the reason to justify his own violation of the law from the potential for the judge to rationalize accepting a bribe by saying that the reason does not apply to him?

King and Judge Fundamentally Different

Upon closer examination we can detect a fundamental difference between the two situations of the king and the judge:

King Solomon believed that he was above the law because he felt the law was directed to other monarchs who were not endowed with his heightened spiritual sensitivity. A king of that caliber might very well be adversely influenced by his many wives.

Solomon therefore made the following calculation: He, the wisest of all people, endowed with special G-dly awareness and powers, head and shoulders above the level of virtually all the other Jewish leaders of all times certainly did not have to entertain the possibility of succumbing to the pressures brought to bear by his many wives and the interests they represented.

The more spiritually sophisticated one is, logic dictates, the less he will be unduly swayed by negative influences. In effect, giving the reason for the command against a king taking many wives was the stumbling block that led to its violation.

The Smarter, the More Vulnerable

By contrast, a judge who thinks he is so spiritually and intellectually advanced is far more vulnerable than the simple judge in terms of allowing a bribe to influence him.

A person who is relatively simple will not be as influenced by the bribe because his mind is not as capable of intellectual manipulation as the more intellectually astute judge. The greater the mind, the greater the opportunity to distort, obfuscate, and pervert justice.

This is essentially what the Torah means when it says that bribery will “blind the eyes of the wise.” The wise can see things from so many different angles and nuances that even the slightest inordinate amount of pressure that comes from the bribe can make a subtle change in the mindset of the judge. Those who are not as wise will not be as blinded because they essentially lack the ability to split hairs and cleverly manipulate the mind.

This might be analogous to a slight misstep in a surgical process that involves a finger as compared with a similar error in brain surgery. The former will cause pain; the latter will likely prove catastrophic.

Another analogy: If a car were to veer a few inches off course going 20 miles per hour, it would make an infinitely less significant difference than a similar deviation off course of a rocket ship speeding at 25,000 miles per hour through space!

Thus, the Torah did not have to worry that the reason given for not accepting a bribe might be used by the judge to rationalize his acceptance of a bribe. He would be hard pressed to employ the argument that he is above that law because he is so smart; on the contrary, it is precisely because he is so brilliant that he is much more likely to dangerously veer off course. And while Solomon’s rationalization had merit—that he was so inspired that no one could entice him away from the right path—no intelligent judge can use his higher level of wisdom as a justification to take a bribe, for the wiser one is the greater the potential for perversion and the miscarriage of justice.

Beware of the Elite!

The obvious lesson from this analysis is the danger that exists with the intellectual elite.

The damage of intellectuals going off course is far more serious than for those who are of an inferior intellectual station in life.

In Nazi Germany, for example, it was the intellectuals that led the unprecedented annihilation of Jews.

(I chose not to use the word Genocide, because this word has been so cheapened and made devoid of meaning. When Israel does something in its own self-defense, many of its critics—among them mass murderers—will charge Israel with Genocide, with the tacit acquiescence of the international community.)

Indeed, in most societies, the misguided intellectuals were the ones who posed the greatest threat to society. The intellectuals provide the grist for the mill of the ignorant masses.

Squaring this with Judaism’s Emphasis on Learning

One could possible take this as a broadside against intellectuals, which, obviously goes counter to Judaism’s obsession with learning and knowledge.

In truth, there is no contradiction. Every person has to know his or her strengths and weaknesses, for the reality is that a weakness is actually a challenge. For example, a rich person’s challenge is to be honest in his business dealings and to show compassion for those who are needy. The challenge of the poor is not to envy the rich or try to justify petty larceny because of their poverty.

The brilliant judge’s challenge is to not allow himself the “luxury” of even the slightest miscarriage of justice, which can generate a ripple effect that can cause irreparable harm.

By all means, the Torah commands us to study and grow intellectually and then harness that knowledge to teach, judge and lead. But, one must also know the pitfalls and challenges that lie in one’s path of intellectual growth.

We all need to employ our most advanced intellectual faculties in the service of G-d and humanity (which, of course, is also the service of G-d). We must also use our intellect to judge ourselves—especially in this month of Elul, the month of introspection in preparation for the New Year—and evaluate our behavior.

However, we must be very careful not to allow our self-love to engage in mental gymnastics that can convince us that our vices our virtues and that will prevent us from having an honest self-evaluation.

Expansion of the Land of Israel

The challenge pose by the intellect is exemplified by the words of our Sages that in the Messianic Age the Land of Israel will expand to include three other areas that were originally promised to Abraham. However, when Joshua conquered the Land of Israel he only conquered the land occupied by the Seven Canaanite nations; leaving the remaining three for Moshiach to incorporate into Israel.

In Chassidic thought, the seven nations represent the seven emotional faculties we possess, and the three yet unconquered provinces allude to the three intellectual faculties of our soul.

This implies that while we presently have a handle on the emotional side of our lives—we have a way to ensure that our emotive powers are in check—the ultimate challenge that we have to wait for the Messianic Age to meet is the conquest and refinement of the intellectual sphere.

We must however prepare for that goal. We have to learn to think straight and not allow any political or social pressures to compromise our intellect. To aid us in this process is the study of Torah—particularly the parts of Torah that deal with the world in an age of Redemption— that will keep our intellect from veering off course.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shoftim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.