A leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court of the United States seems to show a willingness of the Court to overturn an abortion ruling that has held sway for 50 years. Even though nothing is yet official, people on both sides of the political spectrum have mobilized in one way or another. No one is yet sure how it will all end up, but it’s clear it will be messy.
Regardless of your feelings about abortion, one of the things more moderate voices are cautioning about is how this ruling could overturn precedent and the wider ramifications that could have on precedent in general. If every court can override rulings from every previous court, do rulings actually have any meaning? Can everyone who lost a case in the past sue to have a new verdict every time there is a new judge in office? Is the legal system actually a solid framework to rely upon or is it flimsy and variable?
The very first mishna in Perkei Avos (The Wisdom of Our Fathers) is a list of how the tradition was passed down from Sinai and each man or group who carried the torch from generation to generation. The following teachings are listed in the same manner, quoting not just the author of the teaching, but who preceded him. Why should it list it this way? If something is wise, shouldn’t it stand on its own, regardless of where it came from?
Our Sages are teaching us that tradition itself is a wisdom. Having an unshakable grip on what came before you gives you the ability to stand on the shoulders of the giants who preceded you. Knowing that what God wants from us will not change drastically every decade gives us the stability and confidence to work towards long term goals. It also frees us up from obsessing over past decisions and lobbying rabbis to overwrite them.
Child psychologists say similar things about raising children. Parents that set clear firm rules have children that are less insecure than parents who change their rules all the time. Counter-intuitively, children have even been shown to be more creative when the structure of their lives is more consistent.
In this week’s Torah portion, the Torah lays out rules for the holidays that the Jewish people have kept for over three thousand years. By being steadfast in our observance even today, we connect ourselves with the wisdom of all those who came before us and we demonstrate that special quality of resoluteness and reliability to our family and community.
Even when we don’t understand every single Jewish law, there is a danger in discarding that which was handed down to us and, conversely, a great power that we gain by holding fast to every dear tradition that is passed to our hands.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Altonaga
The Supreme Court’s mandate is to interpret constitutional law. Unfortunately as of recent judges are selected based on political leaning as opposed to merit. This differs from the way our Torah scholars were accredited and therefore referenced as precedent. With respect to Roe v wade. The court used the 4th amendment, the right to privacy to rule their 5-4 decision and basically make up a new law. This is strictly forbidden by Torah law.
The written Torah is often short on detail and can only be understood with the oral Torah. This is what was passed down by tradition. As an example consider Exodus 21:22-25. Two men quarrelling /fighting, one hits a pregnant woman and she gives birth and the man is fined according to the husband. Our Rabbis have interpreted this passage to mean the woman is not hurt but the baby dies. The fine is for the dead baby ie a potential life.
I hear your point Allan. The Supreme Court is definitely not a perfect analogy for the Sanhedrin for a number of reasons.
If you do make the analogy, then you are correct that the Rabbis cannot invent Torah laws that were not there since Sinai either.