I've said this before, but it's worth repeating.
The laws of giving the benefit of the doubt and the concept of tinokot shenishbu, as well as the laws forbidding lashon hara are not fully understood and are often erroneously applied. We lean too far to the side of chesed and shy away from judgment.
We see this played out in the real world by the massive floods that occur all over the planet - unrestrained, destructive water is a perfect image of unbounded chesed. It indicates an imbalance in the world. Maybe this is what is behind the idea of justice being represented by scales, something that traces back to ancient Egypt.
The Torah shows no hesitancy, however. This parashah describes how King Balak of Moav hired the gentile prophet Bila'am to curse Klal Yisrael. When HKB"H would not allow that, Bila'am had to settle for explaining to King Balak the facts of life - entice Klal Yisrael to sin, rupturing the covenantal relationship with HKB"H and His wrath would fall upon them. They would lose their Divine Protection and become vulnerable to attack and defeat.
Let's look at how it plays out at the end of Parashat Balak (Bamidbar 25.1 - 9)...
Israel settled in Shittim, and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of the Moabites. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and prostrated themselves to their gods. Israel became attached to Baal Peor, and the anger of the Lord flared against Israel.
The Lord said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and hang them [the idol worshipers] before the Lord, facing the sun, and then the flaring anger of the Lord will be removed from Israel.
Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you shall kill the men who became attached to Baal Peor. Then an Israelite man came and brought the Midianite woman to his brethren, before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of the entire congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
Phinehas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen saw this, arose from the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. He went after the Israelite man into the chamber and drove [it through] both of them; the Israelite man, and the woman through her stomach, and the plague ceased from the children of Israel.
Those that died in the plague numbered twenty four thousand.
Justice, weighted towards mercy, is HKB"H's way of dealing with His world and we are bidden to imitate His ways and pursue justice. When justice is too weak or is even missing altogether from man's society, the result is pure disorder and chaos, just like a flood washing through and destroying everything in its path. If you need a concrete example, just look to the tsunami of unchecked immigration across Europe. Way too much chesed!!!
Haftarat Balak (Micah 6.8)...
He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk discreetly with your God.
~SHABBAT SHALOM ~
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