Hamilton was more than the subject of a “revolutionary” Broadway musical. He is the father of our modern Judiciary. In Federalist No. 78, he articulated a vision of the judiciary as a vital check on unbridled power. Hamilton did not imagine the judiciary as government’s ruler, but as a constitutional boundary marker. Courts are obligated to say, even to the political branches, “This far, and no farther.”
The judiciary is not democracy’s savior. Courts have neither the power of the purse nor the sword, and their own record includes grave failures. But when political power begins to treat legal limits as inconveniences, an independent judiciary may become the final institutional place where someone still asks: What does the law permit, and whom does it protect?
History shows how vulnerable that institution can be. Hitler transformed the German judiciary by requiring judges to swear an oath of loyalty to him personally rather than to the constitution. In 2004, Hugo Chávez used legislation to seize control of Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice. The new law expanded the court and enabled the governing coalition to install an overwhelmingly loyalist majority. A court may retain its building, its robes, and its formal authority while losing its independence.
The Torah understood that honest judging is essential to a stable and decent society. Just before the familiar verse, the Torah commands us to appoint judges and officials, prohibit favoritism and bribery, and insist on fair judgment. Then comes the charge: “Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 16:18-20).
Many commentators have reflected on the repetition of the word justice. Rashi reads the verse as an instruction to seek out a worthy court. The Talmud also understands the repetition as pointing toward both strict legal judgment and compromise. Justice is not merely an abstract ideal. It requires institutions, procedures, and people worthy of the public’s trust.
In times of moral collapse and government overreach, I hear the verse differently. I hear God shouting at us: “Justice! Justice is what will save your country and your civilization.” Whether we are talking about Israel, the United States, or any other nation, a system of justice may serve as the last line of institutional defense against the abuse of power.
But justice depends upon intelligent, fair-minded, and courageous judges. In 2020, Judge Esther Salas’s 20-year-old son, Daniel Anderl, was murdered at the family’s New Jersey home by a gunman who had targeted the judge; her husband, Mark Anderl, was seriously wounded. Federal judges Tanya Chutkan and Royce Lamberth have also faced threats connected to their work.
And in Israel, on June 3, 2026, dozens of ultra-Orthodox extremists attacked the home of Justice Noam Sohlberg, deputy president of Israel’s Supreme Court. While Sohlberg and his wife were at home, rioters smashed windows, damaged property and his car, and attempted to enter the house. Four men were subsequently indicted in connection with the riot.
Of course, justice depends upon the participation of intelligent and fair-minded judges. Recently, I have worried that worthy people will decline to serve because they fear for their own safety and that of their families. This adds a new dimension to the Torah’s call for justice. We are not only commanded to pursue justice through the fair application of law. We must also protect the Justices, judges, and public servants willing to risk their well-being in justice’s service.
Rabbi Evan J. Krame
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