Solomon the Wise or
Solomon the Expedient?
Most of you are probably
familiar with the story about the two prostitutes who come before King Solomon,
each claiming that the baby is theirs. He immediately calls for a sword
to be brought to him and offers to cut the baby in half. The first woman
gives up the right to the baby rather than see it cut in half and the other woman
says, “Cut the child in half.” Solomon awards the baby to the first
mother, deciding that only the real mother would not want to see her child
killed.
Tsedek, tsedek
tirdof….Justice, justice shall you pursue we are told in this week’s Torah
portion, Shoftim. But, did Solomon really dispense justice?
In a fascinating study of
this story, called The Judgment of Women, University of Connecticut Law
Professor, Anne Dailey, gives us another perspective. In her essay,
included in the book Out of the Garden: Women Writers on the Bible,
she proposes that perhaps the second woman “displays a courageous act of
self-determination” by confronting Solomon who, without hearing the women out,
without delving in the why and without patiently listening to their story,
calls for his sword to be brought and, at the point of the sword, threatens to
dispense justice. Imagine the scene---the women were probably frantic to
say something in the very few moments they had to plead their case before
Solomon followed through on his threat to cut the child in two. Solomon
chose to render a decision swiftly and expediently, preferring to judge the
women on those few frantic words. Was justice really served?
When a person appears
before a ruler, a judge, a teacher, a parent, a clergy person---a person of
authority---they usually come with some expectation that the person they have
approached has some measure of wisdom simply by having attained their
position. (Imagine how the two women must have felt coming before King
Solomon!) They have a reason to expect
that they will be given a just hearing. But if the authority figure wants
to get home, is late for another appointment, isn’t feeling well, or believes
they possess an exceptionally discerning mind, they might well want to dispose
of the matter as swiftly as possible. But is the decision necessarily a
just one?
And what about the people
who come before the authority figure seeking justice? If one of them is outspoken, has a reputation
as a trouble maker, is cocky, a marginalized member of society (the women were
prostitutes) or verbally combative (“Cut the child in two!”) might the ruling
person not be inclined to dismiss their side of the story?
God gave us ears so we
could listen. Everyone deserves to be
heard. None of us, including King
Solomon, has the right to dispense justice at the point of a sword.
Shabbat Shalom,
Debby Lewis
