Right or Left Is Not Black and White

There are times in our lives when something doesn’t make sense to us, so we assume it’s wrong or a mistake. Everything has to fit into a box and make sense, right? In this week’s Parsha, we challenge that assumption.

There is one pasuk in our Parsha that has always bothered me:

על פי התורה אשר יורוך ועל המשפט אשר יאמרו לך תעשה לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל:

I understand why we need the first half of the pasuk. Moshe is telling Bnei Yisrael that the judges will tell you the law, and you must follow it. But why was it necessary to add the second half of the pasuk? Isn’t this redundant?

Moreover, this phrase appears elsewhere as well. At the end of the section discussing the king, Moshe tells us:

והיתה עמו וקרא בו כל ימי חייו למען ילמד ליראה את ה' אלקיו לשמר את כל דברי התורה הזאת ואת החקים האלה לעשתם: לבלתי רום לבבו מאחיו ולבלתי סור מן המצוה ימין ושמאל למען יאריך ימים על ממלכתו הוא ובניו בקרב ישראל:

Again, the same pattern: the king will observe every word of the law, followed by the instruction not to stray left or right. What is the Torah’s obsession with this phrase, and why does it seem redundant?

Rashi, seemingly bothered by our first question, says that it is indeed redundant—but what does it add? He explains that we should listen to the judges even if they tell us that our right hand is our left and our left hand is our right:אֲפִלּוּ אוֹמֵר לְךָ עַל יָמִין שֶׁהוּא שְׂמֹאל וְעַל שְׂמֹאל שֶׁהוּא יָמִין, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן שֶׁאוֹמֵר לְךָ עַל יָמִין יָמִין וְעַל שְׂמֹאל שְׂמֹאל.

Is this really true? If we know something is wrong, should we still listen?

My great-grandfather, Rav Mordechai Pinchas Teitz, explains that this means that sometimes we think we know what is right, but we need to take a second look. When we look in a mirror, our right looks like our left and vice versa, so we must re-evaluate whether our initial thought was really correct.

The Gra in Aderet Eliyahu on the pesukim about the king, hints at a similar sentiment, though he makes us work for it. He says the same as Rashi: אפילו אומר על ימין שהוא שמאל - כמו בשאול

“even if they say your right is your left,” but then adds two words, "כמו בשאול" - as in the case of Shaul. What is he talking about?

My Zeide, Rav Yosef Blau, explained that this refers to Shaul’s battle with Amalek. Shaul went to fight and was very successful. However, he decided that Hashem would prefer him to keep the king of Amalek alive and take the best of the animals so they could be sacrificed to Hashem. Then Hashem came to Shmuel and said that He regretted making Shaul king. Why? Explains Shmuel, it is because Shaul didn’t follow Hashem’s ways. Shaul was sure he was right, thinking that obviously, Hashem would prefer korbanot over killing all these animals, but that wasn’t the case.

Rabbi Norman Lamm quotes the Kli Yakar, who explains that the king's role, like that of a judge, is to do what is right in the eyes of Hashem, not the people. Leadership, especially spiritual leadership, requires the courage to sometimes go against popular opinion and what “seems right” when necessary.

This may be why the Torah has to repeat this phrase by a king. For judges, it is logical to assume that they should be doing what is right for the people. However, by a king, things could be different. He wants to be liked by his people and could therefore focus more on them than what Hashem wants. That’s why the Torah needs to repeat the same idea in reference to the king.

Oftentimes, we approach situations and assume there is only one way. We must be correct. But the message of this week’s parsha is that we need to think again. Maybe there is another way. When we are having a discussion or argument with a friend or family member and think we have to be right, take a second to understand their opinion. Maybe we were wrong.

We’re now entering the month of Elul, a time for introspection. When we think about Teshuva, it doesn’t always make sense. How can we be forgiven for something we did? But that is the wonder of Hashem’s kindness. Even when things don’t make sense to us, there’s always something deeper to explore.

So take the opportunity this Elul to do some introspection and think about how we can approach life a little differently.

Shabbat Shalom and Ketiva V’Chatima Tova!