Justice? Yes! Prison? No!
That’s one message in the Torah. It’s found in Parshat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18). The word mishpatim means “court rulings.” So, the section gives us quite a list of sentencing guidelines. But, today, I want to look at just one set.
Think, for example, about simple property crimes — like larceny, burglary, robbery, arson.
Our Canadian criminal justice system has a response. Catch the person who committed the crime. Then punish them. Usually with time in prison. Maximum 10 years to life for these particular crimes .
But Torah suggests a different response. One not focused on punishment. In Torah’s view, someone who commits a property crime owes a debt. So, they have to pay it. Directly to the victim.
But — you might ask — what if the perpetrator doesn’t have any money? Because that may be why they stole.
It seems Torah asks this exact question, too. Because right after it discusses property crimes, it talks about poverty. About how a community – not an individual – avoids it. When day-laborers work, bosses pay them every day. If people borrow money, lenders charge no interest. And if orphans, widows, or new immigrants cannot work, then the community simply supports them.
This is what we call “reparative justice.” It encourages direct reparations. And it also repairs the social fabric.
What a difference from our North American system! Where punishment is the default. Because prison is a big part of the economy. And incarceration is a complicated and flawed way to house people living at the margins.
Can we imagine a world without prison? Where justice is not punishment? But, instead, justice is a strengthening of community?
Torah says we can.
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This is a short reflection. Just long enough to be spoken during the Shabbat morning service at Or Shalom Synagogue. But it opens onto some larger visions of justice. See, for example, the book Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis. Also, the handbook for Jewish communities fighting mass incarceration by T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call to Human Rights. Or Dean Dettlof’s course “Set the Prisoners Free” at the Institute for Christian Studies. Or even my paper on Leviticus, “Hate Your Neighbour As Yourself.”
