"Justice, justice, shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you."

I have heard some recent comments that seem relevant to this parasha:

During the Saturday morning Torah study group this summer, under the guidance of the learned Evelyn Holzman, we read the first Book of Samuel. After reading yet another vivid and grisly account of an ancient act of brutality committed in the name of God, one of the shocked members of our group protested that there was so much violence and so little love. In the ensuing discussion about whether humankind has or has not evolved, someone commented that Judaism does talk about love but, more often, it teaches about justice.

Another recent comment that came to mind was heard during a discussion of the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina and its disproportionate effect on the evacuation efforts of the poor and powerless. One native slyly observed that in New Orleans, water has always tended to flow away from the wealthy.

Finally, on his Sunday morning discussion show, Chris Matthews ended his segment on the aftermath of Katrina and the response of government at all levels by commenting that Michael Dukakis may yet be right: The issue, he famously said during his failed Presidential campaign of 1988, is competence, not ideology.

Justice, justice—The parasha says it not once, but two times—again from New Orleans we hear the cries for justice. It sounds as the howl of the gusting wind exploding the homes and the lives of those before it.

One asks why Moses taught about justice rather than about love. Perhaps the answer lies in the prophet's understanding of his leadership duties. For forty years he led a rabble out of slavery—away from the consciousness of being slaves and toward the consciousness of being free. He tells them that this is the land that God is giving them, but God is not going to govern them. They must now learn to govern themselves and they must understand how to create a just society with order and organization, interdependence and responsibility for oneself and for ones neighbors. For what did slaves know of government and justice? They knew only the justice of the slavemaster. What did they know of the burden of judging? They knew only the harsh consequences of being judged.

So Moses announced the first principle of the new social order: They would select magistrates and officials and "they shall govern the people with due justice." Moses then defines justice in this way: You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eye of the discerning and upset the plea of the just.

And what did Moses mean when he admonished that they shall not take bribes? A bribe literally means something given to a person in a position of trust to influence that person's conduct. One who engages in such conduct forfeits his or her integrity and, by extension, their fidelity to the pleas of the just—the innocent and the most vulnerable The prohibition against taking bribes can be seen as symbolizing a broader and general truth: Justice begins with public officials who, in the execution of their duties, occupy a position of trust toward those who depend and rely upon them.

But there is more. The integrity that underlies the process of doing justice must have at its core a level of competence that permits the public official to actually succeed. Indeed, for justice to be realized, it is implicit that the public official be competent to meet the burden of his or her duties. The public official who lacks competence or who selects subordinates without due regard for competence lacks integrity and has betrayed his obligation to pursue justice.

During the past two weeks we have watched with sadness and horror the consequences of the unraveling of the social order in the murky waters of New Orleans. Among the tens of thousands of impoverished temporarily trapped and abandoned, panic, desperation, and greed converged to erupt in outbursts of the worst kinds of raw violence amidst the fear, despair, and confusion.

The inattention and unpreparedness of all levels of government for a cataclysm long known to be waiting to happen exposed again our stratified society, where there is scarce justice for the poor and unrepresented. The role of government is often debated but few argue with the notion that at the very least it is government's job to do well what others cannot do. Especially when government promises it will be there at those times of greatest need.

Once again we have seen the cruel consequences when the voices of the weak are neither heard nor valued. There can be no justice without competence and it is now clear that our national officials left competence out of the leadership calculation for emergency preparedness.

We have now learned how FEMA was led by political hacks and cronies whose only area of true competence was determining the color of the background drapes at campaign rallies. Indeed, the Washington Post reported that five of the eight top FEMA officials had virtually no experience with emergency preparedness. And the entire apparatus is lead by officials who take their oath on the Bible and invoke the name of God in their cause.

Their failure and the failure of those who trumpeted their care, concern and readiness is a disgrace, an embarrassment and a betrayal of their oaths.

A concluding word about how this applies to those of use who sit as Trustees to our Temple community. We have been entrusted with substantial financial wealth and even greater human wealth. My experience is that this is a group rich in integrity and competence. We know that our congregation is a chorus of many voices, some of whom sing to our tune and some who do not. Beyond that is a greater Jewish community. We represent all of them in some way and each has a legitimate expectation that we will hear them and treat them with respect. Only in doing so, can we carry forth the tradition of pursuing and achieving justice.