When the Law Falls Short鈥擜 Challenge for Democratic Societies
May 12, 2026
Rabbi Gordon Tucker, Vice Chancellor for Religious Life and Engagement, discusses our upcoming June 4 convening, “When the Law Falls Short: Empathy and the Work of Civic Repair,” and how we can apply the obligation to go beyond the letter of the law in today’s society. Additional information about our convening can be found here.
尝颈蹿苍颈尘鈥痬颈蝉丑耻谤补迟鈥痟补-诲颈苍鈥攖he obligation to go beyond the letter of the law鈥攊s a moral and Jewish responsibility that dates to the time of the Talmud. How does it express itself now, in today鈥檚 society?
For example, a law is passed allowing early voting, but it requires everyone to vote before 5:00 pm, and only on weekdays. Is it legal? It surely meets all the requirements for legislation. So yes, it is legal. Moreover, it apparently cannot be challenged as discriminatory, since it applies to everyone across the board, no exception. But is it just, and does it further the good of a democratic society? Who are the people who will find a way to vote in the middle of a weekday? And conversely, who are those for whom taking the necessary time off might jeopardize their already low-wage employment?
Weare facing someofthese sorts of questions today, but we are neither alone nor unique.The fact that 鈥渓egal鈥� and 鈥渏ust鈥� do not always coincide isan old observation, especially in the Jewish legal tradition.One of the more surprising passages in the Babylonian Talmud says that Jerusalem was destroyed because people judged cases strictly according to Torah law. That sounds astonishing at first. How could following the law lead to destruction? The Talmud clarifies that the issuewasn鈥檛the law itself, but that people were committed only to the rules and never went beyond the letter of the law to do what wastruly right. From this comes an important principle in Jewish law: that true justice and equity often require more than just meeting theminimumlegal standard. This value is known in Hebrew as 濒颈蹿苍颈尘鈥痬颈蝉丑耻谤补迟鈥痟补-诲颈苍鈥攇oing beyond the letter of the law.
This insight is as important today as it ever was. The 鈥渞ule of law鈥� is often held up as essential for a just society. Necessary, it surely is; but is it sufficient? A 鈥渇lat tax鈥� on income might seem to treat everyone equally. But there is a long-standing consensus in American society that unless tax rates are graduated upward as incomes grow, economic justice will not be achieved. Perhaps the most familiar example from U.S. history is the very simple 鈥渟eparate but equal鈥� doctrine that at one time enjoyed the endorsement of the Supreme Court. It was found wanting, even though it was entirely legal and claimed to serve equality.
No one wants a society not based in law. But what else is required of our legal and judicial institutions? And what virtues must be learned and practiced by the citizenry as a whole?
These questions need to be on the agenda here in the U.S. and in Israel as well. This is why The Jewish Theological Seminary is hosting a convening on Thursday, June 4, 2026 to promote study and dialogue on these far-reaching issues. Entitled 鈥淲hen the Law Falls Short,鈥� this gathering will bring together scholars and professionals in various fields to explore how we can strengthen civic responsibility and rebuild trust.
Participants will include scholars of Jewish and Islamic law, who will explore the ways in which those legal traditions have recognized and approached this challenge. A panel comprising a lawyer/journalist, a senior judge who has also been a government attorney, an activist with broad experience in addressing social inequities, and an educator devoted to promoting a citizenry attuned to moral issues will present and converse with one another on the ways they have encountered the limits of law in their work. And anticipating that the public in attendance will have much to share as well, there will also be workshops to allow for such exchanges.
In the evening, a dialogue between Martha Minow, Professor and former Law School Dean at Harvard University, and Susan Sturm, Professor of Law and Social Responsibility at Columbia University will offer an opportunity for discussion and reflection. Both are pre-eminent scholars in the field of human rights and social responsibility. But most important are the efforts that both professors have made to define the problem of law鈥檚 insufficiency and to seek ways to solve it.
It is not often that we have thechanceto hear these fundamentalconcernsaddressed by expertsfrom a range offields.This day of conversation aims to highlight the complex relationship between law and justice, and to encourage attendees to reflect on their roles ascitizensin relation tothe ideal of 濒颈蹿苍颈尘鈥痬颈蝉丑耻谤补迟鈥痟补-诲颈苍.
