By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin
PIKESVILLE, Maryland — Most people need to realize the profound difference between law and justice. The difference also exists between ethics and thinking and other matters in this world, such as human habits and the active forces of nature. I will describe the difference by focusing on the 2024 movie The Beekeeper.
Jason Statham stars as a retired, highly trained government agent named Adam Clay, who works as a beekeeper. He hears that his friend, an elderly Black woman, has been swindled out of over $2 million by a con man. This caused her to commit suicide. He discovers that the con man did this to other people. The Beekeeper leaves his hives to punish the con man and his gang.
The problem is that the con man is the son of the U.S. president, and there is no chance that the law will convict him. It seems that the only way to punish him is to allow Adam Clay to kill him. The dead woman’s daughter disagrees. She is an efficient FBI agent who firmly believes society must adhere to laws. Because of the law, she tries to stop Clay but ultimately changes her mind when Clay asks her to choose between the law and justice.
Many philosophers, theologians, and other thinkers have understood that all laws are imperfect. Even the best laws which benefit most citizens will harm others. This is the nature of laws. In the case of the beekeeper, the law demands that the villain be tried in a court and, if found guilty, imprisoned. However, in his situation, because he is the son of the US president, he would not be punished by the law. Instead, Adam Clay had to resort to justice. Justice is the behavior that is applied after consideration of all facts. It requires thinking, not referral to an imperfect law book.
Ethics is also imperfect and needs improvement. Ethics are rules that societies set up in different places at different times, suggesting how people should behave. They are excellent guides for people who need guidance about how to act in specific instances. These rules differ in different locations and times. They are generally correct, but not always. For example, in the US, men are encouraged to open doors for women and offer them their seats in buses, but in Iran, it is considered proper to disallow women to drive cars and be educated. Some insist that women should cover their hair; others think this is wrong. Over 2,000 years ago, the brilliant Greek philosopher Aristotle looked at the uneducated and uninformed women in Athens and deduced that women were inferior creatures. The ethics of his time allowed men to discriminate against them. Today, we see that this ethical rule is wrong.
The opposite of ethics is thinking, as it is with laws. Rather than accepting what most citizens thought at a particular place and time about what society felt was proper, the individual thinks, considers all the facts, and makes a rational decision.
(Ironically, the most perfect ethical rule in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament is to love others as you want to be loved. This means that you should treat others as you want them to treat you. Ironically, most people do not follow this ethical principle. Additionally, even this almost-perfect ethical rule is not perfect. Sometimes, it is wrong to treat the other person as you want to be treated.)
As with laws and ethics, even human habits are imperfect. The great Jewish philosopher Maimonides taught that when people act improperly, which people unfortunately like to call sin, they need to correct their behavior. Many think that the way to erase the misbehavior is to give charity, pray, fast, or seek a pardon from the clergy. These acts do not improve behavior. They only reinforce and call attention to the need to improve. He said the improvement is made in three steps. First, people must recognize they are misbehaving. Second, resolve to cease these acts. Third, develop behavior habits to ensure they will not repeat the wrong.
This is excellent, indeed very rational advice. However, as with everything else, even good habits require us to be alert to times when we should not do what is habitually good. For example, most of us who drive cars drive to various places without much thought by following our habitual route. This is good. But we must still be alert and watch out for impaired drivers, individuals who foolishly rush across streets, and other hazards.
The phenomenon of imperfection is part of every aspect of nature. Even the forces of nature, which are generally helpful to most people, sometimes harm others. Strong winds clean the air and ground but often kill families. Similarly, earthquakes have helpful consequences, but people die or lose homes when they occur.
The solution regarding the forces of nature is the same as with laws, ethics, and habits. People should think. We need to realize that these events often occur in areas where poorer families settle. Countries need to disallow settlements in these areas and plant forests there instead. The result will be more oxygen in the world.
*
Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin is a retired brigadier general in the US Army Chaplain Corps and the author of more than 50 books.
This was a riveting read that begged a just result. Instead the answer was more oxygen in the world which is intuitive but not what I expected.
Look forward to the next chapter.