Justice, Justice, Shall You Pursue.

How do we infuse Jewish teaching and ethics even into our secular occupations? Imagine you are an attorney practicing law in an American city. How could you take a lesson from the Torah and make it a part of your everyday practice?

I remember hearing a story from my colleague Rabbi Brad Hirschfield. He told of a big shot Jewish lawyer in Manhattan who was part of a worldwide firm with a multiple floor office on Fifth Avenue. One night he was out with his wife strolling down Madison Avenue looking at some of the art in the windows of galleries as he past. At some point he came across a gallery with a beautiful painting with the phrase Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof, Justice, Justice you shall pursue, in Hebrew letters. He recognized that it was Hebrew but did not know what it meant. All he knew was that he was drawn to the painting. He went into the store and inquired about it and bought it on the spot.

The very next day he went back to his office. He had all the art that was in the lobby outside his office removed and then put up only this painting. He shared that without fail, every new client that came into his office to meet with him inquired about the painting. He would then go into an explanation about the idea of pursuing righteous justice.

What a first meeting he would have with his clients! The meeting would start with him teaching a little Torah before getting down to business. Imagine the affect it must have had on the ensuing conversation about what every legal issue they were discussing.

That is how you can bring Torah to even our secular world.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel has been Midbar Kodesh Temple's spiritual leader since August 2008. Rabbi Tecktiel was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in May of 1996. He holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees, one from List College and one from Columbia University. He also holds a Masters of Arts from the Jewish Theological Seminary.

You can follow him on Twitter @RabbiMKT.