Governance or Power?

One of the Seven Universal Laws is to set up a court system. It's the only one phrased in the positive. The others - don't worship idols, don't blaspheme, don't murder, don't steal, don't be sexually immoral, don't take the limb of a living animal (don't be cruel to animals) - are phrased as negatives, things we shouldn't do. Setting up a court system is the only active commandment that applies to all humanity.

(The Seven Universal Laws are the basis of civilization. According to the Torah, when the six hundred thirteen commandments were given to the Jewish people at Sinai, these seven, also known as the Noachide laws because everyone is descended from Noah, were given to the world. Thus every human being is obligated, by Divine Imperative, to create a world of goodness and kindness.)

The uniqueness of the commandment to set up a court system requires examination. Courts are the arbiters not just of justice, but of government. It used to be that the king was the court of last resort. Ecclesiastical (religious) power expressed itself in a special legal and court system. Legislation is valid subject to judicial review. Etc.

Thus, while government is more than the sum of its courts, a society thrives - or not - on the success, that is, the justness, of its courts.

That said, the Talmud makes two apparently contradictory statements concerning government and its function. One statement declares, "Be wary of those in power, for they befriend a person only for their own benefit; they seem to be friends when it is to their advantage, but they do not stand by a person in his hour of need."

The other states, "Pray for the welfare of the government, for were it not for the fear of it, people would swallow each other alive."

So which is it? Both!

The first warns against those with power - not just government. When power accumulates to individuals or groups outside the "court system" and its structure - beware. The second speaks not of individuals or groups - those with authority, control or might - but of government, institutions set up to regulate society and its affairs. In other words, we have a vested interest - should pray for - a stable government; to be stable, a government must have, at its core, a court system that ensures and enforces justice, fairness and equity - to all citizens.