It’s a feeling that resonates throughout Jewish tradition, and it's something that Vayikra Rabbah, a classical Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), explores with striking intensity.
We begin with a verse from Leviticus (4:2): "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a person will sin unwittingly regarding any of the matters that the Lord commanded not to perform, and he will perform one of them." But this verse isn’t simply taken at face value. Instead, it becomes a springboard for a profound meditation on the nature of justice and its perversion, drawing on the book of Ecclesiastes (3:16): "Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment there is wickedness, and in the place of justice there is wickedness."
Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua offer powerful interpretations of this verse. Rabbi Eliezer argues that "In the place of judgment there is wickedness" refers to the very seat of the Great Sanhedrin, the supreme court of ancient Israel, where rulings were decided. He points to a time when "all the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate" (Jeremiah 39:3), the very place where the Sanhedrin once convened. It’s a stark image – the enemies of Israel occupying the space meant for justice and righteousness. Rabbi Eliezer illustrates this with a chilling parable: "In the place where the master hung his sword, the insolent shepherd hangs his jug." The Divine Spirit, the Ruach (spirit) Hakodesh, cries out, lamenting the corruption of justice in its very own home. He cites the murders of Zekhariah and Uriya, atrocities committed where justice should have reigned, replacing the Sanhedrin with Babylonian officers.
Rabbi Yehoshua offers a different perspective. He connects "In the place of judgment there is wickedness" to the sin of the Golden Calf. He reminds us of the passage in Exodus (32:27) where the Levites are commanded to "Pass to and fro from gate to gate, let each man kill his brother…" following the idolatrous act. The verse concludes, "the Lord afflicted the people because they had crafted the calf" (Exodus 32:35). Here, the place where God should have been worshipped became the site of rebellion and divine punishment. The Divine Spirit cries out again, mourning the wickedness that took root in the very place where God had declared the Israelites "divine" (Psalms 82:6).
But the Midrash doesn’t stop there. It expands its scope, exploring this tragic theme throughout Jewish history. It considers the generation of the Flood, who, as we learn in a mishna (Sanhedrin 10:3), have no share in the World to Come due to their utter wickedness. "In the place of justice there is wickedness" becomes a lament for the destruction that wiped them from the face of the earth.
Then comes Sodom, another example of a society that twisted justice into cruelty. As we learn in another mishna (Sanhedrin 10:3), they, too, are denied a share in the World to Come. The Midrash poignantly describes the abundance of their land, "Earth, from which bread emerges… Its stones are a source of sapphires, and its dust has gold" (Job 28:5–6). Yet, despite this blessing, they chose wickedness, famously refusing to support the poor and the needy (Ezekiel 16:49).
Finally, Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon brings us to Shittim, where Israel engaged in licentiousness (Numbers 25:1). God commanded Moses to "Take all the leaders of the people, and hang them for the Lord" (Numbers 25:4), resulting in a devastating plague. Here, the place where God transformed Bilam’s curse into a blessing (Deuteronomy 23:6) became a site of sin and punishment.
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yitzḥak then offer a beautiful framework for understanding these tragedies. They explain that God's right hand holds Torah and righteousness, while His left hand holds the soul and judgment. "From His right hand, a fiery law to them" (Deuteronomy 33:2), and "Your right hand is filled with righteousness" (Psalms 48:11). Conversely, "In whose hand is the soul of every living being" (Job 12:10), and "My hand grasps judgment" (Deuteronomy 32:41).
The soul, situated in the place of judgment, then sins. Rabbi Yitzḥak asks, how can this be? God says to the soul (nefesh): “I wrote in your regard: Only be strong not to eat the blood…” (Deuteronomy 12:23), and you emerge and sin? "When a person [nefesh] will sin unwittingly" (Leviticus 4:2).
This Midrash is a powerful reminder of the constant struggle between justice and wickedness, and of the soul’s potential to choose either path. It challenges us to examine our own lives and societies: Are we upholding justice in the places where we have influence? Are we allowing wickedness to fester in the very institutions meant to protect the vulnerable? It's a sobering question, but one that's essential for building a more just and righteous world.
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: When a person will sin unwittingly regarding any of the matters that the Lord commanded not to perform, and he will perform one of them” (Leviticus 4:2). “When a person will sin unwittingly regarding any of the matters that the Lord commanded [not to perform]” – this is what the verse says: “Moreover, I saw under the sun, in the place of judgment [there is wickedness, and in the place of justice there is wickedness]” (Ecclesiastes 3:16). Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Eliezer says: “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – the place where the Great Sanhedrin convenes and decides the rulings of Israel. “There is wickedness,” – there “all the princes of the king of Babylon came and sat in the Middle Gate” (Jeremiah 39:3), which is where they decide the halakha.1The word for Middle Gate [hatavekh] is similar to the term for determine [ḥotekh]. Thus, the enemies of Israel sat where the Sanhedrin used to convene. In the parable it is said: In the place where the master hung his sword, the insolent shepherd hangs his jug. The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place in whose regard it is written: “Justice lodged in it” (Isaiah 1:21), now they commit murders. There they killed Zekharia and Uriya.2Because Israel, in murdering Zekharya and Uriya, committed atrocities in the place that should have been set aside for justice, the members of the Great Sanhedrin were replaced in that location by conquering Babylonian officers. Rabbi Yehoshua says: “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented is the act of the calf, as it is written: “Pass to and fro from gate to gate, [let each man kill his brother…]” (Exodus 32:27). “There is wickedness,” there, “the Lord afflicted the people [because they had crafted the calf] (Exodus 32:35). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous and called them divine, as it is stated: “I had said: You are divine” (Psalms 82:6), there they were wicked, crafted the calf, and prostrated themselves to it. Another matter, “In the place of judgment there is wickedness” – this is speaking of the generation of the Flood. “In the place of judgment there is wickedness,” in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented against the generation of the Flood, as we learned in a mishna: “The generation of the Flood has no share in the World to Come and will not stand in judgment,”3Sanhedrin 10:3. Although some wicked people will stand in judgment at the end of days, when God will return their souls to their bodies and judge them, the members of the generation of the Flood will be completely eliminated from the world. “there is wickedness,”; there, “He obliterated all existence” (Genesis 7:23). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous, as it is written: “Their houses are peaceful without fear” (Job 21:9), “there is wickedness,” “They say to God: Turn away from us” (Job 21:14). Another matter, “In the place of judgment, there is wickedness” – this is speaking of the people of Sodom. In the place where the attribute of justice was implemented against the people of Sodom, as we learned in a mishna: “The people of Sodom have no share in the World to Come, but will stand in judgment,”4Sanhedrin 10:3. “there is wickedness,”; there, “He rained upon Sodom…[brimstone and fire]” (Genesis 19:24). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place where I declared them righteous, and wrote regarding their land: “Earth, from which bread emerges…. Its stones are a source of sapphires, and its dust has gold” (Job 28:5–6), they say that when one of them5People in Sodom. would go to the gardener and say to him: Give me a vegetable worth an isar; when he would give it to him, he would shake it and find gold in its dust, to realize what is stated: “and its dust has gold”; “there is wickedness” there, they said: Let us arise and cause the very idea of travelers in our midst to be forgotten: “It did not support the hand of the poor and the indigent” (Ezekiel 16:49). Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon interpreted the verse regarding Shitim. “In the place of judgment, there is wickedness” – in the place where the attribute of justice was implemented in Shitim, as it is written: “The Lord said to Moses: Take all the leaders of the people, [and hang them for the Lord]” (Numbers 25:4), “there is wickedness,” there, “Those who died in the plague [were twenty-four thousand]” (Numbers 25:9). The Divine Spirit cries out and says: “In the place of justice, there is wickedness.” In the place where I transformed Bilam’s curse into a blessing, as it is written: “The Lord your God transformed for you the curse into a blessing” (Deuteronomy 23:6), “there is wickedness,” “Israel was residing in Shitim, [and the people began to engage in licentiousness]” (Numbers 25:1). Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Two matters are in [God’s] right hand and two matters are in [His left] hand. Two matters are in [God’s] right hand: Torah and righteousness. Torah, from where is it derived? “From His right hand, a fiery law to them” (Deuteronomy 33:2). Righteousness, from where is it derived? As it is written: “Your right hand is filled with righteousness” (Psalms 48:11). Two matters are in [His left] hand: the soul and judgment. The soul, as it is written: “In whose hand is the soul of every living being” (Job 12:10). Judgment, as it is written: “My hand grasps judgment” (Deuteronomy 32:41). The soul is situated in the place of judgment, and the soul emerges from the place of judgment and sins? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He said to the soul [nefesh]: I wrote in your regard: “Only be strong not to eat the blood…” (Deuteronomy 12:23), and you emerge and sin? “When a person [nefesh] will sin unwittingly” (Leviticus 4:2).
