Rabbi Yisroel Chaim Blumenthal

Throughout Tanach, we find that tzedakah and mishpat stand at the center of our avodas Hashem. The novi Michah tells us that these are the qualities that Hashem demands of us (Michah 6:8). In Yeshayah, we learn that we will be redeemed from golus through mishpat and tzedakah (Yeshayah 1:27). Yirmiyahu teaches us that this is what Hashem desires (Yirmiyahu 9:23). And when Zechariah summarizes the words of the nevi’im who preceded him, he tells us that the sum total of their words is to judge truthfully and to practice kindness and compassion toward one another (Zechariah 8:16).