Peace of Parsha-Shoftim Dr. Laura Danoff

Parshat Shoftim (”Judges”) will be read this Shabbat. It begins with the commandment of appointing judges. Moshe emphatically states to the Children of Israel the famous quote “Justice, justice you shall pursue.” The Torah is very explicit and strict in the way the judges should rule. Judges are to be completely impartial; not able to take bribes, and show no favoritism to those who are part of the case. The parsha is also associated with the month of Elul where we prepare for the Day of Judgement- Rosh Hashana!

But the parsha states, “appoint for you judges and officers at all your gates” (16:18). The extra word lecha (for you) appears to be unnecessary since it could have stated, “appoint judges and officers.” Also the additional word is singular which is focusing on the individual while this is a society-based law.

Rav Moshe Feinstein interprets this to mean that not only does the city as a whole need to have judges and officers to enforce the laws, but we as individuals need to monitor our own gates. What are these gates? Our mouth, ears, eyes, and nostrils- we must control what goes in and out of our gates. For example, if we want to minimize lashon hara, maybe we should not spend time with people that gossip all the time. As King Solomon stated in Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Rabbi Prague of Sackett Lake said we have 2 eyes, 1 to see the goodness of others and the other to be critical of our own faults. Before judging other people, we should judge ourselves first. If we put judges over our gates then we will succeed in conquering our own negative traits.

The Torah also commands us in Parshat Shoftim, as one of the 613 mitzvot to appoint a king to rule over the Jewish people. So, when the children of Israel settled in the land they petitioned the prophet, Samuel to “Appoint for us a King to judge us, like all the nations.” (I Samuel 8:5) According to the commentator, Abarbanel, Samuel was angry because the Israelites main reasoning of wanting a king to rule over them was not out of need but simply to be like their neighboring nations. This teaches us the danger of assimilation. We must follow the unique path of Torah and not imitate those that surround us.

The King of Israel was to be chosen by G-d and be a native Israelite. He could not misuse his power and therefore the number of horses, wives and money he could have was limited. Hashem was very specific regarding the rules relating to kings and most unusual, even gave the reasoning behind these laws. For example, the reason why a king should not have too many wives was “so that his heart not turn astray” (Deuteronomy 17:17). King Solomon, the wisest of all men, thought he could handle all his wives but as we know they brought tragedy and destruction to his kingdom.

The Daas Zakainim says the Torah warns a king from having too much gold or silver because it will lead to arrogance. Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier explains that being very wealthy tends to make a person feel independent and that he or she can make it on their own. We must remain humble and realize that we are fully dependent on G-d for our health, success and everyday existence.

To help the king maintain his sense of humility he had to write two Torah scrolls, one to keep with him at all times and the other to keep in the kings treasury. The King had to learn Torah every day and seek personal guidance in the Torah. King David arose every night to study Torah at midnight. We all have a mitzvah to write a Sefer Torah but a king had to write two. The Torah scroll was written in a miniature size and was attached to the king’s arm. This Torah scroll was a constant reminder that Hashem is the source of the king’s power.

We all hold a position of power within our families, communities, shuls and work place. It is important to not abuse this power and remember we are placed in leadership roles to make the world a better place.

Shabbat Shalom!!

This parsha is in honor of the birthday of our daughter, Alizah Bracha who is, as her name signifies, a true blessing and source of happiness to her entire family!