 |
Chassidut on the Torah |
| Chassidut Archives |
The week of Parshas Shoftim, 6 Elul
5761
This week’s Story is dedicated in honor of Yosef Yitzchak Eliyahu Tilles
on the occasion of his bar-mitzvah on 2 Elul Overview
Shoftim opens
with the command to appoint judges and officers to uphold justice. The Jews are
warned not to make idolatrous trees, pillars, or offer blemished animals, and
are told the penalties of idolatry. The Jews are commanded to set up a Supreme
Court and a monarch. The Levites are not to have territorial shares of the
Land, but they receive portions of the Jews’ sacrifices, meat, produce, and
shearings. Laws regarding prophets, both false and true, are given. Also
relayed are rules of cities of refuge, havens for the escaped unintentional
murderer. An intentional murderer, however, receives the death penalty.
Additional laws discussed are the prohibition against moving boundaries to
steal land, or to testify falsely, who is not drafted to the army, who may or
may not be taken captive, and a warning not to cut down fruit trees when waging
siege on a city. Shoftim concludes with laws concerning a corpse of an unknown
murdered individual found in the field: The elders of the closest city must
decapitate a female calf over running water to atone for innocent blood shed in
their midst. Overview (Rabbi Leiter is on vacation. The following is from his article in the
most recent Ascent Magazine) The Torah Reading called Shoftim
begins with the words “Judges and police you shall appoint at all of your
gates” (Deut. 16:18). Rashi explains that “all of your gates” refer to every
city and community. The
Talmud (Nedarim 32) describes the body as a ‘small city.’ The holy book,
Tanya, expands the metaphor with a striking image: a ‘city’ in which the
opposing forces of good and evil are locked in a struggle for control. To help
bring the forces of good to victory, each of us has to act as both ‘judge’ and
‘policeman.’ As judge, we must determine if a certain desired behavior is
correct according to Jewish law, and try to act accordingly. If our natural
inclination does not wish to obey, we must act as a police officer and force it
to comply. “All of your gates” implies that we must guard not only
against deeds forbidden by Torah, but also against permissible actions that
might be indulged to excess. We
live in exciting times. The whole world can be considered a ‘global village’,
and society is being tested constantly by the fall of traditional social and
moral boundaries. As a result, now more than ever, every ‘city’ needs a
gateway. A gate functions as both an entrance and exit, and, if necessary, can
be closed, stopping unwanted traffic. We too, when we feel inclined to think
positively, speak kindly or act constructively, we should open our ‘gates’
wide. But when the impulse to think, speak, or act negatively approaches, we
must slam the gates shut. What
are our ‘gates’? These are our eyes, which read Torah and absorb its wisdom and
values; our ears, which listen to our teachers; our noses, which inhale a pure
and holy atmosphere, infused with quality Judaism; and our mouths, which act as
an entry for kosher food only and as an exit for kosher words. The verse speaks about appointing judges and police. The judge that decides when to open and close the gate is the intellect. The police that maintain order is the willpower to fulfill the judge’s decision. An example of the process is eating. First, we must decide if the food is kosher. Even if it is, we must consider other factors: ‘Am I allowed to eat dairy now, or did I just eat meat?’ ‘Do I really need to eat this?’ etc. Even after we decide that it is permissible, we still must decide what blessing to make. The ability to choose when and how the ‘gate’ is opened was bestowed upon us by the Almighty; it is up to us to guide our souls and bodies in the right way. In Kabbalah, “gates” can also refer to the “50 gates of understanding,” which allow the mind’s comprehension to connect to and affect the heart’s emotions. These 50 gates in holiness are opposed by the 50 gates of the “other side.” Among the tasks of our inner ‘judge’ is to accurately identify whether his desire derives from his positive or negative aspect. (the Hebrew letters of the word for “gate” have the same numerical value as the letters of “Zefat” (570)!)) Shoftim is always read at the beginning of the
month of Elul. Elul,
in turn, is the gateway to the month of Tishrei, the month of the High Holidays
when we are judged for our actions of last year, and are awarded what we will
receive in the coming year. How we use our time in Elul affects how much our
prayers will be accepted on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. Just as using our
intellect and willpower now will have wide-ranging repercussions in the immediate
future, so also our efforts will succeed in bringing about the true and
complete redemption through our righteous Mashiach. From
the beginning of Elul it is already appropriate to wish everyone a good and
sweet year.
Shabbat
Shalom, Shaul |
 |
This website is a project of
Ascent of Safed
Design © 2001 Hershel Productions |
|