Parshat Shoftim is the first of four Parshiot that are read during the month of Elul, and Rabboteinu – both in the realm of Mussar and Chassidut – reveal to us that these Parshiot include in them the pre-requisite preparations for Rosh Hashanah. A sod of our Avodah for these special days is included in each. In several sefarim, I saw our Parsha connected to the concept of crowning a king, based on the Mitzvah we will read about this week:
מֶ לֶך שׂוֹם תָּ שִׂ ים עָ לֶיך – Appoint are you to appoint over yourself a king. This is naturally tied to our primary Avodah on Rosh Hashanah – namely, the coronation of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Next week’s Parsha, Ki Teitze, opens with rules pertaining to battle and going out to war, and Chazal interpret this as representing our own personal battles against the Yetzer Hara – the evil inclination. Parshat Ki Tavo contains the brachot and klalot, which symbolize our acceptance of responsibility, or mutual guarantorship for one another, a prerequisite for standing together in judgment on Yom HaDin.
I’d like to open with a question that will lead to our main focus for this shiur. In the first Pasuk of our Parsha, why is the commandment issued in the singular rather than in the plural? Why does it say תשׁ ֹ פ ְ טִ י ם ו ְ שׁ ֹ טְ רִ י ם תִּ תֵּ ן־לְ ך בְּ כָל שׁ ְ ע ָ רֶ י ך rather than תִּ תְּ נוּ לָכֶם בְּ כָל שׁ ַ עֲרֵ יכֶם? Furthermore, the word לְך is seemingly superfluous and does not add clarification to the requirement of appointing judges and officers. Why is it there? In years past, we brought forth the answer of the Shelah HaKadosh, who connects these words to the need for us to guard the seven gates to our souls, which are found on our heads and through which things enter and exit: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and a mouth. As we move forward, we will provide another explanation for these specific words along with the commandment found two Pesukim later: צֶ דֶ ק צֶ דֶ ק תִּ רְ דּ ֹף. Justice, justice shall you pursue.
Why are we commanded to pursue ‘double justice’? Would it not be sufficient to say צֶ דֶ ק תּ ִ רְ דּ ֹ ף? Many of the classic commentators ask this question and provide explanations, and we’ll dive into the significance of these words as they pertain to our Avodah during the month of Elul – our preparation for the Yamim Noraim which are less than four weeks away.
We’ll open with the words of the Bnei Yissaschar (Elul 1:4), who focuses on a very interesting yesod. Moshe Rabbeinu ascended to Heaven on three occasions: The first time was for forty days in order to learn the Torah and receive the Luchot; the second time was for another forty days, from the 17th of Tammuz until the 29th of Av, to ask for forgiveness on behalf of Am Yisrael who had formed the golden calf; the final time occurred on the 30th of Av, when Moshe was invited back for Hakadosh Baruch Hu to inscribe on a second set of Luchot what was previously inscribed on the first Luchot that Moshe shattered. This final ascent also lasted forty days, culminating in Moshe’s descent on Yom Kippur, with the message of סָ לַ חְ תִּ י כִּ דְ בָ רֶ ך and the instruction to begin construction of the Mishkan. Rashi says, these final forty days were ones of joy and reconciliation, and these forty days, from Rosh Chodesh Elul until Yom Kippur, turned into אַ רְ בָּ עִ ים יְ מֵ י רָ צוֹן – forty days of Divine favor every year, during which Hakadosh Baruch Hu reconciles with Knesset Yisrael. We’re currently in the midst of these very days.
The Bnei Yissaschar says, these forty days of joy and reconciliation are not a result of Moshe Rabbeinu having ascended to Heaven, but rather, these days were endowed with special qualities of Divine favor from the time of Creation. Moshe Rabbeinu ascended the mountain during those days because they were special days of joy and reconciliation, and he was invited to ascend during that time because of their pre-established status. What is the source of this idea? He traces it back to the Gemara which debates when the world was created (Rosh Hashanah 10b), with Rabbi Eliezer saying it was created in the month of Tishrei and Rabbi Yehoshua saying it was created in Nisan.
In the Bnei Yissaschar’s words, creation of the world was done בְּ רָ צ וֹ ן – through goodwill and favor, for it is not like an artisan who creates to fill a void or deficiency. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created His world out of desire to bestow goodness upon His creations, and thus, if the beginning of creation was in Tishrei – specifically the creation of man, while the beginning of the world was on the 25th of Elul – when did this Divine favor begin? It began in Elul. From that time onward, these days were established for generations as days of favor, remembered and enacted each year. Thus, Moshe's ascent to receive the second Luchot with Divine favor that Hakadosh Baruch Hu should be reconciled with Bnei Yisrael also took place during these auspicious days. The next section from the Bnei Yissaschar, a powerful yesod, serves as our launchpad for this shiur:
Even though the entity of Bnei Yisrael was not yet present or in existence – they were only established 2448 years later at Ma’amad Har Sinai: הַ י וֹם הַ זֶּה נִהְ יֵיתָ לְעָ ם – and had not yet acquired any Mitzvot and good deeds, nevertheless, their future intention and commitment were sufficient to arouse Divine favor. This is the power that remains in these days of favor during the month of Elul, as during that time, Divine favor existed at Creation. Even if, chas v’shalom, Bnei Yisrael does not have merits, merely accepting upon themselves to act is enough, just as at the time of Creation when everything was based solely on the will of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, in His thought and knowledge. This is why we say during the days of Selichot הֲשׁ ִ י ב ֵ נ ו ּ ה' אֵ לֶיך ו ְ נ ָ שׁ ו ּ ב ָ ה ח ַ ד ּ ֵ שׁ י ָ מ ֵ י נ ו ּ כ ּ ְ ק ֶ דֶ ם – the days of old refer to the days of Creation when no Mitzvot or good deeds had yet been acquired. Nevertheless, our future commitment was sufficient to renew the time and the world through what would be performed afterwards. Similarly, now, we ask Hakadosh Baruch Hu to act with us for the sake of His name, renewing this time for good and salvation because of our acceptance and commitment of returning to Him through Teshuva.
There is a foundational snippet from the Ramban which I would like to bring forth, part of a long and intense commentary found in Parshat Emor (Vayikra 23:24): רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה יוֹם דִּ ין בְּרַ חֲמִים וְיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִ ים יוֹם רַ חֲמִים בְּדִ ין. Rosh Hashanah is a day of judgment in mercy, and Yom Kippur is a day of mercy in judgment.
Explaining this complex principle within the Ramban’s commentary, the Pnei Yehoshua (Rosh Hashanah 16a) says רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה הוּא יוֹם הַדִּ ין הַגָּמוּר לְכָל בָּאֵי עוֹלָם וְאוֹתוֹ יוֹם יוֹשׁ ֵב הקב"ה וְדָן עִם כָּל פָּמַלְיָא שׁ ֶל וֹ שׁ ֶהֵם הַשָּׂרִ ים הָעֶלְיוֹנִים, כְּדִ כְתִיב: וְהִנֵּה רָאִיתִי ה' צְבָאוֹת יֹשׁ ֵב עַל כִּסֵּא רָ ם וְנִשָּׂא וְכָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִ ם עוֹמְדִ ים עָלָיו מִימִינוֹ וּמִשְּׂמֹאלוֹ. דְּ הַיְנוּ אֵלּוּ שׁ ֶמַּיְמִינֵי' לִזְכוּת וּמַשְׂמְאִילִים לְחוֹבָה. וּמִשּׁ וּם הָכִי כְּתִיב נָמֵי הִתָּקֵעַ שׁ וֹפָר בָּעִיר וְהָעָם לֹא יֶחְרְ דוּ, כֵּיוָן שׁ ֶרֹב הָעוֹלָם בֵּינוֹנִים וּמִשּׁ וּם הָכִי חֲרֵ דִ ין וַעֲצֵבִ ין כֵּיוָן שהקב"ה אֵינוֹ מִתְנַהֵג בְּאוֹתוֹ יוֹם בְּמִדַּת חֶסֶד כֵּיוָן שׁ ֶהַשָּׂרִ ים מַשְׂמְאִילִים וּמְקַטְּרִ יגִים מְעַכְּבִין עַל יָדוֹ. אֲבָל יוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִ ים שׁ ֶהוּא עֵת רָצוֹן וְיוֹם סְלִיחָה וּמְחִילָה שׁ ֶנִּתְרַצָה הקב"ה לְמֹשׁ ֶה לִקְ בֹּעַ אוֹתוֹ לְיוֹם סְלִיחָה וְכַפָּרָ ה לְדוֹרוֹת וְאָמְרִ ינַן נָמֵי דִּ בְהַאי יוֹמָא לֵית רְ שׁ וּת לַשָּׂטָן לְאַסְטוֹנֵי, כִּדְ אָמְ רִ ינַן נָמֵי בְּיוֹ מָא דַּף כ' וּכְמוֹ שׁ ֶאֲבָאֵר שׁ ָם בְּעֶזְרַת הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַך, וְאִם כֵּן דִּ בְהַאי יוֹמָא נִתְקַיֵם וְנִשְׂגֵּב ה' לְבַדּוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא.
In the Pnei Yehoshua’s words, Rosh Hashanah is the definitive Yom HaDin – Day of Judgment for all people in the world, and on that day, Hakadosh Baruch Hu sits in judgment with His entire heavenly entourage, which includes the heavenly ministers, prosecutors and defense alike. Those who stand on the right advocate for merit, while those on the left argue for guilt. This idea is supported by several Pesukim, including the opening of Sefer Iyov (1:6) which describes Hakadosh Baruch Hu judging on the day of Rosh Hashanah, with the prosecutor at His side. Since most of the world is in an intermediate state – בֵּינוֹנִים – they tremble and are saddened because on that day Hakadosh Baruch Hu does not act in the attribute of kindness (חֶ סֶ ד), as the heavenly ministers on the left accuse and obstruct. However, Yom Kippur, which is a time of Divine favor and a day of forgiveness and atonement, was established for future generations when Hakadosh Baruch Hu was reconciled with Moshe Rabbeinu to designate it as a day of forgiveness and atonement for all generations. We also say that on Yom Kippur, the Satan has no power to accuse, as is stated in the Gemara (Yoma 20a): לֵית לֵיהּ רְ שׁ וּתָא לְאַסְטוֹנֵישָׂטָן בְּיוֹמָא דְ כִיפּוּרֵ י.
Therefore, on this day it is fulfilled that Hakadosh Baruch Hu alone shall be exalted on that day: וְנִשְׂגֵּב ה' לְבַדּוֹ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא.
The sefer Tznif Melucha deals with aspects of kingship, both that of Hakadosh Baruch Hu and the kings of Am Yisrael throughout history. He writes that Bnei Ashkenaz recite a well-known piyyut on both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur which contains the following lines:
לְבוֹחֵן לְבָבוֹת בְּיוֹם דִּ ין: לְגוֹלֶה עֲמוּקוֹת בַּדִּ ין: לְיוֹדֵֽ עַ מַחֲשׁ ָבוֹת בְּיוֹם דִּ ין: לְכוֹבֵשׁ כַּעֲסוֹ בַּדִּ ין:
Who examines hearts on the day of judgment; Who reveals depths of the heart in judgment; Who knows the thoughts of man on the day of judgment; Who suppresses His anger in judgment;
The meaning of this first statement is that only Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows our thoughts and examines what is in our hearts; there is no way for an angel to know what is in our hearts nor what we are thinking. Only Hakadosh Baruch Hu is privy to this information: כִּ י־אַ תּ ָ ה יָ דַ עְ תּ ָ לְ בַב כָּל־בְּנֵי הָאָדָם (Melachim I 8:39). Angels do not have this information, and most certainly, man does not know what the other is thinking or what is in his heart (Pesachim 54b).
On Rosh Hashanah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu effectuates judgment, with prosecutors and defense attorneys present, based on all visible evidence. The advocating angels come forth and present all the person’s Mitzvot and merits, while the prosecutors bring forth all their sins. Deliberation and calculations follow, and a ruling is issued. However, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu sits alone in judgement on Yom Kippur, all those in an intermediate state have their מַחֲשׁ ָבוֹת טוֹבוֹת – good thoughts and intentions – added to the scales of justice. These were not considered on Rosh Hashanah because the angels do not see them and cannot present them, but on Yom Kippur, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu sits alone and sees them, they are in play. As the Gemara teaches (Kiddushim 40a), מַ חְ שׁ ָ בָה טוֹבָה מְ צָרְ פָהּ לְמַ עֲשֶׂ ה – Hakadosh Baruch Hu links a good thought to an action. Generally, those who are in the class of בֵּינוֹנִים have a tremendous number of good intentions but miscellaneous circumstances, or laziness and distraction, simply got in the way of their execution. Therefore, the judgement of those in this middle category, who are neither outright tzaddikim or outright resha’im, hangs in the balance until Yom Kippur when Hakadosh Baruch Hu sits alone and tilts the scale with one’s good intentions.
The Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 1:11) says: אַף הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵין דָּן יְחִידִ י. שׁ ֶנֶּאֱמַר וְכָל־צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם עוֹמְדִ ים עָלָיו מִימִינוֹ וּמִשְּׂמֹאלוֹ. אֵלּוּ מַטִּין לְכַף זְכוּת וְאֵלּוּ מַטִּין לְכַף חוֹבָה. אַף עַל פִּי שׁ ֶאֵין דָּן יְחִידִ י חוֹתֵם יְחִידִ י.
Even Hakadosh Baruch Hu does not judge alone, as it is said: all the hosts of Heaven were standing by Him, to His right side and to His left. These vote to acquit, those to convict. Even though He does not judge alone, He signs alone, as it is said: Really I shall tell you what is noted in true writing.
Why does He sign and seal the judgement alone? Because no boss gives his authoritative stamp and signature to an employee to use freely. No employee has access to singlehandedly write checks and cash them on behalf of the boss. And what is this signature of Hakadosh Baruch Hu? The Yerushalmi says it is: אֱ מֶ ת. Another well-known piyyut from Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur refers to this signature: הֶהָגוּי בְּאֶהְיֶה אֲשׁ ֶר אֶהְיֶה: וְכֹל מַאֲמִינִים שׁ ֶהוּא דַיָּן אֱמֶת. All believe that He is a true Judge; Who is called, “I am that I am.” Chazal point to the numerical value of אֶ הְ יֶה (21), which multiplied by another אֶ הְ יֶה (21) yields 441 – the value of אֱ מֶ ת.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the only one able to see inside our minds and hearts; He is the true judge; and His stamp is אֱ מֶ ת.
Recapping what we’ve covered so far, the Ramban says Rosh Hashanah is a day of Judgment in Mercy, while Yom Kippur is a day of Mercy in Judgment. On Rosh Hashanah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is surrounded by advocates and prosecutors, while on Yim Kippur He sits alone and brings into consideration our good thoughts and intentions, favorably tilting the balance for all those in an intermediate state after Rosh Hashanah.
Let’s now dive in deeper. At the beginning of Parshat Bereshit, Rashi explains why it states בּ ָ רָ א אֱ לֹהִ ים and not בּ ָ רָ א ה'. It is because Hakadosh Baruch Hu initially intended to create the world under the attribute (rule) of Din – strict justice, but He realized the world could not endure as such, and therefore gave precedence to Divine Mercy allying it with Divine Justice. Rabbotai, when reading this explanation of Rashi on its own, it is nearly impossible to understand what he is getting at. What does it mean that Hakadosh Baruch Hu had the intent to create according to Din but added Rachamim to the plan? It sounds as though Hakadosh Baruch Hu created something, noticed it was broken or malfunctioning, and added support to rectify His work. But this is simply incorrect and impossible. Every commentator asks this question, and we’ll work with the explanation provided by the Kli Yakar.
In the entire text of Bereshit until after the day of Shabbat, there is not one instance of the name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu representing Mercy – yud and heh and vav and heh. Every mention of G-d is through the name אֱ לֹהִים, representing Din, and the first instance of בְּיוֹם עֲשׂוֹת ה' אֱ לֹהִים אֶ רֶ ץ ו ְ שׁ ָ מ ָ י ִ ם appears only after Shabbat, signaling the addition of Mercy. The Kli Yakar says, the order of the names and words carries significance. The אֶ רֶ ץ was created with the name ה' – representing Rachamim, whereas the שׁ ָ מ ָ י ִ ם was created with the name אֱ לֹהִים – representing Din. In other words, Hakadosh Baruch Hu initially wished to have it all created with Din, including the אֶ רֶ ץ, but when He saw that the land could not withstand Din, He added Rachamim to it. שׁ ָ מ ָ י ִ ם, on the other hand, remained Din alone, as it could withstand strict Judgement. This is reflected in the Pasuk (Tehilim 62:12): אַחַת דִּ בֶּר אֱ -לֹהִים שְׁתַּיִם־זוּ שׁ ָמָעְתִּי כִּי עֹז לֵא-ל ֹהִים׃
One thing G-d has spoken; two things have I heard: that might belongs to G-d.
When Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the שׁ ָ מ ָ י ִ ם, everything was with the attribute of Din, and when He created the אֶ רֶ ץ, what was heard was “שׁ ְ תּ ַ י ִ ם ־ ז ו ּ”, two times the numerical value of זוּ (13), or 26, the numerical value of Shem Hashem representing Rachamim. The first phase was one, and the second phase was two – with Rachamim added to Din.
Rabbotai, with this, I’d like to take a moment to pause and present a very important tenet. We must recognize that the world above us – namely, Olam Haba – contains no element of Rachamim (Mercy) whatsoever. Everything we know about מִ דַּ ת הָ רַ חֲ מִ ים is down here in our world only. Up there, there is no such thing as רַ חֲ מִ י ם בּ ְ דִ י ן – Mercy in Judgment. In עוֹלַם הָ אֱ מֶ ת – the world of Truth, there is not a trace of Mercy. It was created strictly through Din and operates accordingly.
What does this mean? It is the angels that live in the world above and they possess no inclinations or impulses. When an angel transgresses a command given to it by Hakadosh Baruch Hu, the punishment is swift and immediate – the angel is either burned or receives שׁ ִ תִּ ין פּ וּלְסָא דְּ נוּרָ א – sixty fiery lashes (Zohar). There is no Mercy, no apology accepted, and no postponement or reprieve from strict justice. That is what it means to have a world created with Din. An angel that sings inappropriately before its peer is immediately punished for doing so, and thus, they each, with love, give the other the right of way: וְנוֹתְנִים בְּאַהֲבָה רְ שׁ וּת זֶה לָזֶה. They know that every act is judged and punished fully – no excuses, no apologies.
After 120 years, when a person leaves this world and moves up to Olam Haba – as a Neshama without a body – there is no Mercy in Judgment. Whatever one does in this world is accounted for – each Mitzvah is counted as a merit, and each sin is counted as a demerit. There is no longer the opportunity to perform Teshuva at that point, nor the opportunity to request leniency because the sin was a first time or was performed under challenging circumstances. All those calculations, and manipulation of the scorecard in one’s favor, take place only here in this world.
This is the system Hakadosh Baruch Hu wished to establish here in this world as well – strict, full, and immediate punishment for all sins committed. Now, this does not mean instantaneous, as if one who turned on the light on Shabbat received 220 volts through their body as they did so, the consequences would be so obviously clear that all free choice would be removed from the picture. If eating non-Kosher food resulted in a person choking and dying while it goes down their throat, nobody would think twice about eating anything but Mehadrin and Badatz, and free choice would be all but eliminated. Instead, punishment would follow shortly thereafter. Whether a matter of days, weeks, or months, punishment would not be deferred until death so to offer a chance for Teshuva: אִ ם יָשׁ וּב מִ י וְעַד יוֹם מוֹתוֹ תְּ חַכֶּה לוֹ ַד תְּ קַבְּלוֹ.
This was the original plan, and it is worthwhile noting that the Gemara says (Arachin 17a) had Hakadosh Baruch Hu entered into judgment with Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaacov, even they would not have been able to stand before the rebuke!
Now, if we could withstand Din, there’d be nothing better than that. Why? Because one who can withstand judgement and punishment here in this world, when they move on to Olam Haba, they have a pass directly to the front line – to sit and enjoy the presence of the Shechina. No cleansing and atonement is required. But because we cannot withstand strict Din here in this world, the burden of our judgment is schlepped with us the entire time until we move on to the next world, where Din is applied and punishment issued. Our fragile bodies, coupled with the evil inclination within us, don’t afford us the opportunity to take care of that cleansing here in this world, and Rachamim is needed just for us to survive. Thus, Mercy was added to Judgement when the אֶ רֶ ץ was created.
There is a Gemara (Menachot 29b) which I would like to explain according to the explanation provided by the Rama MiPano, the Shelah HaKadosh, and the Vilna Gaon.
