PARSHA
BLUEPRINT FOR A DIVINE SOCIETY
By Rabbi Yehoshua B. Gordon
Chabad.org
The Torah portion of Shoftim continues Moses’ final address to the Children of Israel, who are on the cusp of entering the Holy Land. Like a loving father conveying his last will and testament to his children, Moses encourages, admonishes, and reminisces with the people, preparing them for life in the Land without him.
Life in the desert was G-dly, characterized by spiritual bliss, with heavenly food delivered daily, a constant miraculous source of water and protective Clouds of Glory.
In the portion of Shoftim, Moses essentially tells the Children of Israel, “Despite your divine, spiritual journey through the desert, I understand that you are only human, and that building a society, a civilization, will require interactions and relationships that will inevitably involve quarrels, disputes, and clashes.” But Moses reminds the people that G-d has prescribed mitzvot and rules for societies; indeed, there are laws for every eventuality. Though it will be surrounded by and immersed in physicality—agriculture and businesses, jobs and homesteads, life in Israel can and must continue to be G-dly.
LAW AND ORDER
A fair and just court system is a foundational element of a just society. Fair and honest judges maintain law and order, while corrupt judges fuel lawlessness and disorder.
“Do not pervert justice.” A judge must treat both litigants equally, not only when delivering a verdict but also while hearing their testimony. “A judge may not accept a bribe” under any circumstances, “because bribery will blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous.” Even when a judge has already reached a verdict, or is absolutely confident that a gift will not sway his judgment—even when a judge is about to rule in favor of the one offering the bribe!—bribery remains forbidden. A judge cannot sit in judgment of a person who gave—or even offered—a bribe because he will not be able to maintain his objectivity. It’s simply impossible.
Human nature is such that when someone does us a favor, we want to reciprocate. Even an honest, good person will lean towards someone who gives him a gift.
One of the great Chassidic masters once had two litigants before him when he suddenly stood up and announced, “I can’t explain why, but I feel I must recuse myself. You will have to find another judge.” To the apparent bewilderment of the litigants, the rabbi took his coat from the coat rack and left. When the rabbi came home and hung up his coat, he discovered a bundle of money that one of the litigants had placed there!
The Ashera tree, which Moses mentions as he segues from the need for justice to the sin of idol worship, was an idolatrous tree that the Torah repeatedly commands must never be planted, and existing Ashera trees must be uprooted and destroyed. Rabbi Jacob Ben Asher, the late 13th- and early 14th-century biblical commentator known as the Ba’al Haturim, taught that the numeric value of the word Ashera is the same as dayan she’eno hagun, the Hebrew words for “inappropriate judge.” If a judge is appointed improperly—“My brother-in-law needed a job!”—it is as if an idolatrous tree were planted next to the holy Altar! We must be very careful who we appoint as our judges. Our society depends on it.
TO RESPECT AND ADHERE
The Jewish supreme court—the Sanhedrin—consisted of 71 judges. Any decree issued by the Sanhedrin was binding on the entire Jewish nation. Lower courts were made up of 23 judges, while a local beit din could have only three. Regardless of a court’s size, its judges must always use the Torah as their guide.
“And you shall come ... to the judge who will be in those days, and you shall inquire, and they will tell you the words of judgment.”
Even if the current judge is not like you remember the judges of previous eras, don’t say “I should go to this judge? In my grandfather’s time, I remember what real judges were like. Those were the days! This judge? Ha! I went to school with him. We used to cheat at baseball cards together.” Instead, you must respect the judge because a system of law and order must be maintained. You only have access to the judges who exists in your time.
Furthermore, all litigants must adhere to the court’s ruling: “You cannot turn aside from that which they will tell you, neither to the right nor to the left.” You cannot choose to be less meticulous than the beit din, nor can you choose to be more religious than its ruling.
A person cannot say, “I am a great scholar! I know better! Don’t you know who my grandfather is?!” Everyone must follow the court’s rulings, regardless of their pedigree.
TALK IT OUT
Moses tells the Jewish people that when they enter the Land, they must “designate three additional cities of refuge ... ” These cities served as safe havens for those who committed unintentional homicide.
The Torah describes the unintentional manslayer as one who “strikes his fellow to death unintentionally, whom he did not hate in times past.” In this case, there was no history between the two; it was not a situation where the killer previously had any issues with the victim. It was unintentional.
However, the Torah also recognizes that intentional murder, G-d forbid, does occur. It’s an unfortunate reality. When people are concerned about their property, possessions, and finances, conflicts with friends, neighbors, and competitors are inevitable. Such conflicts can escalate to the most tragic outcomes, including, sadly, premeditated murder.
How can it escalate to such an extent that it leads to murder, G-d forbid? The Torah is very clear: “If a man hates his fellow, and as a result of this hatred lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and intentionally strikes him mortally,” then the cities of refuge do not serve as a safe haven for him, and he must be brought before the courts to stand trial.
The Torah teaches us a fundamental life lesson here: If you have a problem with someone, calmly speak with them instead of allowing hatred and resentment to fester and grow, which could one day lead to something terrible. We must at least attempt to resolve the issue.
RESPECTING BOUNDARIES
Getting along with our neighbors requires respecting boundaries, both physical and social.
“You must not push your neighbor’s landmark, which your predecessors have erected as border markers, back into his territory in order to increase the size of your own territory—for this is robbery.” This verse teaches us not to encroach on someone else’s property and symbolically represents not infringing on others’ livelihood.
If my neighbor runs a shoe store, I should respect the boundaries of their business and not open a competing shoe store right next door. We should ask ourselves: Is this the moral thing to do? Is this the right thing? Is this what G-d wants of us?
There is a legend that is told about two brothers who were neighbors. Each worked his land growing wheat. One brother was married with a large family, while the other was a bachelor.
The unmarried brother thought that G-d had blessed him with more than he needed, while his married brother could surely use more. So, he woke up in the middle of the night and secretly moved the boundary markers of his field, giving some of his land to his brother to increase his brother’s property.
In turn, the married brother thought that he was fortunate to have a wife and children, while his unmarried brother would need to impress the matchmakers with his wealth so that he could hopefully attract a nice Jewish girl. He, too, arose in the middle of the night and quietly moved the boundary markers to increase his brother’s acreage.
In the morning, each brother wondered why there was no noticeable decrease in his own field, so they repeated the act the next night. This continued for several nights until one night, they bumped into each other. In that moment, they understood what the other had been doing and embraced each other with love. As the story goes, G-d looked down and said, “This is a holy place; this is where the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) will be built.”
CAMPAIGN PROMISES
Moses tells the people that there will come a time when they will look around and see that other nations have kings, palaces, and monarchies, and they will desire the same.
The Torah permits the appointment of a monarch and has many laws and mitzvahs related to This, too, is a key ingredient for a G-dly society—a civilization based on Torah and mitzvot.
