ז׳ בְּאֱלוּל תשע״ב
7th of Elul, 5772
Sat, 25 August 2012
l
JUSTICE FOR ALL
* TORAH *
FOR CHILDREN
NOT ONLY FOR THE
* CHILDREN *
* CHILDREN *
!FOR YOU AND ME ALSO
PARASHAT SHOFTIM
Chase pursue justice
Chase pursue justice
By, Beth Kissileff
Parashat Shoftim is one of our most neatly packaged Torah portions, beginning with commandments about the necessity for appointing "magistrates and officials" (16:18) and concluding with a procedure aimed to ensure that people do "what is right in the sight of God" (21:9). From its opening words to its
concluding phrases, this parashah is about righteousness and justice. Yet these concepts are meaningless unless rooted in concrete particulars so they can permeate the lives of those who wish to find meaning in the Torah. These are clearly universal values, but where do we find out about the ways women approach such values and concerns?
JUSTICE FOR ALL
Moses continues his last speech to the Israelites before he dies saying: “Judges shall be appointed to judge the people with justice. You shall not twist judgment by recognizing a face or accepting bribery, because both blind the eyes of the wise and cause the words of the righteous to falter. Justice, justice shall you pursue, so that you may live and take possession of the land which God, your God, is giving you.
“Do not make a memorial stone for God, nor offer to God a blemished animal for sacrifice.
Moses then says: “When you come to the land that God is giving you, and dwell in it, you will want a king. You shall then set a king over yourself who God will choose. This king shall not be a foreigner but one of your brethren. This king must not have many horses, nor many wives, nor amass silver and gold for himself in excess, so that his heart may not go astray. Rather, when he sits upon the throne, he shall write for himself a duplicate of this Teaching in a book. He shall read from it as long as he shall live, so that he may learn to fear God and not lift himself above his brethren nor turn aside from the commandments.
Moses continues saying, “A prophet from among your brethren, like myself, will God raise up for you. To him you shall hearken. Then God will put words into this prophet’s mouth so that he may speak them to the people. But if the prophet speaks wantonly in God’s Name or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die. And if you ask, ‘How can we recognize the word that God has not spoken.’ If it is spoken in the name of God and does not come true, then God has not spoken that word and the prophet has spoken it wantonly. You shall not be afraid of him.MORE
MORE COMMENTARIES
, from Torah Topics for Today
, from Hillel
, from JTS
, from Jewish Outreach Institute
, from AJWS
, from CLAL
, from Social Action
, from Orthodox Union
* RAV KOOK *
TORAH INSTITUTE
Parashat Shoftim
The Torah commands us to set up courts and police
in every town. The Torah's judicial system contains
three levels of courts:
We all live a double life. There is our external world:
our relationships with friends and family, our jobs,
our place in society. And we have our inner world:
our private thoughts and emotions, our introspections
and contemplations. We are influenced by both spheres, and
we need them both
"When you come into the land that God is giving you,
do not learn to do the repulsive practices of those nations." (Deut. 18:9)
|
While the Torah commands every Jew to write a Torah
scroll, there is one individual who is obligated to write an
additional Torah scroll. Surprisingly, it is neither the high
priest, nor the head of Sanhedrin. It is the king who is commanded
to write a second Torah scroll during his reign and
keep it with him at all times (Deut. 17:18-19, Sanhedrin 2:4).
One of the lesser-known ways that the Torah
provides for the support of the kohanim in
their holy activities is through gifts of
certain cuts of meat:
"This shall be the kohen's due from the people: when an ox or sheep is slaughtered for food, they shall give the kohen the foreleg, the jaw, and the maw [the last of a cow's four stomachs]." (Deut. 18:3)
|
What happens if the local court is unable to decide a
case? In such situations the Torah gives ultimate
authority to Sanhedrin, the high court
of 71 elders in Jerusalem:
Rav Kook was overjoyed with the news. David Tidhar
, a Jewish officer serving in the British Mandatory police force,
had come to announce that he was engaged to be married.
The rabbi insisted that the wedding be held in his own
residence, and that he would provide the wedding meal.
Rav Kook even invited students from the yeshivah
to join in the festivities.
Many people were surprised. Why was
Rav Kook so fond of this particular policeman?
Through Isaiah, God extends a note of condolence.
Page from the Mishneh Torah Systematic Code of Jewish
Law Written by Maimonides (1135-1204) in 1180
The Haftarah selection is from Isaiah, 51:12-52:12.
Haftarat Shoftim is the fourth of the seven haftarot of consolation read in the weeks following Tisha B'Av. It is taken from the Book of Isaiah--a prophet who lived in the time of the Babylonian Exile and consoled Israel with comforting prophecies of the return to Zion. The haftarah for Shoftim begins, characteristically enough: "I, I am He who comforts you!" (51:12)
Haftarat Shoftim is the fourth of the seven haftarot of consolation read in the weeks following Tisha B'Av. It is taken from the Book of Isaiah--a prophet who lived in the time of the Babylonian Exile and consoled Israel with comforting prophecies of the return to Zion. The haftarah for Shoftim begins, characteristically enough: "I, I am He who comforts you!" (51:12)
No comments:
Post a Comment