Articles in Shoftim
Have You Changed?
We have a large crabapple tree in our backyard; it has been there for decades. Over the years, its beautiful branches have served as climbing apparatus for many young hands and feet, and its wonderful leaves have provided pleasant shade for many a gathering or a book reader.
Its spring blossoms …
Shoftim: Saved by the Law
This week, our Torah portion outlines the laws that govern a Jewish court. Jewish trials are not tried by a jury. Jewish trials are always tried by a panel of judges. One of the fascinating laws of Jewish jurisprudence is that if every judge on the panel finds a defendant …
With G-d’s Help
The Torah tells us to appoint judges and guardians at the gates of our cities. The city’s gathering place was usually at the gates, making it the fitting place for the courthouse and police station. However, Jewish scholarship has long maintained that there is a parallel teaching here. We are …
Shoftim: The Individual
Today I want to talk to you about the individual. When nations go to war, they institute mandatory drafts. Wartime drafts are different from peacetime drafts. In peacetime drafts, soldiers are eligible for all kinds of exemptions. During war, everyone must serve. Exemptions are rare.
In Jewish law, however, it is …
Shoftim: Ending Racism
Racism is a social scourge that has taken many forms of expression throughout the ages. At its heart racism is rooted in the medieval caste society—the feudal lords and the surfs. If you were from noble extraction, you were considered inherently superior. If you were a serf, you were expected …
Shoftim: A True Enemy
A true enemy attacks you because he wants to destroy you. You did nothing wrong, you didn’t offend him, molest him, or steal from him, yet, he attacks because your existence bothers him.
The Torah tells us that when the enemy attacks, we must not fear him even if he appears …
Shoftim: City of Refuge
The Torah tells us that in the messianic era when the land of Israel will expand beyond the borders enjoyed by our ancestors, it will become necessary to designate three more cities of refuge to provide sanction for inadvertent killers. When a Jew killed another inadvertently, the Torah allows the …
Shoftim: Guard Your Integrity
Integrity
The Torah tells us to post judges and guardians at the gates of our cities and “Eradicate evil from amongst you”.[1] We are taught that this rule applies not only to the city but also to the person. Every person is like a city; our limbs are the citizens, our …
