SHOFTIM: Deuteronomy Chapter 16:18-21:9

  
SHOFTIM: Deuteronomy Chapter 16:18-21:9

The Torah reading for this Shabbat is Parshat Shoftim.

On this particular Shabbat we bless the New Moon of the Hebrew month of Elul.

Usually seven days after blessing the moon we perform a ritual known as  קידוש לבנה

Sanctification of the Moon , or Kiddush Levanah.

In this ritual we ask Hashem to renew us as He has renewed the moon.

It may be that through our children we are renewed.

In Parshat Shoftim, Hashem says at 16:20 -
צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף
“Justice, justice shall you pursue…”
The verse just as well could have substituted honesty or integrity or fair dealing as well as lawfulness and truthfulness for the word justice.
All of those characteristics are a part of doing deeds of kindness.

We are a people of kindness and compassion.

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In Parshat Shoftim Moshe instructs us to appoint judges and law enforcement officers in every city. “Justice, justice shall you pursue,” he commands them, and you must administer it without corruption or favoritism. Crimes must be meticulously investigated and evidence thoroughly examined—a minimum of two credible witnesses is required for conviction and punishment

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In Parshat Shoftim we learn some of the rules of war.

Rambam writes extensively about this subject in his Mishneh Torah  He describes two categories of war:

• Milchomet Mitzvah which is a war fought to assist Israel from an enemy that attacks us.  There is no need to ask permission in order to fight this war.
  
• Milchomet Reshut which is war fought in order to expand the borders of Israel or to magnify the king's greatness or reputation.  In this case the 71 judges of the Sanhedrin must give its approval.

In 609 BCE, King Josiah of Judea was mortally wounded when he led an Israeli army beyond the borders of Judea in support of Babylonia against the armies Assyria and Egypt. 

This was the start of events that led to the destruction of Jerusalem some 23 years later.  I wonder if the king had the approval of the Sanhedrin, if indeed there was a Sanhedrin.? 

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In Parshat Shoftim at 17:14 we learn about the setting up of a king:

 

וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֗ אָשִׂ֤ימָה עָלַי֙ מֶ֔לֶךְ כְּכָל־הַגּtוֹיִ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר סְבִֽיבֹתָֽי

 

“… you will say, "I will set a king over me, like all the nations around me"

 

This inevitable situation foreseen by Hashem did not lead to anything good for us Jews in the Kingdom of Judah.  In the period from the reign of the son of Solomon until Zedekiah we had no less than 18 rulers.  How many do you recall?  How many were any good?

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Parshat Shoftim concludes with the law of the “Eglah Arufah” — the beheading of a calf  -  a special ritual procedure followed when a person is killed by an unknown murderer and the corpse is found in a field distant from villages and towns.  This ritual underscores the responsibility of the community and its leaders not only for what they do, but also for what they might have prevented.  It also signals all of us that if we do what is right, then tragedies such as this will be prevented.

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This is one take-away from last year's Reb Yitz’s Monday morning shiur:

From Rav Kook’s final shiur – During the month of Elul and on Rosh Hashanah we blow the shofar.

In terms of acceptability there are three available sources for this shofar :

1, A shofar made from a sheep’s horn is the most acceptable.

2. A shofar made from a kosher animal other than a sheep is also acceptable but is not as favorable as that made from a sheep.

3. Where there is no horn from a sheep or other kosher animal available, it is permissible for us to use the horn of a cow.

The gist of the hierarchy of sources for making a shofar is that not all Jews do a Mitzvah or lead a Jewish life, and all of its implications, in the same way or to the same degree of acceptability.

But the important thing is to reach out to Hashem as best we can and in doing so show the unity our Jewish nation and people.