Dvar Torah Parashat Shoftim
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Dedicated in Honor of My Daughter, Ruby Kassab's Marriage to Abraham Saideh ______________________________________________________ Parashat Shoftim
Guarded Gates
The first passuk in Shoftim begins with these words: “Shoftim veshotrim titen lecha bechol shearecha asher Hashem elokecha noten lecha.” The literal translation is: “Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your [city] gates, which Hashem, your G-d, gives you.”
Rambam sounds an alarm in his comment on this passage. He explains that if not for these laws and people’s respect for them, and without judges to hear cases between brothers, then the downfall of the nation would not be far behind. Such a breakdown would lead to anarchy, with the Torah being fragmented into many Torahs, chas veshalom.
The Sh’la Hakadosh and the Chida both cite a similar interpretation. They comment that the “judges in all your gates” is a reference to the judges at the gates of our bodies. Our ears have ear lobes which act as gates to protect us from hearing lashon hara; our eyes have eyelids, so we don’t see what we shouldn’t be looking at; and our mouth has two gates—teeth and lips—to protect us from speaking lashon hara and eating food which is not kosher.
Machloket
The Torah continues, “If a case is too inexplicable for you to decide, be it a controversy over homicide, civil law, or assault—matters of dispute in your courts—you shall promptly ascend to the place G-d has chosen (17:8).” The simple interpretation of the verse is that if one has a halachic question that he is not able to resolve in any monetary or ritual matter, then he should bring the question up to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.
The Ari goes further and explains that these matters come from machloket—divisiveness. Rabbi Frand cites Yoma [9b] saying that the first Temple was destroyed because of the three cardinal sins: murder, idolatry, and incest, while the second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred. Which sin was worse? The fact that a second Temple was built a relatively short time after the destruction of the first Temple, while the second Temple has still not been rebuilt proves that the latter sins were worse than the former sins.
The difference is that in the time of the First Temple, even though there were these terrible sins, at least there was no machloket. However, where there is baseless hatred, where there is machloket, we lose our greatest asset, which is unity. When there is dissension and divisiveness, we lose that strength, and we end up suffering as a nation. The cure to these moments of suffering, he goes on to explain, is the second part of the passuk, “You shall promptly ascend to the place G-d has chosen.” The place that G-d chose is Yerushalayim, which can be translated as “The City of Shalom – Peace.” Peace is the cure.
Our Leaders
Rabbi Biderman shares that to maintain a positive outlook on life, a person should focus on the "half-cup that is full." This means everyone should focus on what he has, instead of moaning and complaining about what he lacks. When one focuses on the good and realizes that Hashem loves him and only wants to do good for him, it brings him to the next level - being happy with the empty half of the cup.
As the author of Machshavat Yehoshua explains: When one focuses on the half-cup that is full, he discovers Hashem's love. Now he understands that even the half-cup that is empty, the matters he lacks in life, are also for his good. It states (Devarim 13:5), "Hashem your G-d you shall follow and Him shall you fear." The Ibn Ezra writes, “Fear Hashem, and be afraid to ask, "Why is it this way?" One must fear Hashem and never ask such a question. He must believe that whatever Hashem does, it is certainly for our good.
This week’s parasha discusses the judges and leaders of Bnei Yisrael. Our Rabbis help build dour connection to Hashem and the Torah. Rabbi Hillel Eisenberg shares an astounding story about the tremendous knowledge our religious leaders have. In December, 1988 a group of 33 chassidim traveled from Brooklyn to London for the wedding of their Rebbe’s son. After several days of learning and celebrating with their Rebbe at Stanford Hill they packed their bags to return home to their families and businesses. On the last day, although short on time, the chassidim decided to say one last goodbye to their Rebbe and get berachot before their flight.
They arrived at the Rebbe’s house and asked the secretary if the Rebbe had a minute or two to give them a blessing. The secretary said, “Of course. The Rebbe has nothing scheduled for this morning. Let me tell him you’re here.” The secretary returned a minute later and said, “The Rebbe is free now, but he would like you to wait a few minutes before he sees you.” The chassidim said that that was not an issue and they sat down and waited.
A couple of minutes later they asked the secretary if he could ask the Rebbe again, because they were on they had a flight soon. The secretary returned a minute later and said, “The Rebbe said you should wait a couple of more minutes, and there is no need to worry about missing the plane.”
Ten minutes passed, and the chassidim were getting nervous. Should they leave despite the Rebbe telling them to wait? They had families and jobs to get back to. How could they miss their flight? They decided to listen to the Rebbe, and ten nerve-racking minutes later they were called in. The Rebbe apologized for making them wait and assured them it would all work out. He shook their hands and gave them warm berachot. He walked them slowly to their bus. Meanwhile, each chassid wanted to rush on their bus and speed to the airport, but the Rebbe would not allow it. He slowly, almost deliberately, gave each person another lengthy and time-consuming beracha.
When the Rebbe was finally finished, they hopped on the bus and sped to the airport. They dashed through the terminal and at the gate they discovered that the plane had left without them. The men were flustered and aggravated. They sat down in the airport to figure out a plan.
A few minutes later there was a commotion in the airport. Everyone rushed to tiny TV screens that broadcast horrific news. A Pan Am flight from Heathrow Airport had just blown up over Scotland killing all the passengers on board as well as numerous people in the crash. The chassidim’s hearts stopped beating as they saw the flight number on the screen.
Flight number 103, the exact flight they were supposed to be on. A terrorist had placed a bomb on the plane, and all 243 passengers had died. In the back of that plane there were thirty-three empty seats. Empty because their occupants chose to listen to their Rebbe. Rabbi Eisenberg share that the words, “Rebbe” “Rabbi” “Rav”… these all have the same root word “Rav—to make great.” Each Rabbi has a special power to take what they learned and share it with their congregants and followers to make them great. Let us respect and follow in the ways of our great leaders because they possess deep insight and knowledge of Hashem’s ways that we will gain from.
Forgive and Be Forgiven
Rabbi Yoel Gold told a story about a couple that was getting married in Israel right at the start of the pandemic. They decided to make the wedding quickly with just immediate family before Israel went on lockdown. Only 20 people came to attend. Right after the kedushin, the mishtarah—police showed up, saying they received an anonymous tip, and demanded that everyone evacuate the venue. They were afraid coronavirus would be transmitted so the police slapped everyone with a 5,000-shekel fine and sent everyone home. The wedding was ruined, and the couple was in debt on their very first day as husband and wife. As much as they knew it was for the best, they were so disappointed and heartbroken with how the night turned out.
Seven months later, David got a phone call. “That was my father,” David said to his wife, “a young man in kollel contacted him to say that he was the person who gave the police the tip at the wedding, and he’d like to speak to us.” They decided to meet the boy to get closure on how their wedding turned out.
They went to meet the boy. He explained to them that he was very afraid of the COVID-19 virus that had just emerged in Israel. He heard the music and assumed it was a big wedding, so he called to tell the police hoping to mitigate the spread of the virus. Since that night, he felt a tremendous guilt. He was also in shidduchim and since the wedding, not one shadchan had called with a date, and when he reached out to matchmakers, he could not get a date. He knew he had to apologize to this couple, so he tracked them down and begged for their forgiveness.
The newlyweds, so traumatized from the event, told him they needed some time. After a few days, on Erev Yom Kippur, they decided that even though it was so hard, they would put it all behind them. They would forgive him. They called him, and the bochur broke into tears, crying, “I’m so sorry for what I did. Please forgive me.” The couple was emotional and accepted his sincere apology. They went into Yom Kippur feeling so at peace, knowing that they overcame a huge challenge, and they felt comfortable asking Hashem for forgiveness when they did the same a few hours earlier.
The next day, while David was building the Sukkah, he got a call that Tamar was in a bad car accident. When David got to the hospital, the doctor walked into Tamar’s room and said, “Your wife must have G-d watching over her.” The whole car was completely totaled, except for the driver’s side! Not only that, but the airbag should have deployed on impact, and for some reason, it didn’t. Tamar was newly pregnant and would have lost her child.
Tamar said, “Hashem must have had a sentence on me. In His kindness, He orchestrated this whole situation with the wedding and having to forgive this yeshivah boy, for us to have the zechut, for me and my child to be saved. When we forgive Hashem’s children, Hashem forgives us. When we hold grudges, they weigh us down and they’re very hard for us. And when we forgive, we become lighter and happier, and we become better people for it.”
It is Never Too Late to Do Teshuvah
The following thoughts are related by Rabbi Biderman in the Torah Wellsprings. The Zohar tells that when Hashem was about to create the world, all letters came to Hashem, one by one, and each letter said that the world should be created with it. When the letter “tzaddik” came and claimed that the world should be created with it, Hashem replied with love that indeed, the world deserves to be created with the letter “tzaddik”; however, if the world would be created with the letter “tzaddik,” which represents immense kedushah, people will fall into depression. They will feel that they can't correct what they did wrong if they fall into sin. Therefore, Hashem didn't want to create the world with the letter tzaddik, although it was befitting. The main thing is that we shouldn't lose hope.
The Zohar states that the world was created with the letter “bet” (this is why it is the first letter of the Torah). Our Sages tell us that the letter “bet” is closed from all sides and open on its front side. This hints that a person shouldn't think about what happened in the past; he should focus on the future to make the future better. No matter what was, when we make the future better, everything becomes good, and even the past becomes rectified in the best way.
Additionally, Rabbi Biderman adds his insight on a rather recent invention is a Shabbos lamp. It is a patent that enables a person to have light on Shabbos when he wants it, and darkness when he wants it. The lightbulb is in a box. When you close the box, you don't see the light, and you open the box when you want the light. Obviously, even when the box is shut, the light is still on; you just don't see it. This is a parable to a Yid's neshamah—soul. Sometimes you don't see that the neshamah is shining, but the spark is always there. You don't have to create something to turn the neshamah on because it is already shining brightly. It shines brightly and desires only Torah, mitzvot, and a connection with Hashem. All you have to do is to move the disturbance away (the pull to the temptations of this world which prevents us from recognizing the light of the neshamah) and then the light will shine through.
May we always only seek justice between our fellow Jews and avoid distorting justice in any way. May we also guard the gates of our bodies to keep harmful, forbidden influences from entering our lives and the lives of our families. May we commit to taking upon a mitzvah in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Shabbat Shalom! Rabbi Amram Sananes, written by Jack Rahmey
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This book is a compilation of Divre Torah from the weekly parasha classes from Rabbi Sananes’ teachings over the last 10 years along with my own experiences in those classes which has stimulated my Torah growth. I’ve included many pertinent stories and life lessons to grow from at your Shabbat table. There’s also questions and discussion points at the end of each Parasha to stimulate a Torah conversation at your Shabbat table for the whole family to participate in. Also, included is a holidays section at the end of the book to use for all of our special holidays and Yomiim Toviim. Now available in all Jewish bookstores and Amazon! Scan the barcode on the right to purchase from Amazon. |
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