A Diligent Inquiry

Aug 17, 2018 By Malka Strasberg Edinger | Commentary | Shofetim

The main theme in this week’s parashah, Parashat Shofetim, is justice. One of the many legal matters discussed is false witnesses. Deuteronomy 19:16–20 reads:

If an unrighteous witness rise up against anyone to bear perverted witness against him; then both people, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Hashem, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days. And the judges shall inquire diligently…

The King’s Torah and the Torah’s King

Aug 25, 2017 By Barry Holtz | Commentary | Shofetim

This week’s Torah portion focuses on a wide array of topics, but underlying virtually everything we can see a thematic coherence well reflected in the parashah’s name (“judges”). The sidrah contains one of the most famous lines in the entire Bible, tzedek, tzedek tirdof: “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deut. 16:20). And throughout the parashah we see the Torah outlining various aspects of the pursuit of justice.

Limbs

Aug 25, 2017 By JTS Alumni | Commentary | Shofetim

Gavriella Kornsgold, Student, The Rabbinical School, and JTS Alumna (LC ’17, DS ’19)
Limbs (2017)
Sharpie, colored pencil, and acrylic on plexiglass

Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? (Deut. 20:19)

Our Eyes Did Not See

Sep 9, 2016 By Eliezer B. Diamond z”l | Commentary | Shofetim

The history of murder begins with Cain’s slaying of Abel. That murder itself has a prehistory. When Adam and Eve ate forbidden fruit, God called them to account, and gave them the opportunity to acknowledge their sin and seek forgiveness. Instead, they chose obfuscation and recrimination. Adam shifted blame to Eve, who in turn argued that the serpent was culpable. As when they ate the fruit (Gen. 3:7), their eyes again were opened; each now saw that the other was capable of sin without remorse, and indifference born of self-interest.

Corruption Begins at Home

Sep 9, 2016 By Hillel Gruenberg | Commentary | Shofetim

Only here are three prime ministers
investigated and don’t cooperate.

Only here do I feel belonging,
Even though I’m angry about the corruption.

The Roots of Our Ideals

Sep 3, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Shofetim

“Peacetime” may seem today like a distant memory, yet ancient texts like the midrash above show how far we have advanced from the conflicts of biblical times. If our Sages could express that insight in their generation (nearly two millennia ago and just centuries after Israel conquered Canaan), it behooves us to appreciate how our Torah has inspired us and our non-Jewish allies to pursue peace in this global age.

God’s Presence in the Mundane

Aug 17, 2002 By Lauren Eichler Berkun | Commentary | Shofetim

One of the great contributions of the Rabbinic period to Jewish theology is the celebration of God’s presence in the mundane. How can we experience God in the world without God’s sacred abode in the Temple? The rabbis taught us to find holiness in the everyday through the beautiful system of blessings.

Worthy Judges

Sep 10, 2005 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Shofetim

This week opened with the mournful news of the passing of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. While we subscribe to a wide spectrum of views with regard to his decisions, he was undoubtedly a brilliant legal mind. Of his leadership on the Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted, “Chief Justice William Rehnquist was the fairest, most efficient boss I have ever had . . . he cautioned that a judge steps out of the proper judicial role most conspicuously and dangerously when the judge flinches from a decision that is legally right because the bottom line is not the one ‘the home crowd wants.’ I hold him in highest regard and affection and will miss him greatly.” Justice Ginsburg’s tribute to Chief Justice Rehnquist speaks volumes about the extent to which a judge must be fiercely deliberate, independent, and fair in his or her decisions. Truly, we have lost a leader in that respect.