…human king ruling over Israel is complicated, and the prophet Samuel strongly protested when the people first asked for a king to be appointed. As Rabbi Sacks writes, “The ideal society, as the Torah conceives it, is one in which no one rules or exercises power over anyone else, other than God Himself” (On the Limits of Power, Shoftim, Covenant…
…answer There are six times in the Tanach when spies were sent out: Moshe sent spies to scout out Yazer (Bamidbar 21:32). Yehoshua sent spies before entering Eretz Canaan (Yehoshua 2:1). Yehoshua sent spies to Ai (Yehoshua 7:2) Bnai Dan sent spies to scout out their nachalah – their portion in the land (Shoftim 18:2). David sent spies to verify…
In the course of setting out the laws of war, the Torah adds a seemingly minor detail that became the basis of a much wider field of human responsibility, and is of major consequence today. The passage concerns a military campaign that involves laying siege to a city: “When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Having already explained with many of the aspects of worship in the Promised Land, Moses now turns to the laws of society. He begins with the roles of courts, judges, and officers that should be established every city. There is to be a Supreme Court to deal with difficult cases. There are to be three…
…not go with me, I cannot go” (Shoftim 4:8). The relationship between Barak and Deborah was not as close as the one between Moshe and Miriam, yet Barak acknowledged his dependence on a wise and courageous woman. Can Moshe have felt less? Bereavement leaves us deeply vulnerable. In the midst of loss we can find it hard to control our…
Following the passing of Diana, Princess of Wales, in August 1997, Rabbi Sacks wrote a tribute to the late princess. The funeral coincided with parshat Shoftim and one of the Seven Weeks of Consolation which follow the Fast of Tisha B’Av. Today in our haftarah we read the majestic words of Isaiah, Anochi Anochi Hu Menachemchem, “I, even I, am…
…Alongside rights, there are duties, and there can be duties without corresponding rights. Animals do not have rights, but we have duties towards them. As several laws in Parshat Ki Teitse and elsewhere make clear, we must not cause them unnecessary pain or emotional distress. As we saw last week in the case of environmental legislation in Shoftim, Genesis 1…
…discussion on Shoftim, Bereishit 1 gives us the mandate to “subdue” and “rule” creation, including animals, but Bereishit 2 gives us the responsibility to “serve” and “guard.” Animals may not have rights but they do have feelings, and we must respect them if we are to honour our role as God’s partners in creation. From the Thought of Rabbi Sacks…
…the book of Shoftim we read of a man named Micah who established an idolatrous cult in the territory of Ephraim and hired a Levite to officiate in the shrine. At the end of the story are we told the name of the idolatrous priest: Yonatan, son of Gershom, grandson of Moshe. Some of the greatest figures in Jewish history…
…family of the victim would get their revenge by killing those responsible), these places of protection were very necessary. As Shoftim puts it: “And he shall flee to one of these cities and live” (Devarim 19:5). This apparently simple concept was given a remarkable interpretation by the Talmud: The Sages taught that if a student was exiled, his teacher was…