Readings for Thursday, August 13, 2026
(30th of
Av, 5785)
Rosh
Chodesh Elul
28:1-15
Bamidbar (Numbers)
This is the standard reading for each Rosh
Chodesh. Rosh Chodesh is the name of the minor holiday that marks
the start of each month. The term Rosh Chodesh is translated as New
Moon. The first day of the month is referred to as Rosh Chodesh
because the months are lunar and the first day of each month comes with the
start of the new moon. In the days of the Temple special sacrifices
were brought in honor of the new moon. With the destruction of the Temple,
the sacrificial system ended. In place of the sacrifices, Jews read
a description of the sacrificial offerings, which is described in the first
fifteen verses of chapter 28 in the book of Numbers. The Torah
reading takes place during the daily morning service. There are many
Jews who have no desire to return to the sacrificial system. They
use these readings as a way of providing a connection with the past which is
one of the keys to our future preservation. Because of the Rosh
Chodesh a shortened form of Hallel is recited. Tefillin are worn
until Mussaf or Additional Service. Because of its connection with
the moon, Rosh Chodesh is thought to have special meaning for women and should
be used as a way of honoring Jewish wives. There are those who use
this as a gift-giving event for their spouses. Alternatively, they
give Tzedakah in honor of the women (wives, sisters, daughters, etc.) in their
lives.
A variety of events are connected with the month Elul from
the mythic -- Noah dispatching the Dove from the Ark and Moses going
up Sinai for another set of Commandments -- to the historic ---the
birth of the Baal Shem Tov and the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11
Readings for Friday,
August 14, 2026
(1st of
Elul, 5786)
Rosh
Chodesh Elul
28:1-15
Bamidbar (Numbers)
Elul is the sixth month counting from Pesach. It
is the 12th and last month of the year counting from Rosh
Hashanah (Tishrei). There are no holidays or other such religious
observance during the month of Elul. This provides the Jewish people
a chance to prepare themselves for the coming Days of Awe - Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur. Sephardim recite Selichot (special penitential prayers)
during the first fifteen days the month. Ashkenazim recite Selichot
for the entire month. Shabbat Selichot refers to the Saturday night
before Rosh Hashanah when Jews gather in their houses of worship to recite
Selichot customarily at or around midnight.
Elul is one of those months that have two days of Rosh
Chodesh. The first day of the month of Elul actually falls on the
second day of Rosh Chodesh. This is of unique importance in the case
of Elul because there are certain ritual changes that begin with the first day
of Elul. Starting with the first day of Elul, the Shofar is sounded
at the end of Shacharit (Morning Service) except on Shabbat until the morning
before Rosh Hashanah. The daily sound of the Shofar is intended to
awake us from our moral slumber as we prepare to ask God to inscribe and seal
us in the Book of Life. At the same time, it gives those frustrated
Shofar blowers who never get a chance on the High Holidays to try their lips
and lungs. Also, starting with the first day of Elul, Jews begin
reciting Psalm 27 on a daily basis. The daily recitation lasts until
Shemini Atzeres (the end of Sukkoth). “The psalm voices our prayer
that God will be our light on Rosh Hashanah enabling us to repel the darkness
of sin though true repentance and the He will be our salvation on Yom Kippur
though His compassionate acceptance of our atonement for our
sins.” The Psalm says “Lord, hear my voice when I
call.” The Hebrew word for “my voice” refers to the “voice” of the
Shofar heard on Rosh Hashanah. “’When I call’ refers to Yom Kippur,
about Isaiah said, ‘call to Him when He is near.” Among some Jews, there is a
custom visit the graves of family members and sages as a sign of memory and
honor – elements that are consistent with themes of the upcoming holidays.
Readings for Saturday,
August 15, 2026
Shoftim
(Judges)
16:18-21-9
Devarim (Deuteronomy)
Shoftim is the fifth sedrah in the book of Devarim
(Deuteronomy). It takes its name from the first word in the
first sentence of the sedrah. “Judges (Shoftim) and officers shall
you appoint in all your cities…” The cascade of commandments that
began last week continues as we find an additional forty-one in this week’s
sedrah (see Themes below). For some modern readers, there is a real
challenge in terms of harmonizing much of the law presented here with some
uniquely American concepts of governance and jurisprudence. What we
think of as religious and civil laws are part of the same fabric since the goal
is to create and reinforce the practices of a Just Society, which is, by
definition, a society that follows “the Lord our God” and obeys His
laws. Once again, different commentators provide different groupings
for the commandments presented. While this sedrah is thick with
laws, some of which may seem archaic or quaint, the important thing is to step
back and see the whole picture. We live in a society where people
tell lawyer jokes, where justices leave defendants on death row even though their
lawyers literally slept through the trial and where at the same time large
corporations and their leaders escape punishment and career criminals kill
witnesses with impunity. This sedrah provides modern man with a
“Mosaic mosaic” of steps to ensure a just society. More importantly,
it reminds that justice and righteousness are synonymous. This
sedrah is living proof that the Torah has survived, in part, because it speaks
to the “human condition.”
The Just Society (16:18-17:1)
The sedrah opens with a call to appoint men of high
character as “judges and officers” so that the people will be governed in a
just manner. “Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live
and possess the land that the Lord your God is giving you (16:20). The
Hebrew word is “Tzedek” and it is translated by some as
“righteousness.” In other words a just society is a righteous
society. And as we read the next couple of versus we are reminded
that a just society would not allow for idolatry (16:21-21) or for sacrifices
that would show disrespect to the Lord (17:1).
The Leadership System
The sedrah defines four different groups of leaders, each
with a different set of rights and responsibilities. From our point
of view, it looks like a system of separation of powers governed by a basic
organic law. In this sense, it does have some elements in common
with American political theory and practices. The list would
include:
· Judicial
officers and local agents (16:16-16:20);
· Kings
(17:14-17:20);
· Priests
and Levites (18:1-9);
· Prophets
(18:9-22).
Each leader is chosen in a different manner. Each
plays a different role. Each is vital to the well-being of the
nation. In looking at the role of the Prophet and False Prophet, you
might want to compare what is in Shoftim with what we read in Re’ay last
week. The ultimate role of the prophet, the man who spoke out
against iniquity and injustice evolved over time. However, as early
as the days of King David, we see the prophet Nathan holding the monarch to
account for violating the law. The role of the king will become an
issue in the last days of the Samuel. The proper behavior of kings
will become even more of an issue under the reign of Solomon, the last ruler
over the United Kingdom. (See Themes below for more.)
Judicial System
As indicated in 16:16-20, those who are to be appointed
judicial officers must be wise, intelligent and God-fearing. They
may not take bribes or accept favors. They must pursue
justice. “They may not judge any case in which they have prior
knowledge or in which they have a connection to anyone involved.” (Table
Talk by Moshe Pinchas Weisblum). The judicial system exists
to guarantee a righteous society, the only kind of society that will ensure the
Israelites an on-going existence in the Promised Land. The sedrah
also creates an appellate court (17:8-13) that will have the final word in
settling disputes. In a series of verses dealing with idol
worshippers (17:2-7) we find rules that apply to witnesses, the conducting of
investigations and capital punishment. Further on (19:15-21) we find
more rules dealing with the role and treatment of witnesses. The
Cities of Refuge (19:1-13), a topic covered earlier in the Torah, are mentioned
once more. These passages provide further insight into the different
gradations for taking a human life and how to deal with
them. Finally, the rules for dealing with the Unsolved Murder
(21:1-9) complete the grouping on the Judicial System. No case
should be allowed to molder in the Unsolved File, as happens in our
system. Matters must be brought to closure. The ceremony
described might have been seen as a public affirmation that the search for the
guilty has been thorough, even if it has proven fruitless. Does this
mean that the guilty can escape? Not under the concept of Jewish
justice since God is the ultimate Judge and we all must face the ultimate
judgment. Note how neatly this fits with the motif of the Days of
Awe, the event on the calendar towards which we are now moving.
Rules of Warfare (20:1-20:20)
Why place rules about war in a sedrah that deals with the
structure of government and justice and that places a special emphasis on
limiting the use of the death penalty? Making war was (and is) a
major governmental function. Until the Moshiach comes, it is a
necessary, if ugly, fact of life. However, even though warfare means
death and destruction, a society based on justice will attempt to limit the
impact of combat and avoid sinking into barbarism. That is why, for
example, you offer to make peace (20:10-11) and you do not destroy the fruit
trees (20:19-20). The selection process for the army (20:1-20)
stands in sharp contrast to the forced levees used by other
societies. It also stands in contrast to the implication of the
military head counts taken in early sections of the Torah. The
reason for military victory (20:4) is echoed in the theme of the Chanukah
story. The actual methods for engaging in war and combat (20:14-19)
provide an interesting template with which to compare the actual behavior of
Jewish armies as our history unfolds.
Themes
Commandments
491. The commandment to appoint judges and officers in every
Israelite community (16:18).
492. The prohibition against planting trees in the sanctuary
(16:21).
493. The prohibition against erecting an idolatrous pillar
in the sanctuary (16:21).
494. The prohibition against offering as a sacrifice an
animal with a blemish (17:1).
495. The obligation to listen to the religious leadership
and high court on one’s time (17:8-11).
496. The prohibition against disobeying their rulings
(17:8-11).
497. The permission, though not obligation, to anoint a king
(17:14-15).
498. A King should be a born Israelite (17:15-20).
499. A king should not acquire an unduly large number of
horses (17:15-20).
500. A king should not settle Israelites in the land of
Egypt (17:15-20).
501. A king should not take a large number of wives
(17:15-20).
502. A king should not amass for himself great wealth
(17:15-20).
503. A king should write himself a Torah scroll upon his
elevation to the kingship (17:15-20).
504. The prohibition against the tribe of Levi having tribal
territory within Israel (18:1-2).
505. The prohibition against the tribe of Levi being given
any share of the booty when the land is conquered by the Israelites (18:1-2).
506. The obligation to give to the priests the shoulder, the
cheeks and the stomach of an offering (18:3-4).
507. The obligation to give to the priests an offering
called Terumah from one’s produce (18:3-4).
508. The obligation to give to the priests the first
shearing of one’s sheep (18:3-4).
509. The commandment that the priests and Levites should
serve together at the sanctuary in watches (18:6-8).
510. The prohibition against practicing divination
(18:9-11).
511. The prohibition against practicing sorcery (18:9-11).
512. The prohibition against casting spells (18:9-11).
513. The prohibition against consulting a medium (18:9-11).
514. The prohibition against consulting a wizard (18:9-11).
515. The prohibition against making inquiries of the dead
(18:9-11).
516. The commandment to heed a truthful prophet of God
(18:15).
517. The prohibition against prophesying falsely in God’s
name (18:20).
518. The prohibition against prophesying in the names of
idols (18:20).
519. The prohibition against fearing a false prophet
(18:22).
520. The commandment to specify cities of refuge for
inadvertent manslayers (19:2-3, 9).
521. The prohibition against having pity for pitiless
murderers (19:11-13).
522. The prohibition against altering a boundary between
one’s property and that of one’s neighbor’s (19:14).
523. The prohibition against convicting a criminal on the
basis of a single witness’ testimony; a minimum of two witnesses is required
(19:15).
524. The commandment to inflict on perjuring witnesses the
punishment that the victim of the perjury would have suffered (19:18-19).
525. The prohibition against the Israelites’ quailing in
fear before their enemies and fleeing, for they should know that God is in
their midst (20:1).
526. The commandment to anoint a priest to speak to, and
otherwise spiritually guide, the troops during wartime (20:2).
527. The specification of permitted exemptions from army
service (20:5-9).
528. The commandment to offer peace to a town before
attacking it (20:10).
529. The prohibition of destroying fruit-bearing trees when
besieging a city (20:19).
530. The commandment delineating the responsibility of a
city’s leaders for a murder committed in its vicinity (21:1-8).
531. The prohibition against plowing or sowing in the wadi
where the heifer was slaughtered (21:4).
Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
(with additional editing by this author.)
Judges and Officers
There is more than one Hebrew word for
judge. There is Shofet, the plural of which is Shoftim, the name for
this week’s sedrah. In Israel today, judges or anybody else who has
to render a decision, including soccer referees, are called Shoftim. Another
term for a judge is Dayan. But this term refers to a judge in a
religious court called a Bet Din and the judge would be a Rabbi. The
Torah differentiates between Judges and Officers because Judges render decisions
while Officers carry them out. Both must be of the highest moral
character, never acting unfairly, never showing partiality and never taking a
bribe.
Tzedek, Tzedek, Tear-doaf
Tzedek is variously translated as justice or as
righteousness. So the verse either reads, “Justice, justice, shall
you pursue” or “Righteousness, righteousness, shall your
pursue.” The problem here is with the English translation, not the
Hebrew. In Hebrew there is only one word, which means that justice
and righteousness are one and the same thing. After all Tzedek is
Justice and a Tzadik is a Righteous Person - in Hebrew, the same letters but
different vowels. Regardless of translation, why repeat the
term? According to some, the repetition is a reminder that in
seeking justice we must use just means. In other words, the ends do
not justify the means. In Judaism, breaking the law to obey the law
is a contradiction in terms and self-defeating. Often, we overlook
the third word in this famous maxim - “Tear-doff” or “You shall
pursue.” The Jewish concept of justice is not
passive. Bare minimums will not due. In some legal
systems, you can walk by a person in a dangerous situation and be held harmless
if you do not act to help. In Judaism, you are supposed to help
those in harm’s way. In some legal systems, you only have to answer
the questions asked. You do not have to volunteer
information. In Judaism, you are expected to voluntarily provide all
information that you have about an incident. In Judaism, a trial is
a search for the whole truth, not a game intended to hide, color or shade the
truth. In the end, God is the ultimate Judge. So anybody
who “beats” the temporal legal system will still have to face Justice in the
Heavenly Courts.
Boundary Markers
The prohibition against moving boundary stones (19:14) has
always been one of my favorites. I figured that no matter what else,
this was one commandment against which I had not transgressed. But
this is one of those cases where I have found how the Oral Law has broadened
the concept stated in the Written Law. “Hasagat G’vul” (the moving
of landmarks) has been expanded to include any business practice designed to
put a competitor out of business (See Table Talk). In
modern terms, predatory pricing practices are a violation of Jewish
law. This concept could be interpreted to deal with what we call
theft of intellectual property as well. For those who think the
Torah is some musty document, consider that it had an answer about downloading
music from the Internet long before there was electricity let alone computers
and modems. The placement of this law seems a little
puzzling. It follows a group of commandments concerning how to deal
with one who has taken a life. What is the relationship between
killing and moving boundary markers? Rabbi Blesofsky in Iowa City
provides one interesting answer. While it may be permissible to take
a life under certain circumstances, it is never permissible to take away that
person’s inheritance. From this we could expand on the importance of
remembering the departed and ensuring that nobody’s name is ever “blotted
out.” It is a stretch, but then that is what makes some of this
interesting.
What Goes Around, Comes Around
A poor widow earned her livelihood from the lease which she
held on an inn until a newcomer to the village offered the local squire a
higher fee and displaced her. The woman went to the court presided
over by Reb Shalom of Belz and charged the new leaseholder with “Hasagat G’vul,”
following a business practice designed to take away her means of earning a
leaving. Reb Shalom refused to hear the case and sent the widow away
without explanation. When a local Chassid heard of this, he could
not imagine why a man of Reb Shalom’s reputation would have behaved in such
manner. Surely, he could not have been impressed by the wealth of
the defendant in the case. As it says in Shoftim, “You
shall not judge unfairly; you shall show no partiality…” The Chassid
confronted Reb Shalom who responded as follows. Many years ago, the
grandfather of the new leaseholder of the inn held the lease on this very same
inn until the father of this widow’s late husband offered the local squire a
higher fee and displaced him. Once the old man lost the inn he was
left penniless and forced to leave the area. Years passed and nobody
remembered the old man, his family or their connection with the
inn. But as it says in Psalms, “the steps of man are ordered by
God.” In what may be seen as some act of divine providence, the
grandson of the original innkeeper prospered, made his way back to the original
village and made an offer to lease the very same inn that had belonged to his
grandfather. How would it be proper to invoke the concept of “Hasagat
G’vul,” to take from him that which had been taken from his forbearers by one
who had followed the very same practice? (Based on the teachings of
Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin. The tale begs the question of why the
widow, who had done nothing wrong should suffer. And we are reminded
over and over again that God judges us by how we treat the widow, the orphan
and the stranger in our midst. So now you have something to chew on
during Shabbat Kiddush besides Challah and Cholent.)
Witnesses
“Upon the testimony of two witnesses, or three witnesses,
shall he that is to die be put to death…” (17:6). Do you need two
witnesses or do you need three witnesses? You have to have at least
two witnesses. This command has given rise to the requirement that
all contracts including the Ketubah, must be signed in the presence of two
witnesses. But if there are three witnesses, and by inference, more
than three witnesses, the court must hear from all of them before passing
judgment. In Makkot, a tractate of the Mishnah we are told the
witnesses, regardless of their number, are to be treated as a
unit. If even one of them is found to have given false testimony,
then all of the testimony is disqualified. On the other hand, if you
had a group of witnesses and one of them proved to have provided false
testimony, you could not punish all of the witnesses in the manner proscribed
by the Torah unless they all knew that the testimony was
false. Strictures like these meant that the Jewish courts understood
the severity of the death penalty and were loath to use it as a form of punishment.
The Elul Connection
Shoftim is usually the first sedrah read during the month of
Elul. The sedrah contains the laws about the Cities of
Refuge. These were more than just places where someone who had taken
a life could seek protection and/or serve out his sentence. They
were places where a person could admit wrongdoing and begin life with a fresh
start. Elul is our city of refuge because it is the month when we
begin admitting our own wrong doings so that we can begin a fresh start on Rosh
Hashanah. For more on this topic you might want to read Torah
Studies by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.
Written Law and Oral Law
Shoftim provides many excellent examples of the interplay
between these two concepts. For example, the Torah, the Written Law,
states “…life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for
foot” (19:21). It is the Oral Law that turns this into a concept of
monetary compensation. To paraphrase Tevye, if this law were
enforced as written there would soon be a world of one-eyed guys on crutches
gumming their food. The Oral Law is not just some arid collection of
meaningless debates.
Accepting a Decision
“You shall act in accordance with the instructions given you
and the ruling handed down to you…” (17:1). It is not uncommon for
Jews to have questions about proper moral or ritual behavior. For
example, what time should Kol Nidre Services begin? Is cheese
without a “hekhsher” kosher? Should you make a blessing over food
that is not kosher? Can a non-Jewish doctor perform a
brit? Is acceptable to have non-Jews at a Seder? If my child
has married somebody whose parents are not Jewish, how do I deal with my
in-laws’ holiday rituals? Many Jews will consult a Rabbi on these
and many other such issues. Be careful whom you
select. Because in Judaism, you are not allowed to shop around until
you find a decision you like. You must accept the ruling of the
first Rabbi with whom you consult. And there are some issues that
are a lot more important than what kind of cheese you eat so you might want to
take this message to heart as you try to make the Torah come alive in your
daily life.
Kingship
This sedrah seems at odds with at least two episodes in the
second section of the TaNaCh called Neviim. First, in Chapter Eight
of First Samuel, the people demand a king and Samuel opposes their
wish. Samuel’s opposition would seem to be in contradiction to the
Torah. In fact the Torah describes the very conditions under which a
future generation would want a king, “I will set a king over myself, like all
the nations that are around me.” Second is the reign of
Solomon. If Solomon was the wise king we are told he was, he must
have known the Torah. If he knew the Torah, then he had to know that
all of those wives, all of those horses and all of that material wealth would
lead to ruin. So if he was so wise and he knew all of that, why did
he do it anyway? Is Solomon proof that no matter how wise we may
think we are, we are all capable of folly and capable of sin? One
thing we do know, Solomon violated the Laws of Kingship in the Torah and the
years of his sons “were (not) prolonged over his kingdom.”
Teachers, Students and Eternity
“He shall flee to one of these cities and live” (19:5) is a
verse from this week’s sedrah dealing with the Cities of Refuge. The
Talmud interprets this to mean “If a disciple is exiled, his teacher is sent
into exile with him, for it written ‘and live.’” The only way
for a person to truly “live” is to study Torah - hence the sage accompanies the
student. According to one Chassidic tale, teachers would even
accompany their students if at the time of their death, they were sent to a
place that was less then Paradise. Life-long learners need life-long
teachers.
Hidden Agendas
“If a matter be too hard for thee to decide… (any) matter of
controversy within thy gates…thou shalt repair to the place the Lord…has
chosen…and appear before the magistrate and present your case.” (17:8) is the
verse from this week’s sedrah that set up an appeal process for deciding cases
that were beyond the competence of the local officials. In a town
beyond the Carpathian Mountains, a Rabbi decided a question about Kashrut
with what some people thought was too much leniency. In accord with
the rule, these dissenters went to the Chief Rabbi of the district, explained
their case and asked that the local Rabbi be removed since they really did not
have confidence in his decision making. The Chief Rabbi agreed that
maybe too much leniency had been used, but he refused to remove the local
Rabbi. Spinning the text from Devarim that had been
cited, the Chief Rabbi said that maybe “the matter was too hard for thee to
decide because there are matters of controversy with thy gates.” In
other words, if you worked harder at getting along with one another there would
fewer controversies and those that would exist could be easily decided.
Another Cow
If you were troubled about the ritual of breaking a heifer’s
neck to bring closure to an unsolved murder, relax. You are not
alone. According to some commentators this heifer ritual is
classified with the Red Heifer as a ritual that will only be explained with the
coming of the Moshiach. However, Blu Greenberg, a
name familiar to some because of her writings about how to establish a
Jewish home, has developed a fascinating commentary on these
words. Not only is it rational, well written and fascinating, it
also provides a fitting conclusion for a sedrah that begins by talking about
and describing the responsibilities of community leaders by connecting this
ritual to the role of moral leadership in our communities.
“DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY by Blu Greenberg
A corpse is found in an open field, the victim of
violence. No family claims the body. The killer cannot be
found. What must be done? Says Deuteronomy
21: Distances to the surrounding cities must be measured. Elders
and judges of the nearest city are obliged to bring a calf that has never borne
a yoke to an uncultivated wadi and there kill it by breaking its
neck. The young calf, the pristine setting, and the manner of death
are stark symbols of life brutally cut off. The elders then wash
their hands and swear their innocence: "Our hands did not shed
this blood, nor did our eyes see." Implicating these respected
leaders seems outrageous. The Talmud (Tractate Sotah) asks: "Would
it cross our minds that the elders are murderers?" Yet the
charge is not murder but idly standing by. The elders must swear,
says the Talmud, that "he did not come to us and get sent away without
food and hospitality; we did not see him (go somewhere dangerous) and let him
go unescorted." The first lesson of this law is that leaders
are entrusted with setting the moral tone of a society. Thus, they
can be held responsible for a social climate in which a person can go
unnoticed, in which no one cries out "Halt!" to the murderer or
"Lookout!" to the victim. Respected elders might not sully
their hands with murder. But in any culture, they may be guilty of
caring more for property or power than people. They are guilty
unless they can swear that they tried their best to create a humane society,
one that protects the weak, the outsider. We Jews know this well
from the Holocaust. When Pastor Trocme of LeChambon set the tone, by
sermon and example, for his small French community, five thousand Huguenots
managed to save five thousand Jews, despite a continuous Nazi presence in their
town. When the Polish church excluded Jews from its concern, all but
a few extraordinary Christians turned on them. This notion applies
to every structure with a hierarchy. In some institutions, everyone
seems caring; in others, the entire bureaucracy seems designed to
frustrate. The difference lies not in the human material, but in the
ethical stance that is taken at the top and seeps down. Israel's
army is a case in point. Despite the excesses of a few, its moral
fiber is unmatched. How do so many nineteen-year-olds act with
maturity and restraint while facing barrages of stones and
curses? Why are its victories unmarred by rape? They are unmarred
because such standards matter greatly to the leadership and are communicated to
the rank and file. On the other hand, why is it that in the
traditional community so many Jewish women suffer the status of agunot, wives
whose husbands refuse to divorce them, when a reinterpretation of Jewish law
could set them free? Here, too, the tone is set at the top, by
rabbinic authorities and religious court judges who don't care enough about
women's lives to right the wrongs. The law of the calf has a second
lesson: A leader may not be a bystander. And there is no
dispensation for "disaster fatigue," or allowance for valuing one
human life less than another. Says the Torah: This
victim, a stranger without family or friends - even from him you may not
distance yourself. You cannot say "I'm not responsible" or
"I've seen too much of this," or "I don't even know him."
"Don't get involved" - that is the usual way out, for individuals and
governments. But it is unacceptable. Surely history will
convict the leaders of Europe and the United States who continue making bland
statements over the cries of the victims in Sudan. Where are the
government leaders? Have too many scenes of violence jaded the
world? Leaders, like ordinary people, must order their
priorities. Surely, they cannot do everything, all at
once. But the Torah tells a leader always to bear in
mind: You are responsible for the character of the society you lead;
and the moment you have the power to help "the other," you are
directly responsible.”
Evil
“You shall thus rid yourselves of evil.”
(17:7). We are used to hearing about the “Yetzer ra,” the evil
inclination. We pray to be moved toward the inclination to do good
and to avoid the inclination to do evil. In other words, evil is not
seen as an absolute force. But in this reading we are confronted
with the concept of “evil” as a reality that needs to be
eradicated. In a post-Holocaust world, there are those who have to
believe that evil is a tangible real thing that has to be eradicated in the
truest sense of that term.
Haftarah
51:12-52:12 Isaiah
The Man and The Book: Once again the
Haftarah comes from the Book of Isaiah. But the words are those of
“The Second Isaiah,” the Isaiah of the Exile. He is the unknown
figure of the sixth century B.C.E. who offered hope and comfort to the Babylonian
Exiles at the time of the coming of Cyrus the Great. His teachings
comprise the last twenty-six chapters of the Book of Isaiah.
The Message: Hearkening back to the
haftarah from Shabbat Nachamu, the prophet once again speaks literally of
“comfort.” He opens with God announcing that He is “menachem-chem,”
the one who “comforts you.” Since the Comforter of Israel is
the Creator of the Universe, Israel need not fear those who attack
her. The prophet then reminds the people that they were exiled
because God punished them for their sins. But now they have drained
dry the dregs from the cup of Divine wrath. Those who tormented
Israel will suffer while the Israelites will be redeemed. In a shift
of tone, the prophet provides a vision
of Jerusalem and Zion and the return of the
Exiles. The heathens who have occupied the city have no legitimate
claim to it and will surrender it as an expression of Divine
might. The Israelites will return to a land which will literally
break forth in joy and song because the Lord has “comforted His people and
redeemed Jerusalem.” When the day of redemption comes, Isaiah tells
the people that they must “depart” from Babylonia. They will
not leave in haste as their forefathers did from Egypt. There
will be time to collect and purify the Temple vessels that were
captured by the Babylonians. Unlike their ancestors who needed a
Pillar of Flame and a Cloud, those returning from this exile will have faith
that God is both leading them and protecting them from those who might chase
after them.
Theme-Link: The link is not with the
sedrah, but with the calendar. This is the fourth of the Seven
Haftarot of Consolation. The themes of accountability and redemption
are of increasing significance as we are reading this during Elul, the month in
which we prepare ourselves for the judgmental days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur. Additionally this haftarah has influenced at least three
aspects of Jewish life. First, as Plaut points out in his
commentary, the Hebrew term “menacheme-chem” used in the opening sentence of
the haftarah is the origin of the popular Hebrew name Menachem and its Yiddish
variant, Mendel. So a person named Menachem Mendel would be one who
brings a double portion of comfort to his people. Secondly, the
words from the first two verses of chapter 52 are found in Lechah Dodi (Come My
Beloved), the sixteenth century hymn sung on Friday nights to welcome the
Sabbath Queen. The Fourth verse begins “Shake the dust off yourself,
arise (52:2) dress up in your garments of glory (52:1).” Thirdly
there is the reference to the Holy City and the simultaneous
mention
of Zion and Jerusalem (52:1). Zion was one
of the biblical names for what is also called Jerusalem. It
actually was a mountain in what became part of the City of
David. For some, Zion became a reference to the spiritual
aspect of the Holy City, while Jerusalem referred to its
political and royal aspect. This duality is found over and over
again in Jewish liturgy and writings. In modern times the author of
Hatikvah captured it with the words “…to be a people free in our land,
the land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Personal Note: Each year when we read
Shoftim, I remember Shelly Luber, of blessed memory. He died in a
tragic automobile accident three years after his Bar Mitzvah. I not
only remember Shelly, who was a challenging student, I also remember his father
Harvey, of blessed memory, my friend who tried to teach me to take life as it
comes and enjoy what it had to offer. As important as the lessons of
the reading are, the memories of their lives stands as an even bigger lesson.
Copyright, August, 2025, Mitchell A. Levin
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