#parshat shoftim

[eretzyisrael]

“You shall not have pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” - Parshat Shoftim

Jewish Press Cartoons- Asher Schwartz

[anonymousdandelion]

צדק צדק תרדף

justice, justice

it is somewhere ahead

just out of sight

around the bend in the arc of the universe

close enough to dream of

but too far to see

let alone to touch

or to hold

we have been chasing this

(this dream;

this hope;

this future)

for lifetimes

yet still

it escapes us

~

I am not, by nature, a hunter

my vision is poor

my heart is weak

and my legs tire easily

yet the quarry is out there

somewhere just ahead

I shall not give up

the pursuit

[girlactionfigure]

Guard Your Gates! - Parshat Shoftim

Rabbi Benny's weekly Torah thought... keeping it short, meaningful and contemporary.

[torahtot]

parshat shoftim miracle please

[gatewaysorg]

Harry’s Video Blog – I’ll Walk You Out – Parshat Shoftim 5784 from Gateways Organization Inc. on Vimeo.

[bookoformon]

3 Nephi Chapter 28, Part 3. "Caught Up: Transfiguration Explained."

The following section explains the experience of transfiguration for persons who eligible. Persons who commit war crimes or crimes against humanity are not eligible to Transfigure or see God.

Persons who do not study religion and attempt to make the world a violence free place with food, water, shelter, education, employment, freedom, human rights and opportunities for Shabbat will not see God or Transfigure.

The text says thrice the process became evident after the Three Unknown Disciples went into a furnace and twice into a den of lions. Also, "They did not know if they were in or out of the body."

They could also see and hear unspeakable things and discern and "behold and utter immortal things of God." The result gives birth to a prophet, the real thing, not like one of the chubbies.

13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.

14 And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard;

15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God.

16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven.

17 And now, whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of their transfiguration, I know not;

18 But this much I know, according to the record which hath been given—they did go forth upon the face of the land, and did minister unto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in their preaching; baptizing them, and as many as were baptized did receive the Holy Ghost.

19 And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the church. And the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain.

20 And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the earth with the word of God, insomuch that by his power they were delivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to hold them.

21 And thrice they were cast into a furnace and received no harm.

22 And twice were they cast into a den of wild beasts; and behold they did play with the beasts as a child with a suckling lamb, and received no harm.

The only way to find what is hidden and become a prophet is to dig. For archaeology, this requires a trowel and a sifter, for religion this requires the Values in Gematria.

v. 13: The Heavens were opened. The Value in Gematria is 7202, ז‎ב‎אֶ��ֶסב, zeb ephesus, "the golden era."

v. 14: Forbidden they should utter. The Value in Gematria is 11229, יאבב‎‎‎ט‎, yabbett, "you sobbed."

Sobbing is the expression of emotions we receive that cannot otherwise be expressed in words. The spiritual practice used to express the tears of what is received by God is called Kabbalah. I include Kabbalah in every frame.

v. 15: In the body or out of the body. The Value in Gematria is 11029, יא‎אֶפֶסבט, Jaephesbet, "the security guard."

"We should be very careful about what we allow our eyes to read and absorb. Parshat Shoftim begins with the words, “You shall install judges and officers at all your gates.” In the literal sense, this is a mitzvah that every city and town should have a justice system to enforce law and order.

But the words “at all your gates” can also be taken more personally. Your body is the city, and your eyes are one of the gates through which you experience and engage with the world. The verse is then telling us that you must place a judge and a guard at the door to verify that this is something that should be allowed in. You must constantly ask yourself: is it healthy for me to watch this? Will it harm me to read this? And if necessary, your inner guard must put his hand up and say, “Do not enter!”

The eyes are not the only entrance to the body. We must ask ourselves the same question about what we allow through our ears and into our mouths. Everything that enters our body must be kosher and beneficial to our growth."

v. 16: It came to pass they should minister. The Value in Gematria is 10721, י‎ז‎בא‎‎, yazba, "to go in search of what is hidden."

v. 17: Whether mortal or Immortal. the Value in Gematria is 7329, זג‎‎בט‎, zagbat, "on the mountain."

v. 18: According to the Recrod. The Value in Gematria is 10603, י‎אֶפֶסו‎אֶפֶסג‎, yipsepsag, "will be missed."

The next step towards transfiguration is Atonement, the foreswearing of a battery of the causes of sin:

"The Hebrew word most commonly translated as “sin”—cheit—literally means “missing the mark.” Committing a sin, therefore, is like an arrow missing the target; it’s missing the mark.

The ways in which individuals can miss the mark during the course of a year are many, and in the Yom Kippur service we stand all together and recite them aloud.

The list we recite—and we do it multiple times—runs through the alphabet with each letter corresponding to a different sin. This doesn’t mean we have committed only 24 sins—the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet—but that we have committed the whole range of sins, from A to Z—the full gamut of possible human failings. Every mark that could have been missed, someone among us surely has missed, and sometime in our lives, we have missed it.

So, we stand together and say aloud, “We have been arrogant, bigoted, and cynical; we’re guilty of deceit and egotism, flattery and greed, injustice and jealousy.”

And every seven or eight sins or so, we stop and ask God’s forgiveness (presumably we’ve already asked forgiveness from the people we’ve actually hurt).

We say, “For all these sins, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.” And then we continue with the list. “We’ve kept grudges, were lustful, malicious, or narrow-minded.” It goes on. “For all these sins, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.”

v. 19: The prisons could not hold them. The Value in Gematria is 8901, ח‎טאֶפֶסא‎, Hatapesa, "the perception."

v. 20: They were cast down into the earth. The Value in Gematria is 13991, א‎יגטט‎, eigtett, "A wine press together."

v. 21: And thrice they were cast into a furnace. The Value in Gematria is 3547, גה‎ד‎ז, GDZ, "gimel, dalet, zayin" "the camel that moves through the Door to the Source."

Camels are persons who store the knowledge of the scriptures they obtain in life and travel between oases, drinking and storing more and more wisdom. "Camels" line up in chains, and their wisdom can be transmitted from one person to the next, causing the enlightenment of entire societies. The world is always as illuminated as much as its wisest person. So long as even one person finds God on the Summit of the mount, the rest then have the potential to do the same.

This has to be seen in real time, not just read about in a book.

v. 22: And twice cast into a den of beasts. The Value in Gematria is 9499, טדטט, tedtt, "you got religious."

This means we shall do as the Torah says and slaughter the beasts, men who are uncivilized, who do not treat others like they are holy and open the doorway to all educated persons through the observance of Shabbat.

Without a gathering of men who want to be holy and are willing to put the work intio perceiving the world such as God made it, free of sin, one shall have no hope of salvation at the end of life, or the fulfilling knowledge of God during it.

[breslovwomansays]

WATCH VIDEO: Parshat Shoftim ( and more ) The Radiant Torah with Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

WATCH VIDEO: Parshat Shoftim ( and more ) The Radiant Torah with Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

In this video, Chaya Rivka discusses Parshat Shoftim Justice, Justice Shall you Pursue (Rebbe Nachman and your Inner Policewoman) The Laws of Jewish Kings (Carrying the Torah with you & Don’t Buy too many Horses) Omens and Signs (Fire your Astrologer) And more… In The Radiant Torah, Chaya Rivka Zwolinski and BreslovWoman.org invite you to explore the weekly Torah portion, illuminated by the…

[torahgalus]

Shoftim

be perfect with the lord your G-d be perfect with G-d be perfect, G-d  & I swear I will prophesy only bad things so you can avert them so you  can see us imperfect and striving for  perfection so you can see that our faith is fragile and immense so that you can be perfect even when we are not.

[sophieakatz]

Thursday Thoughts: Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof

[I may tweak it a bit before tomorrow, but here is my d’var Torah for this week!]

This week, we read Parshat Shoftim, and there’s a phrase in this parsha that I would argue is an iconic part of Jewish culture. I’ve seen this line on t-shirts, in calligraphy art on social media, and written on signs at protests. It’s a three-word phrase that you’ll find in Deutoronomy 16:20: TZEDEK, TZEDEK TIRDOF. “Justice, justice shall you pursue.”

It’s just three little words – and two of them are the same word – but there’s been a lot of conversation and debate about these three words over the centuries. If you want to go down a really interesting philosophical rabbit hole, I recommend doing some research into what various rabbis through history have said about why the word “tzedek,” justice, is said twice here.

But today, I want to focus on that third word: “tirdof.” Pursue. Moses tells the Children of Israel to pursue justice, and I find this word choice very interesting. Moses doesn’t say, “Be just.” He doesn’t say to “maintain a just society” or to “achieve justice.” He says to pursue justice.

But think about what it means to pursue something. We pursue what we don’t have. Law enforcement pursues a criminal because the criminal has not yet been caught. A lover pursues the target of their affection because they are not currently in a relationship. We pursue happiness because we aren’t currently happy with our circumstances. If we had the thing, then we wouldn’t need to pursue it. “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof” focuses on the ACTION of pursuing justice, not the presumed end goal of having a society where you know without a doubt that things are just.

And thinking about this reminded me of a question I hear a lot in conversations about social justice issues. The question is, “When will it be enough?” When I talk with people about the need to have more movies starring people of different races and religions, I hear the question, “But how many diverse actors do we need to cast before we know we have enough representation?” Or when the conversation is about the need to use more accurate and inclusive language for people of different genders and sexualities, I hear the question, “But when will we know we’re saying the right thing that will include absolutely everyone?” These are just a few examples, but whether you’re talking about language, or hiring practices, or benefit programs and charity, someone always asks, “when will it be enough?” When will we have done enough? When will we finally get to stop thinking about this whole “making a better, safer, fairer and more just world” and just relax and enjoy life?

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, of blessed memory, once said that she was often asked how many of the court’s nine judges should be women. At what point would there be enough women on the bench? In response, Justice Ginsburg would always say, “When there are nine.” Now the person who asked her this question would be shocked by this answer. How could it be fair for all nine Supreme Court Justices to be women? To this, Justice Ginsburg replied, “When there were nine men, nobody raised a question about it.”

Justice Ginsburg’s answer points out the logical fallacy of the question. There is no “enough.” There is no completely ideal lineup of Supreme Court Justices who will definitely, completely, truly represent the best interests of all Americans. BUT – even though this perfect court is an impossibility – we SHOULD continually strive to make the Court MORE representative and MORE able to better serve all Americans, no matter what our heritage is, and provide justice for all.

Now, there are people in the United States who believe that we have already achieved a society with justice for all. But there are many other people who know from personal experience or from the experiences of their friends and family that this is not yet true. I think it’s a dangerous thing to believe that we already have justice, because if we believe we have it, then we won’t pursue it.

If we look at justice as something that we must pursue, then we open our eyes to the possibility we don’t have it. We open our eyes to discover the ways we are missing the mark. The creation of a just world is continual. I like to think about my two-year-old niece. I am driven to do my part to make sure that she grows up in a world which is good, kind, and fair. But I’m also looking forward to the day she comes to me and says, “Hey, Aunt Sophie, that thing you just said that you think is an okay thing to say? It’s actually harmful, and here’s why.” She will see the ways that I miss the mark, that I have fallen short of creating a community that is good, kind, and fair to everyone. And I am genuinely excited to find out what I could do better!

We are just a few weeks away from Yom Kippur, and we are a full week into the month of Elul, this time where we take account of ourselves and our behavior and figure out what we need to make teshuvah for. And Elul comes every year. We’re never done with it. As Jews, we are continually pursuing our best selves, our most tzedek behavior, our truly just society. We will never reach the point where we don’t have to pursue it anymore. And that might be a good thing. I think that’s why Moses uses the word “tirdof” – so we can’t assume that we’ve achieved tzedek, because the point is to pursue it.

[18electrons]

posting this late BUT parshat shoftim / EE&E crossover meme

is this anything

[eretzyisrael]

"Animal Welfare". 

 Parshat Ki Teitse 

PARSHAT KI TEITSE

Animals are part of God’s creation. They have their own integrity in the scheme of things. We now know that they are far closer to human beings than philosophers like Descartes thought. This would not have been news to the heroes of the Bible. Abraham, Moses and David were all shepherds who lived their formative years watching over and caring for animals. That was their first tutorial in leadership, and they knew that this was one way of understanding God. Judaism also reminds us of what we sometimes forget: that the moral life is too complex to summarise in a single concept like “rights.” 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 gives us the mandate to “subdue” and “rule” creation, including animals, but Genesis 2 gives us the responsibility to “serve” and “guard.” Animals may not have rights but they have feelings, and we must respect them if we are to honour our role as God’s partners in creation.

Read More: Here

Rabbi Sacks

[girlactionfigure]

Guard Your Gates! - Parshat Shoftim

Rabbi Benny's weekly Torah thought... keeping it short, meaningful and contemporary.

[paradife-loft]

parshat shoftim discussion at study group this morning, which I finally attended again for the first time in a while bc this summer has been... Bad as far as brain shit and convincing myself to get up in the morning for anything other than going to work has gone

but thing is tbh it was half easier convincing myself to go for today specifically, even aside from mental health stuff getting a little better, bc I’m just like.... OwO rules about judgement and courts and setting up proper legal procedures, commentary about justice in society, oh boy I’m excited this is my Jam :3333

....I’m a nerd.

on a sort of related note, it’s interesting that one of the obstacles I’m coming up against that I hadn’t really anticipated at all is just.... this half of a gut feeling that trying to make an effort to see the most favourable or forgiving or charitable explanation for someone’s perspective or actions (as opposed to being (quickly) judgemental), is just naive and kind of a stupid thing to do, that it’s likely to make (my) perception of situations worse rather than better? and/or for that matter that additionally, other people might see it that way and think less of me.

I dunno. it’s weird and not something I’d really expected. certainly I don’t consider myself naive; and in the general case I think extending the benefit of the doubt, etc., is very much ethically valuable to practise. I suppose perhaps because of how much of the world doesn’t operate that way, being consistently surrounded by others casually assessing others negatively (especially when talking about situations I have no firsthand experience with) tends to wear on my feelings of certainty about how much I can trust my own perceptions of people. .....fun times in social cognition difficulties? :/ humans are hard.

[gatewaysorg]

Harry’s Video Blog – Feel Their Pain – Parshat Shoftim 5783 from Gateways Organization on Vimeo.

Give early. And often.

[americanmysticom]

WHY USE MAGICIANS AND SOOTHSAYERS?

YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER, YOU HAVE G-DS PROPHETS, AND THE MEANS TO COMMUNICATE DIRECT WITH HASHEM

Daily Study Chumash with Rashi Parshat Shoftim Thursday, 4 Elul 5781 / August 12, 2021

https://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/torahreading.asp?tdate=8/12/2021&auto=audio#auto=audio&author=13568&index=1

download audio; https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/filedownload_cdo/aid/968526

-

Charity and Return have no limit, unlike all other things within this world. Return is an awakening of the Heart, linked to Heavenly Energy now Activated, bringing down tremendous energies. This is not a simple illumination, this must be done within the world of action! Promises and Declarations are worthless without action.

Daily Tanya Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 10 

https://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/tanya.asp?tdate=8/12/2021#auto=audio&author=13568&index=1

download audio; https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/filedownload_cdo/aid/970872

Now the essence of penitence is in the heart,

וְהִנֵּה, עִיקַּר הַתְּשׁוּבָה הוּא בַּלֵּב,

for through regret from the depth of the heart, one arouses the [corresponding] depth (i.e., the ultimate degree) of this supreme light.

כִּי עַל־יְדֵי הַחֲרָטָה מֵעוּמְקָא דְלִבָּא מְעוֹרֵר עוֹמֶק אוֹר הָעֶלְיוֹן הַזֶּה.

I.e., a man’s earnest penitence calls forth the above-described superior spiritual light which rectifies whatever he had been lacking in his fulfillment of the Torah and its mitzvot.

But in order to call forth [this light] so that it will radiate in the higher and lower worlds,

אַךְ כְּדֵי לְהַמְשִׁיכוֹ לְהָאִיר בָּעוֹלָמוֹת עֶלְיוֹנִי�� וְתַחְתּוֹנִים

there must be an actual arousal from below in the form of action,

צָרִיךְ "אִתְעָרוּתָא דִלְתַתָּא" מַמָּשׁ בִּבְחִינַת מַעֲשֶׂה,

viz., the practice of charity and kindness without limit and measure.

דְּהַיְינוּ, מַעֲשֵׂה הַצְּדָקָה וָחֶסֶד בְּלִי גְבוּל וּמִדָּה,

For just as a man dispenses rav chesed, an infinite abundance of kindness—

דִּכְמוֹ שֶׁהָאָדָם מַשְׁפִּיעַ רַב חֶסֶד,

[the first two letters of חֶסֶד] meaning “he pities” [and the last letter when spelled out meaning, in Aramaic,] “he who has not,”

פֵּירוּשׁ חָ"ס דְּלֵי"ת,

implying [that he dispenses his kindness] to the utterly destitute individual who does not have (deleit lei) anything of his own,

דְּהַיְינוּ לְדַל וְאֶבְיוֹן "דְּלֵית לֵיהּ מִגַּרְמֵיהּ כְּלוּם",

without setting a limit or measure to his giving and diffusion—

וְאֵינוֹ נוֹתֵן גְּבוּל וּמִדָּה לִנְתִינָתוֹ וְהַשְׁפָּעָתוֹ,

so, too, the Holy One, blessed be He, diffuses His light and benign influence in the spirit of the superior chesed, known as rav chesed,

כָּךְ הַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מַשְׁפִּיעַ אוֹרוֹ וְטוּבוֹ בִּבְחִינַת חֶסֶד עִילָּאָה, הַנִּקְרָא "רַב חֶסֶד",

that radiates infinitely, without limit or measure, within the upper and lower worlds,

הַמֵּאִיר בִּבְחִינַת אֵין־סוֹף בְּלִי גְבוּל וּמִדָּה תּוֹךְ הָעוֹלָמוֹת עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים,

for in relation to Him, blessed be He, all are in a state of deleit (“having nothing”),

שֶׁכּוּלָּם הֵם בִּבְחִינַת דְּלֵי"ת אֶצְלוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ,

inasmuch as they have nothing at all of their own,

דְּלֵית לְהוֹן מִגַּרְמֵיהוֹן כְּלוּם,

and all before Him are considered as nothing.

וְ"כוֹלָּא קַמֵּיהּ כְּלָא חֲשִׁיבֵי",

Since all of creation is of no account in the eyes of G-d, anything received from His hand is not deserved but a gratuitous gift, as, indeed, is the very fact that mortal endeavors are able to draw down Divine light.

At any rate, boundless tzedakah and kindness draw down the degree of Divine radiance that transcends all worlds.

All the blemishes that a man caused above, in the upper and the lower worlds, through his sins, are thereby rectified.

וְעַל־יְדֵי זֶה נִתְקְנוּ כָּל הַפְּגָמִים שֶׁפָּגַם הָאָדָם בַּעֲוֹנוֹתָיו לְמַעְלָה בָּעוֹלָמוֹת עֶלְיוֹנִים וְתַחְתּוֹנִים.

Thus, the measured performance of tzedakah and chesed draws down chesed olam, which is a worldlike (hence, a finite) degree of Divine benevolence, while the boundless performance of tzedakah and chesed draws down rav chesed, an infinite degree of Divine benevolence.

This is the meaning of the verse, “G-d prefers tzedakah and justice36 over offerings,”37

וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב: "עֲשֹׂה צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט נִבְחָר לַה' מִזָּבַח",

because the sacrifices are defined in terms of quantity, dimension, and limitation,

לְפִי שֶׁהַקָּרְבָּנוֹת הֵן בִּבְחִינַת שִׁיעוּר וּמִדָּה וּגְבוּל,

while charity can be dispensed without limit, for the purpose of rectifying one’s sins.

מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בִּצְדָקָה שֶׁיּוּכַל לְפַזֵּר בְּלִי גְבוּל לְתַקֵּן עֲוֹנוֹתָיו.

Although (like the sacrifices) tzedakah also effects atonement, it may be offered (unlike the sacrifices) without limit. It is therefore able to draw down Divine illumination that is correspondingly infinite and thereby secure a superior order of atonement.

As for the ruling that “He who is unstinting [in his charitable giving] should not expend more than one-fifth [of his earnings],”38

וּמַה שֶּׁאָמְרוּ: "הַמְבַזְבֵּז אַל יְבַזְבֵּז יוֹתֵר מֵחוֹמֶשׁ",

this applies only to one who has not sinned,

הַיְינוּ דַוְקָא בְּמִי שֶׁלֹּא חָטָא,

or who has rectified his sins by means of self-mortification and fasts,

אוֹ שֶׁתִּקֵּן חֲטָאָיו בְּסִיגּוּפִים וְתַעֲנִיּוֹת

as indeed, all the blemishes Above should be rectified.

כָּרָאוּי, לְתַקֵּן כָּל הַפְּגָמִים לְמַעְלָה.

Since such an individual need not give tzedakah to rectify his sins, he should not give more than a fifth.

But as to one who still needs to remedy his soul,

אֲבָל מִי שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לְתַקֵּן נַפְשׁוֹ עֲדַיִין,

the healing of the soul is obviously no less a priority than the healing of the body,

פְּשִׁיטָא דְּלָא גָרְעָה רְפוּאַת הַנֶּפֶשׁ מֵרְפוּאַת הַגּוּף,

where money does not count.

שֶׁאֵין כֶּסֶף נֶחְשָׁב –

As Scripture states, “Whatever a man has, he will give on behalf of his soul.”39

"וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לָאִישׁ יִתֵּן בְּעַד נַפְשׁוֹ" כְּתִיב.

The simple meaning of the verse is that a person will forego all his wealth in order to save his life. However, since the word “soul” is used rather than “life,” we may also understand this to mean that a person will give everything he has in order to save and rectify his soul.