Shoftim – Page 13 – Peninim on the Torah

Who is the man who has built a new house and has not inaugurated it? Let him go and return to his house…and who is the man who has planted a vineyard and not redeemed it? …And who is the man who has betrothed a woman and not married her?…Who is the man who is fearful and faithearted, let him go and return to his house. (20:5,6, 7,8)

The Torah presents an unusual scene. The Kohen addresses the prospective soldiers as they prepare to go to battle. Those that are unsuitable for battle should leave the field, for fear that their own anxiety or lack of enthusiasm might erode the morale of their comrades. The Torah addresses four types of situations in which the individual ought to return home. First, the individual who recently built a house and has not yet had the opportunity to live in it. His fear is that someone else will move in to his home; second, is the individual who did not…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5757

Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land. (16:20)

Emes, truth, is one of the most essential human character traits. Indeed, the Torah tells us to pursue truth. Hashem’s seal is emes. An individual who desires to be close and cling to Hashem must cleave to the attribute of truth. One who merits to be the paragon of integrity, to have emes permeate his entire essence, is already close to Hashem. Interestingly, we do not find a fence placed around any other middah, character trait, to the extent that we see occurring with sheker, falsehood. The Torah admonishes us, “Midvar sheker tirchak” – “Distance yourself from falsehood.” (Shemos 23,7) …

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5757

You shall be wholeheartedly simple with Hashem, your G-d. (18:13)

Fundraising can be a disheartening endeavor, regardless of the organization or individual for which one is working. The esteem which we accord the fundraiser is commensurate with the individual’s own level of self respect. One can view his undertaking as an opportunity to enable another Jew to share in the spiritual reward reserved for those who demonstrate strength of character – to overcome that “little voice” that finds every excuse to urge them not to give tzedakah. If he succeeds in adopting this perspective, he will approach his mission in a positive light. There is a story told about the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5757

Our hands did not shed this blood and our eyes did not see. ( 21:7)

Obviously, we would never imagine the elders of the city being guilty of shedding innocent blood. Rashi explains that this means that they did not see him, permitting him to leave without food and accompaniment. The elders are not referring only to themselves. They speak as representatives of the entire community when they say: We did not ignore this Jew. Horav Avraham Yoffen, zl, notes the gravity of this statement. They are saying that every member- bar none – of this community, from the most distinguished and noble to the most common citizen, fulfilled his obligation to care and give…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5756

“Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue.” (16:20)

The only virtue which the Torah demands that we pursue is righteousness – the equivalent of emes, truth. On the other hand, sheker, falsehood, is the only negative quality from which the Torah admonishes us to distance ourselves. The Torah in Shemos 23:7 says, ejr, rea rcsn, “From a false word you shall distance yourselves.” The Chidushei Ha’Rim infers a profound lesson regarding the compelling importance in our lives of turning away from falsehood and turning toward truth. The signature of Hashem is emes. Thus, every Jew should strive to be like G-d – by shirking away from any endeavor…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5756

“You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d.” (18:15)

Rashi interprets the pasuk as an admonishment against going to the pagans to discover the future. One should follow Hashem with simplicity, accepting His decree without question. The Piazesner Rebbe, zl, offers two approaches towards understanding this pasuk. Every individual accepts upon himself the resolution to do the right thing and live the proper way – in the future. “Tomorrow we will be good” is a popular aphorism among those who choose to defer their responsibility for the moment or simply to gloss over their current errors. The yetzer hora, evil inclination, attempts to persuade us to disregard the present,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5756

“He (the unintentional murderer) shall flee to one of these cities (of refuge) and live.” (19:5)

The importance of hju, “he shall live,” is underscored by the Rambam in Hilchos Rotze’ach 7:1 where he states, “A student who is exiled to the cities of refuge, his Torah teacher is exiled with him, as it says in the Torah, “He shall live; make it for him that he shall live.” For those who are wise and who seek wisdom (of Torah), the inability to learn Torah properly (without their rebbe) would be like death. This same halachah is applicable in the event a Torah teacher is exiled; his students are exiled with him. Conversely, when addressing the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5756

“Our hands have not spilled this blood.” (21:7)

Chazal question how anyone could imagine that the elders of Klal Yisrael could be murderers. When they say, “Our hands have not spilled this blood,” they disclaim responsibility for not addressing the needs of the victim as he was leaving town. The Torah demands that leadership respond to the needs of every Jew. How far does this responsibility extend? At what point are the elders not held culpable for their lack of “sensitivity”? The Yerushalmi in the Talmud Sotah makes an interpretation of this pasuk which carries with it remarkable ramifications. They posit that “this blood” is a reference to…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5755

“You shall not plant for yourselves an idolatrous tree, any tree near the altar of Hashem your G-d.” (16:21)

The idolators were accustomed to plant beautiful trees called “asheiros” at the entrance of their temples. To separate us from this idolatrous custom, the Torah prohibits the planting of any tree in the Bais Ha’Mikdash or, as Chazal have added, even on the entire Har Ha’Bayis. In the Talmud, Sanhedrin 7b, Chazal explain the juxtaposition of the prohibition of planting an asheirah to the injunction to appoint judges. They say it teaches us that one who appoints an unqualified judge is regarded as if he had planted an asheirah. The commentators offer a number of reasons for equating appointing an…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5755

“If a matter of judgment is hidden from you, between blood and blood, between verdict and verdict, between plague and plague, matters of dispute in your cities.” (17:8)

There are a number of homiletic interpretations for this pasuk. The Pardes Yosef offers an explanation which places emphasis on the need for character refinement. He interprets the pasuk to mean, “If judgment is hidden from you,” if you have difficulty in reaching a conclusion in a halachic dispute, if the halacha seems hidden from you; it is because you do not properly distinguish between “blood and blood.” You are more concerned regarding questions involving your blood and do not seem to be sensitive to the blood of others. This is the antithesis of Chazal’s dictum in the Talmud, Sanhedrin…

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Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land. (16:20)

You shall be wholeheartedly simple with Hashem, your G-d. (18:13)

Our hands did not shed this blood and our eyes did not see. ( 21:7)

“Righteousness, righteousness shall you pursue.” (16:20)

“You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your G-d.” (18:15)

“He (the unintentional murderer) shall flee to one of these cities (of refuge) and live.” (19:5)

“Our hands have not spilled this blood.” (21:7)

“You shall not plant for yourselves an idolatrous tree, any tree near the altar of Hashem your G-d.” (16:21)

“If a matter of judgment is hidden from you, between blood and blood, between verdict and verdict, between plague and plague, matters of dispute in your cities.” (17:8)

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