Shoftim – Page 5 – Peninim on the Torah

“And the officers shall speak unto the people saying what man (is there) that has built a new house and has not dedicated it yet… and what man (is there) that has planted a vineyard and has not used the fruit thereof… and what man (is there) who has betrothed a lady and has not taken her…. what man (is there) that is fearful and fainthearted let him go and return to his house.” (20:5,6,7,8)

In these pasukim, the Torah describes Klal Yisrael’s procedure for entering into a milchemes reshus, voluntary war, a war for which the king needed the authorization of the Sanhedrin. We note here an interesting set of laws that were implemented as the men prepared to go into battle. The Kohen Mashuach Milchamah, specially anointed for war, would address the assemblage of would-be soldiers and exhort them regarding the cruelties and dangers they could expect to face. Three groups of people were encouraged to leave, lest their concern regarding affairs unfinished at home pre-disposed them to be excluded from active participation…

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ולא תקים לך מצבה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5773

And you shall not erect for yourselves a pillar. (16:22)

The Torah addresses various forms of idolatrous worship which were common practice among the pagans. Horav Levi Yitzchak Berditchev, zl, interprets the pasuk homiletically, adding a practical twist. Chazal teach that This World, Olam Hazeh, is compared to a vestibule before Olam Habba, the World to Come. Everything which we do in this world is but a preparation for the World to Come. We eat and drink, so that we are nourished and healthy enough to perform the mitzvos which will be our access to Olam Habba. Our entire lives revolve around Olam Habba, with life on this world nothing…

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כי ימצא בקרבך... אשר יעשה את הרע... וילך ויעבד אלהים אחרים...והוגד לך ושמעת ודרשת היטב והנה אמת הדבר נעשתה התועבה הזאת בישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5773

If this will be found among you… who commits evil… and he will go and serve gods of others… and it will be told to you and you will hear; then you will investigate well, and behold! It is true, the testimony is correct – this abomination was done in Yisrael. (17:2,4)

The Torah seems to employ a lengthy vernacular in order to describe this idol worshipper. The words, ki yimatzei, “If there will be found,” is an unusual phrase to describe the discovery of one who worships idols. It could simply have said, “If there will be among you.” “Finding” focuses on the detection of something unknown, whereas this case is one in which witnesses attest to a man’s guilt. It is a fait accompli – a done deal; it happened; now we must punish the sinner. Why does the Torah emphasize the next step in the process of establishing guilt:…

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על פי התורה אשר יורוך... תעשה לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5773

According to the teaching that they will teach you… shall you do; you shall not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left. (17:11)

One must obey the decision of the court even if he is convinced that the court has erred in its ruling. Even if the ruling seems to be saying that right is left and left is right – you must obey. It goes without saying that, if one is certain that the court has ruled correctly, he must obey its decision. The law is timeless. We must listen to daas Torah, the wisdom of the Torah as interpreted and expounded by our Torah leaders. The Sefer HaChinuch comments: “In every generation, we must listen to the rulings of the wise…

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ועשיתם לו כאשר זמם לעשות לאחיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5773

And you shall do to him as he planned to do to his brother. (19:19)

In the beginning of Meseches Makkos, the Mishnah asks the question: “In what manner do witnesses become zomeimim?” Hazamah is the process by which witnesses are proven false by testimony that places them elsewhere at the time that the alleged incident took place. The penalty for hazamah is reciprocal punishment, meaning the punishment the false witnesses sought to impose on the dependent by their testimony is meted out to them, be it monetary payment or corporal punishment. This is the meaning of, V’asisem lo kaasher zomam laasos l’achiv, which is the Scriptural reference to the reciprocal penalty incurred by those…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5772

“You shall not turn from the word that they will tell you, right or left.” (17:11)

The spiritual leadership of Klal Yisrael makes their decision only after careful deliberation of the halachah, law. It is rendered by individuals whose relationship with Torah is of a singular nature. Their exemplary love for the Torah goes hand in hand with their profound scholarship. Their interpretation of the Torah is law. We are commanded to listen to them, even when the decision they render seems unjustified or incorrect. They represent the final word. To undermine the words of Chazal is to attack the Torah. The following incredible story was related by Horav David Puvarsky: The story takes place in…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5772

“And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life.” (17:19)

The Sefer Torah shall be the primary focus of the king’s life. As it guides him through life, it shall be the object of his continual meditation. The love of Torah creates a bond that cannot be broken. Its influence is ever-lasting. Indeed, many years later, the original impact of the Torah upon a person retains its freshness and inspiration as evidenced by the following story: Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, tells of a Yerushalmi Jew, a profound talmid chacham, Torah scholar, who moved to Tzefas. The story takes place years ago when the opportunity and availability to own a complete…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5772

“Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted?… and let him not melt the heart of his brethren as his heart.” (20:8)

The one who is afraid of the dangers that accompany war, whose anxiety overwhelms him, is sent home, lest his faintheartedness affect those around him. The Tchortkover Rebbe, z.l., was once asked by one of his chassidim which shul he should attend. It seems that his community had two synagogues; one was a large community shul, while the other was a small shtiebel frequented primarily by chassidim. The Rebbe responded that whichever shul had a member who prayed with a broken heart; that is the shul in which he should daven. He supported his answer with the above pasuk. We…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5772

“And they shall measure toward the cities that are around the corpse.” (21:2)

If a corpse is found in the open country and the identity of the murderer is unknown, the elders of the town nearest the corpse perform the ritual of eglah arufah, the axed heifer. There is a dispute in the Talmud in regard to a circumstance in which the decapitated head of the corpse is found a distance from the rest of the body. From where do we measure: from the head or from the body? In addressing the second Kenessiah Gedolah in Vienna in 1929 the Sokolover Rebbe, z.l., asked, “When the deceased is a spiritual casualty, when we…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Shoftim, 5772

“And they shall axe the back of the heifer’s neck in the valley.” (21:4)

The murder of a Jew is a terrible tragedy which is compounded when the perpetrator might be another Jew. The parsha of eglah arufah, the axed heifer, addresses a situation where a corpse is found lying in the open. We have no idea who the murderer is. The Torah requires that the elders of the town nearest to the corpse perform a public ritual in which they proclaim that they are not responsible, neither by neglect nor by indifference, for the tragedy of this person’s death. The primary purpose of this parsha is to convey an important message: We are…

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ולא תקים לך מצבה

And you shall not erect for yourselves a pillar. (16:22)

כי ימצא בקרבך... אשר יעשה את הרע... וילך ויעבד אלהים אחרים...והוגד לך ושמעת ודרשת היטב והנה אמת הדבר נעשתה התועבה הזאת בישראל

If this will be found among you… who commits evil… and he will go and serve gods of others… and it will be told to you and you will hear; then you will investigate well, and behold! It is true, the testimony is correct – this abomination was done in Yisrael. (17:2,4)

על פי התורה אשר יורוך... תעשה לא תסור מן הדבר אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל

According to the teaching that they will teach you… shall you do; you shall not deviate from the word that they will tell you, right or left. (17:11)

ועשיתם לו כאשר זמם לעשות לאחיו

And you shall do to him as he planned to do to his brother. (19:19)

“You shall not turn from the word that they will tell you, right or left.” (17:11)

“And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life.” (17:19)

“Who is the man who is fearful and fainthearted?… and let him not melt the heart of his brethren as his heart.” (20:8)

“And they shall measure toward the cities that are around the corpse.” (21:2)

“And they shall axe the back of the heifer’s neck in the valley.” (21:4)

YEARS

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