`## Chapter 16: יו
16:18-20] Shoftim and Shotrim
Note: Perhaps simple, but foundational rules upon which to build a just society.
n16:18-20] Establishment of just courts
Establish standing courts in every city, with a Sanhedrin for each tribe. In addition to judges, appoint officers, who would enforce the decisions of the judges, and would enforce standards of honesty in the markets and streets, and summon common violaters to the court. These commandments are directed to the leaders of the nation(s), because their conduct has a powerful influence of the rest of the people, for good or for bad.
—(Sforno)
In addition, the decisions of the Sanhedrin must be obeyed for the Sages have been granted by G-d the power to interpret the Torah laws on a day-to-day basis. If there were to be a breakdown of respect for their interpretation, the downfall of the nation could not be far behind; such a breakdown would lead to anarchy with the Torah becoming fragmented into many Torahs
—(Ramban to 17:11)
n16:18] לֹֽא־תַטֶּ֣ה מִשְׁפָּ֔ט—do not pervert justice. מִשְׁפָּ֔ט is generally referred to as law, but here it means justice. May all law and laws be just.
n16:18] וְשָֽׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶֽדֶק—They shall judge… with righteous judgement.
The mere appointment of personages to staff the courts is not sufficient; they must be qualified and righteous, so that they will judge honestly and correctly (Rashi). If the community has a hand in appointing unqualified judges, G-d holds them all responsible for the resultant perversions of judgement. [see below, regarding kings]
n16:19] לֹ֥א תַכִּ֖יר פָּנִ֑ים—Do not respect anyone’s presence.
…treat everyone equally. If a judge shows more respect to one litigant, the other feels at a disadvantage.
—(Rashi)
n16:19] לֹֽא־תִקַּ֣ח שֹׁ֔חַד—Bribe.
Even if he accepts a bribe without obligation, it is impossible for a judge not to be swayed. His wisdom will be blinded and his attempts to speak justly will be perverted.
—(Rashi)
n16:20] צֶ֥דֶק צֶ֖דֶק תִּרְדֹּ֑ף—Righteous righteousness shall you pursue.
It is not enough to seek righteousness; it must be done through honest means. Torah does not condone the pursuit of a holy end through improper means.
N: Note here the word for right(eousness) is צֶ֥דֶק, tzedek, not ישׁר, yashar, which means essential straight (probably in the sense of the “straight and narrow” path of righteousness).
16:21-22] The Altar of HaShem
n16:21-22] Forbidden trees and pillars אֲשֵׁרָ֖ה—idolatrous tree.
A tree that is meant for worship, and any kind of tree near the Temple Altar, because it was custom of idolators to build their temples to attract worshipers (Ramban)
Ref:excellent(judaica)
It is also forbidden to set up a pillar i.e. a single stone for any sort of worship—even for the worship of the true G-d. He hates stones since they had become associate with idol worship. For His service, G-d has specified an altar made of stones or earth (Exodus 20:21-22).
Chapter 17 יז
17:1] Blemishes
n17:1] כֹּ֖ל דָּבָ֣ר רָ֑ע—Any bad thing.
The flow of the passages is:
(a) The importance of proper justice;
(b) the integrity of the Temple and the places of worship must be preserved, for a perversion of justice will lead to the disgrace of holy places in the guise of beautification; which will lead to
(c) invalid animals being used as offerings, and stolen funds being used to purchase offerings.
What is worse, the transgressors will insist that everything they have done is right and proper, because they did it for the sake of G-d’s glory. Such are the wages of disregard for the righteous administration of justice.
17:2-5] What is evil?
n17:2] אֶת־הָרַ֛ע … לַֽעֲבֹ֥ר בְּרִיתֽוֹ—What is evil … to violate the covenant.
Idol worship is the evil, the ultimate violation of G-d’s covenant, for it constitutes a denial of His very existence. No obligation or threat can ever justify idolatry.
n17:3] אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־צִוִּֽיתִי—which I have not commanded you to worship (Rashi), even though they are my handiwork (Ibn Ezra).
Sforno comments that this term refutes a common claim of idol worshippers, that the heavenly bodies have independent powers, since G-d commanded them to assume control over such matters as fertility, rainfall, health, and so on. In response to such erroneous beliefs, G-d says that He has not commanded them at all; rather He created certain spiritual or natural forces to serve particular functions, but they have no freedom or power to choose what they will or will not do.
n17:5] The idol has no power to save its worshippers, even in its own locale.
17:6] Witnesses
17:7] Destroy evil
n17:7] בִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִקִּרְבֶּֽךָ—And you shall destroy the evil from your midst
The death penalty is not revenge against a criminal; it is intended to purge the national psyche of an evil that can infect others if left unchecked.
—(R’ Zalman Sorotzkin)
17:8-13] Judgement
17:8]
n17:8] זקן ממרא—The Rebellious Elder.
It is inevitable that there will be differences of opinion on how to interpret the Written Torah and apply it to new situations. But if every point of view were to have equal legitimacy, disputes would multiply, resulting in many version of the Torah, each competing with the others. Therefore, the Torah provided for the Great Sanhedrin, which had the authority to resolve all disputes and whose decisions would be binding even on outstanding scholars, for a Jew must have faith that G-d guides the decisions of His devout servants.
—(Ramban)
17:9] Judges
n17:9] אֶל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ הַֽלְוִיִּ֔ם וְאֶל־הַ֨שֹּׁפֵ֔ט—To the Kohanim, the Levites and to the judge.
In (Ancient) Judaism one cannot separate the “ceremonial” from the “legal”.
n17:9] אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִֽהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם—Who will be in those days.
God provides us with the leaders who are suited to the needs of the time!
17:10-20] Absolute obedience
17:10] Place that G-d chooses
17:14-20] A Jewish King
n17:14-20] A king in Israel.
Israel as a nation had three commandments once it was established in its Land:
(a) to request a king;
(b) eliminate the offspring of Amalek
(c) to build the Temple (Sanhedrin 20b)
Thus kingship is a desirable condition. However, …they should have asked for a king who would lead them, inspire them, and set an example of selfless and wholehearted service of G-d. Instead they said they wanted a king merely to imitate their neighbours.
Is it G-d’s goal for Israel that it be no different from any other nation, which aspires only for glory, wealth and conquest?
n17:16-19] רק—Only.
Despite the desirability of having a king, it is essential that his values and conduct be Jewish, not an imitation of the surrounding nations (Ramban) Self-aggrandisement is typical of monarchs. They demonstrate their greatness by the number of their steeds, the size of their harems, and the bulging of their treasures. Not so a Jewish king. Because his glory was the glory of his nation, he was required to maintain the dignity of his office, but he had to curb his appetites and make an example of moderation and obedience to the Torah.
n17:19] וְקָ֥רָא ב֖וֹ כָּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֑יו לְמַ֣עַן יִלְמַ֗ד לְיִרְאָה֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהָ֔יו לִ֠שְׁמֹ֠ר אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֞י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה—It shall be with him, … and he shall read from it…
Its contents and values should be with king all the days of his life. (Rashi). Thus he should read from it, and acknowledge the significance of it, and learn how to react to the events all the days of his life. (Chatam Sofer)
Chapter 18 יח
n18:1-8] Priestly gifts
The Torah continues with the privileges and duties of the leaders… the king, who is the temporal leader, but must be under the ultimate authority of the Torah and its Giver… the Kohanim, who are the teachers of Torah [in addition to their duties at the Temple]. The Kohanim are not given a portion of land so that they can devote themselves primarily to spiritual activities. The Torah provides them their livelihood by assigning them gifts from the people.
18:1-3] Levites due
2 He shall have no inheritance among his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as He spoke to him.
n18:1] חלק לנחלה—A portion The cities of the Levites were not considered an inheritance. They merely provided them with a place to live and a minimal amount of farmland, but were not a continuous province.
18:3] Levites due
n18:3] הַזְּרֹ֥עַ וְהַלְּחָיַ֖יִם וְהַקֵּבָֽה—The foreleg, the jaw and the maw
The Kohanim received these parts from every animal that is slaughtered.
18:5] Minister in the Name of HaShem
**N**: I know this refers to the service at the Temple, however there were more Levites (and Kohanim) than was needed for the services at the Temple. In addition, we do not have the Temple any more. It made sense, especially in the spreading of the duties of teaching the Law, as was expressed in Yitro and the subsequent parasha in Deut., that the Levites would be spread amongst the people in their cities.
18:6-8] Divided into shifts, or “watches”
n18:6-8] Moses divided the Kohanim into eight “watches” (משׂמרות), or groups who would take turns performing the Tabernacle service. David and Samuel later increased the number of watches to twenty-four. Each Kohen would be “on duty” for about two week of the year. R’ Hirsch explains why the Kohanim are referred to in this passage and elsewhere, as Levites. In the Wilderness the Kohanim were clustered near the Tabernacle and had minimal contact with the nation as a whole.l In Eretz Yisrael however, they would be scattered throughout the country, coming to Jerusalem only when their respective shifts performed the service. The rest of the year, however, the Kohanim share the Levite duty to guide the rest of the nation in the way of the Torah, but formal teaching and by personal example.
18:9-22] Prophecy
Act not according to abominations of the nations
n18:9-13] Prophecy: It is human nature to want to know the future and to utilise whatever means to successfully pursue that end. The Torah forbids us to copy the practices used by the nations to foretell events. To G-d, these practices are abominable… Jews are to have faith that G-d would give us whatever knowledge they needed and then we are to act upon it, with faith and loyalty.
The passage lists nine forms of sorcery. See Exodus 22:17; Leviticus 18:21; 19:26,31 and 20:2-7,27.
N: This is the power of science—to predict the future. Through statistics, it has begun to control huge aspects of our future.
Q: Some of the nine forms of sorcery can be used for healing and guidance. However, what is to prevent someone who learns such a form to not be tempted to use it for prophecy?
n18:14-21] God sends His prophets to Israel Jews do not need to fear that these prohibitions against learning the future makes them inferior to their neighbours. God reassured us that He will send us prophets.
18:19] Speak in the name of G-d
n18:19] אָֽנֹכִ֖י אֶדְר֥שׁ מֵֽעִמּֽוֹ—I will exact from him.
G-d will impose the Heavenly death penalty for three sins:
(a) One who refuses to obey a prophet
(b) a prophet who does not act in accordance with his own prophecy
© a prophet who suppresses a prophecy that G-d commanded him to communicate
—(Rashi)
N: There are many prophets in the world today, nearly all of whom are not acting in accordance with their own prophecies. That is an interesting dividing line between the people that are predicting things that are happening in the world today. The hypocracy of the vaccine pushers, the conflicting actions of many of the climate-change doomsayers, etc.
18:21-22] If it occurs as he said
n18:21-22] Once he has proven himself a prophet, he need not prove himself every time he speaks… How to tell if the prophet is a fraud? If the supposed prophet predicts a certain event, and it does not come about, he is proven false.
N: Did Moshe Rabeinu ever prophesize? Does a leader need to be a prophet? Though what he predicted certainly came about. But did he ever tell them that what was going to happen, or did he himself not really know?
Not like with Jesus in Gethsamane, where there are clear signs that he knew what was about to transpire.
Chapter 19: יט
19:10-13] Blood-guilt
Remove innocent blood from your midst—בִערת דם־הנקי
This aligns with the removal of a blemish, and the removal of “evil from your midst” previously.
19:13] Do not pity
n19:13] לֹא־תָחוֹס עֵינְךָ עָלָיו—Your eye shall not pity him. By executing the murderer, the nation will ensure that it shall be good for you, because compassion for a murderer breed further bloodshed, since it frees him and sets and example for others who may be tempted to follow his example.
19:14] Boundary
n19:14] לֹא תַּסִּיג גְּבוּל—You shall not move a boundary. It is forbidden to move a boundary marker stealthily, so as to enlarge one’s property at the expense of one’s neighbour.
19:15-21] Conspiring witnesses - עדים זומְמים
There are a number of issues that arise here.
- Case of two witnesses whose testimony results in a judgement against a defendant. If two subsequent witnesses come forward with a conflicting statement, they second set are to be believed.
- The testimony of a lone witness is not sufficient to cause one to suffer physical punishment. However, a single person is believed as to whether something is permitted or forbidden – for instance, the supervision of Kashrut.
n19:17] לִפְנֵי ה’—Before Hashem. When people appear before a
19:21[] Eye for an eye
n19:21] עין בעין—An eye for an eye
According to the Rabbis, this refers to monetary compensation. However, in this context, it refers specifically to the issue of a false witness. In the case of giving false testimony, the sentence that would have been pronounced on the accused is then given to the false witness in like measure – eye for eye, tooth for tooh…
N: Ayin b’ayin can also refer to seeing “eye to eye”, as in agreeing or in harmony with one another.
Appear before ה’.
Q: Are the priest representation of ה’ or is there a preparation necessary? Today the preparation is called interrogation.
Chapter 20: כּ
- Do not fear your enemies, because it is G-d Who fights for us.
- Those unfit for battle are exempt from service.
- Offer peace to our foes before the battle begins.
- Do not destroy productive trees during a siege.
20:1-4] Battle
Do not fear for the Lord, your G-d, is with you
n20:1-4] משׁוח מלחמה—The Kohen anointed for battle.
His task is to proclaim the commandment that we must not lose heart, but trust in the salvation of the One for Whom we are about to fight(Sotah 42a). If we deal fairly with one another, we will not need to fear hostile enemies. (Rashi)
20:5-9] Exemptions from battle
- house
- vineyard
- betrothed
- fearful
n20:5-9] Those unqualified to fight.
Anyone not suited for combat should leave the field, lest his fear or lack of enthusiasm erode the moral of his comrades.
n20:10-18] Offer peace - or annihilate everyone. Except for the people on the land: Hittite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hittite, Jebusite. This peace consists of killing all the males, and then using all the women and children as forced labourers, and declaring everything and everyone “for the use of the victors”.
20:19-20] Preservation of fruit trees
The Torah demands that we remain conscious of the need to maintain our regard for the general welfare and cleave to our love of goodness. If people try to remain good even at times that call forth their basest instincts, …they will be able to perfect their character steadily
—(Chinuch)
n20:19] כִּ֤י הָֽאָדָם֙ עֵ֣ץ הַשָּׂדֶ֔הIs the tree of the field a man…?
In war it is permitted to attack the soldiers of the enemy, but a tree is not a soldier: why should Jews feel the need to deprive anyone of the tree’s fruit?
—(Rashi)