Willing to die
An interesting take on the four types of exemptions for military service by R’ Fohrman.
Intro to Shoftim
Shoftim is one of those Pasukim, readings, that inspired my civic imagination at a young age. Imagine a land where the judges are righteous and true, where everyone is treated equally, our leaders and judges are honest, they don’t take bribes for they are (all) G-d fearing.
Chapter 16
#holy_land n16:20] if we are speaking of a physical piece of land, Israel, then it seems somewhat materialistic. However, today, it only makes sense if the land that is spoken of is the land that the Lord, My G-d, is giving me today. It is a place, a space, a life and all that supports it, rather than a specific geographical place, it is rather a “mental/emotional” space, brought about by focusing on a specific spiritual place - whether internal or external - the space or place where G-d lives.
Note: I relate this phrase “The place that HaShem chooses…” which appears a number of times in this parasha to the idea of the Holy Land being something more than just a place in Israel. Perhaps I can also connect it to the upper and the lower temples?
n16:22] No idolatrous tree
Being a lover of trees, this is one that is difficult to fathom. In the desert, trees are most welcome. Does this speak of a time when the land had many more trees on it, and trees were not that special. However, if you have trees and a garden surrounding a place of worship, it would be much more amenable to social and human interactions.
The spark of hope is the reference to an idolatrous tree, called an asherah—which is unclear. How can a tree be idolatrous. The only possibility is a specific tree that is used to make pillars for this particular god, perhaps a totem of some nature.
It presents a very stark and harsh picture. Everything is hard, and quite stark, with no trees and little shade.
Regarding the edict against erecting any monuments, is this a general ban, or is it only referring to the erection of a monument to another G-d? But there is the possibility in raising a monument to a famous person, people might begin to regard that person as so great that they might begin to attribute god-like qualities to this personage, and begin to pray and carry out rituals, either in its name, or with reference to his “power”.
It is not against others’ G-ds — except near the altar of the Lord, as it should be. Any foreign influence would be seen as tainting the purity of any space that our Lord might reside. Although this verse refers to the Jewish people, it could be looked at as a more generic statement regarding purity and the necessity to purify the space.
Unless we expand the definition of what Jewish is (which I say with a bit of tongue in cheek, as this is a HUGE topic). If you believe and accept G-d, the Divine Creator, as One, that makes you a proselyte; if you accept and practice the commandments, you are a Jew.
Chapter 17
17:1] Blemish or any bad thing
This brings in the need for the ceremony/ritual to be perfect - without blemish. It is foolish to take this on personally, and believe that as a human you (or anyone else) could be without blemish. That introduces the effect of the golden shadow, and will produce extremes of behaviour. Either for or against the goal of perfection—as either the over-achiever or the under-achiever. In addition, it will foment certain forms of neuroses and anxiety around not being good enough. However, whatever you sacrifice to the Lord, our G-d, needs to be without blemish. That is achievable and praiseworthy. It is like choosing a gift for a loved one, or one who you wish to sincerely honour.}
17:6] Witnesses
Is this not common sense? How can the word of one person be sufficient to put someone to death? However, in the rule of Kings and nobles, who have the power of life and death over their subjects, it can take the word of one witness to put someone to death. One person can decide this. Thus this, in the more general case, is a fundamental rule— that two or more people or necessary for some ruling that affects the lives of people be carried out.
17:7] Destroy evil
It is not about punishment, but about cleansing! What a beautiful concept. It is removing the blemish from your midst. And can be applied on all levels, including the personal.
17:8] Inconclusive Judgement
If a judgement cannot be arrived at…
Lesion, sometimes translated as plague, actually might even be better as affliction. Which would make for a better translation. Also, the first is not judgement, din but sentence (legal). So if the sentence to be carried out eludes us, then …
As far as we are concerned, there is no functioning Sanhedrin any more. So who, or what, is the ultimate authority for disputes? This is allowing for a meaningful change(s) in how we interpret various aspects of the Torah.
17:10] Place that HaShem chooses
It is also noteworthy that it says “rise up and go to the place the Lord, our G-d, chooses”, for it has not yet specified a place. This brings me to propose that, as G-d can be in any place, the revelation can happen anywhere “that G-d chooses”. In fact, there might be more than one place He chooses, and He has not promised that it will remain at a certain place forever. It would be good (even perhaps sufficient) to recognise those places, and to honour them, by dedicating them as places of worship.
17:9] Kohanim
There is a piece about the Levitic origins of the Kohanim because of their devotion and courage in Egypt and the Wilderness. This courage and devotion then was expressed by the Levites being the spiritual support for the people.
There are the Levitic Kohanim and the judge; the Kohanim, the Levites and the Judges; the Kohanim, of the Levites, and the judges; as well as the elders (which are often referred to as the Sanhedrin). I sometimes think that the Levites were the enforcers (the shotrim). Once the temple was built, there would be far less need for the Levites, who (by some reference to this parasha) became the spiritual leaders in the communities, and tended to the people. They were the shamans of the village. They interpreted the spiritual signs, led the rituals, helped the sick and the poor, and had no inheritance, thus were dependent on the goodwill of the people of the town for their sustenance. There were also an excess of Kohanim, as is says, they tended the Temple services on a rotation schedule.
Even with strict Torah observance, there would still be the politics of power and authority, of human needs and vices, that would play a part in the life of any city throughout the nation. Adherence to Torah is not sufficient to make a man with no blemish. It is only a calling, a guidebook as to how to live. One could refer to it as a manual provided by Spirit in how to live. But that is not obvious, it has to be explored and discovered, for the Wisdom (as is all true Wisdom) is hidden in the symbols and the stories.
17:11] Absolute obedience. Disobey and die.
This is quite harsh. It speaks of a nation that lives in fear of Judgement, and the priests and shoftim wield tremendous power. Does it sound like a kind society?
17:14-20] King
This is some excellent advice regarding what you need to watch out for Kings. Today, we are no longer under the direct allegiance to a king, nor does he have the rights of life and death upon us any more. Though, do not be fooled, there are still many kings and princes that still live amongst us, with massive ownership of land and buildings—and accumulated wealth.
Realisation: Wealth is built up over generations.
Thus the need to maintain refugees. The main goal is to ensure that no alternative source of wealth builds up. Elon Musk might be very wealthy today, but what will he leave behind—will he have created a dynasty? Donald Trump inherited wealth from his father, so did Richard Branson. They have taken the first step to creating a dynasty, as they are beneficiaries of inherited wealth, and thus are more aware of the benefits of such a bequeathing. Elon Musk does not yet know how to do that.
However I would like to designate king here as leader. In order to be a true leader, you will have to be righteous.
The issue that will always arise here, is that you will not be likely to choose a righteous leader, unless you yourself are bound by the desire to be righteous. A leader will then arise who is also non-righteous, responding to the desires of the people, and will be supported by those who are not interested or able to be on the path of the righteous. He will be willing to break the laws in pursuit of his desires and needs, and will thus need to maintain his power at all cost, else he will lose all. Thus how do the righteous overcome the one who is prepared to “cheat”, and has no boundaries of evil deeds he is willing to perpetrate to achieve his (generally material) goals?
This is also in reference to n17:18, where the people are held responsible if they choose non-righteous leaders.
Only G-d can aid us in this battle.
Which is paradoxical. If G-d created this world, with its good and its evil, he needed the evil to exist, so that people could choose to be good. How does He prevent the evil from overrunning the good? For if someone is prepared to kill, he can control many people. And there has not arisen a leader of any nation (or tribe) that has not been prepared to kill. If he is prepared to kill, why would not, at some point, be prepared to kill me. His reason for killing is to survive a threat to the nation that he leads. In the beginning that threat is external, but over time, it is internalised and the march to dictatorship begins.
The only answer to that, is to be prepared to die for your beliefs, and the actions and practice that stem from them. If there are enough people who stand firm for an alternative belief, there is no force—no empire, no tyrant, no one—that can stand against them.
Now, if your belief is in a society, a world of oppresion and control, and total lack of freedom, then that is what we will create. If you believe, with your heart and your soul, that there is a world in which we live in harmony, then that is what we will create.
Was not Ben Gurion such a leader (see n16-17).
Chapter 18
18:1-8] Priestly gifts
I wonder about this separation between the Levites and the Kohanim (who are Levites). Because the Levites are the teachers too. The Kohanim, as priests, decide how to interpret the Law as given in the Torah, however, the Levites would be teaching the people in the towns and the cities where they are living amongst them. They would also be subsisting on the gifts of the people so that they can minister to their spiritual (and probably legal) lives.
n18:3 mentions that the Kohanim received parts from every animal slaughtered. So is this differentiated from the Levites? Surely this was enough food for the tribe?
I also wonder what the difference is between a maw and a jaw?
18:1] Cities of the Levites
Q: The Levites had their own cities? And farms?
So the gifts that they received were insufficient to support the tribe. Were the gifts only during the temple services, and only for those Levites that were serving at the temple? And if they had their own cities, I assume the Kohanim lived there as well when they were not serving.
This is all an attempt to envisage the life that was described in the Torah. Perhaps that is unimportant, and I need to focus on the lessons. However, there I believe there is a civic society that will be able to live in peace and harmony together. If we wait and rely on the Messiah, then we will fall back into the same patterns that have emerged in our present incarnation of society, with a king or overseer making—and interpreting—the rules for the rest of us.
Chapter 19
19:9] לאהטה את ה’ אלוהיך וללכת בדרכיו—Love G-d and walk in His path
This is a fundamental command (or mitzvah).