Deuteronomy Shoft'im

Shoft’im
Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9

I.Summary

A. Shoft’im = (You shall appoint) “magistrates and officials” (for your tribes ….)

B. Moses describes 1) judicial procedures … appointment of officials, judicial standards (“justice, justice shall you pursue”), punishments of sinners (stoning only on testimony of two witnesses) and appeals, 2) requirements of future Israelite kings and 3) rights and responsibilities of priests and Levites. (Deut 16:18–18:8)

C. Moses warns people to avoid sorcery and witchcraft as well as the abhorrent practices of idolatrous neighbors. Moses tells Israelites that a prophet will step forward from among them to speak God’s words; however, if a prophet’s words do not come true, he is to be deemed a false prophet and killed. (Deut 18:9–22)

D. Moses tells Israelites that should an Israelite unintentionally kill another, then that person may take sanctuary in any of three designated cities of refuge; however, an intentional murderer is to be put to death by blood-avenger. (Deut 19:1–13)

E. Moses describes further civil and criminal laws … not moving property boundaries, all cases requiring testimony of two witnesses, punishment of perjurers, punishment standards (“eye for eye” usually interpreted to mean compensation rather than physical retribution). (Deut 19:14-19:21)

F. Moses sets out laws to be followed during times of war … 1) exemptions from duty to serve (including anyone afraid), 2) treatment of captive nations (kill men, take women, children, livestock and everything in the town as booty) and 3) ecological restrictions within besieged city (no destruction of food-yielding trees). (Deut 20:1–20:19)

G. Moses describes the purgation sacrifice of an unworked heifer in connection with a dead body found in the open. (Deut 21:1-9)

II. Commentary (Plaut, various websites, Jewish Study Bible and prior Hevreh discussions)

A. Inflexibility v. free will – Mandate follow verdict of higher court to the letter (“… you must not deviate from the verdict … to the right or to the left” at Deut 17:11) is reminiscent of “Be careful to observe only that which I enjoin upon you: neither add to it nor take away from it” (Deut 13:1). Both create tension with free will. (“I set before you blessing and curse” at Deut 11:26).

B. Women as witnesses – Ability of women to be a requisite witness in instance of punishing an idolatrous individual (“testimony of two or more witnesses” at Deut 16:6 by implication, i.e. not saying witness must be a man implies a woman can be witness) conflicts with lesser role of women in Torah and society in biblical times.

C. Significance of moving ahead - "You must not go back that way again,” (Deut 17:16) points to the importance of positive change. All too often, we are tempted to choose something disagreeable simply because it is traditional, accepted, and mainstream and because it is hard to keep moving forward. We must push ourselves to move ahead. We should expect that of our leaders as well. These words suggest we carefully select leaders who will be accountable to the law first, and to the people they serve by personal example. The words implore a free people to carefully restrict those they empower, holding them accountable, lest the failings of the past claim the promise of future.

D. Demand of yourself as/before you demand of others - “And it shall be, when he sits on his throne of kingship, that he shall write for himself a copy of this teaching in a book before the levitical priests”. (Deut 17:18) Rashi taught that the king must have already written a first scroll. Furthermore, since the second scroll was specifically for when the king sat on his throne, Rashi concluded that the first one must have been for personal use. Before he could rule from the throne, the king first had to write a Torah and apply it to his personal life. Only then could he write a second copy to define his public office. In other words, we must put our own house in order before we can go on to help others.

E. “Justice, justice shall you pursue . . .” (Deut 16:20) – Note broad application.
1. One must pursue justice with justice. One who pursues justice must do so justly, not with falsehood.
2. It’s the pursuit of justice that really counts.
• A just result is often very subjective … what is just = secondary consideration.
• “Pursue” suggests an obligation to be pro active in seeking justice.
3. “Pursuit” requires sense of immediacy … presence of mind and action
• Hi’neini = I am here (suggests ready for action)… Abraham, Isaac, Moses all say it when called upon to then perform extreme acts.
• She’ma Yisrael = Hear O Israel … give ear… be in the moment.
• We are taught that actions count more than words but actions must be sooner rather than later … Darfur.
4. Application to personal relationships
• Maimonides teaches that we are obligated to give people the benefit of the doubt ... actively treat people justly …
• If someone is judged unfavorably, we should not relate it or permit others to relate it (Lashon hara).

F. Being wholehearted – ‘You must be wholehearted with Adonai your God” (Deut 18:13). In Genesis 6:9 and 17:1, the Hebrew word tamim is used to refer to Noah and Abraham, respectively, and is translated as blameless. In Deuteronomy 18:13, the same word, tamim, is translated as wholehearted. Rabbinic commentators have written that only five biblical verses convey the essence of Judaism and this is one of them. Maybe we cannot be holy because we are not wholly for God: We only give and show part of ourselves to God. We are plagued by a disharmony that prevents us from giving our hearts, words, and deeds to God. You cannot be wholehearted for God when your heart is reserved for another God or when you are unwilling to give any of your heart to God. A heart that belongs only to you and cares only for you is not a heart that can be whole for God.

G. “You must not destroy its trees …” - Deut 20:19-20 forms the basis for the mitzvot bal tashchit, "do not destroy". While the verses themselves deal specifically with cutting down trees during war, the Sages extended their meaning to cover all forms of wasteful destruction. They taught that anyone who deliberately wastes our resources, either natural or man-made, violates the law. In Genesis 1:28, we are granted both dominion and stewardship of our world; therefore we are not to pollute its water or air or waste its precious resources. Judaism does not separate people from nature. We're taught that the earth is one unit, just as God is one. Whatever affects plant and animal life affects humans as well. If we destroy other kinds of living things on this earth, we are also destroying ourselves.

(Revised 8/22/09)