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Parashat Shoftim

September 2, 2022
6 Elul 5782
PARASHAT SHOFTIM
Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9

Dear Friends,

We end the summer this coming weekend and enter one of the busiest times of the year. We are in the process of readying ourselves for fall. This season has always been the new year for me due to its deep association with both the High Holy Days and the start of the school year. There is a sense that playtime is over and it is time to engage in the serious nature of our lives.

What a frightening, overwhelming thought! Yes, this is the Jewish season of reflection, but it is not a precursor to sadness and feeling overwhelmed; rather it is a time to reenergize, to get a fresh start, to embrace a different perspective. It is time to open the book to a blank page and do better than we have ever done before.

This week’s Torah portion is Shoftim which means Judges (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:19). The Torah portion sets up a number of legal constructs that relate to fairness when adjudicating cases, including the information that one witness is simply not enough to convict someone of crime; two, or even three, are needed.

The one line that most remember from this Torah portion is “Justice, justice shall you pursue." The implication being that true justice is not easily found and must be pursued -- must be fought for. The Hebrew word for justice, Tzedek, has the same root as the word Tzedakah, which is often incorrectly translated as charity. Its meaning is fuller: “ doing the right things by helping people or causes in need.” What both words have in common is a striving to right the wrongs that are all too common in the world we live in. Clearly this has always been true. 

Pursuing justice seems a massive task. Where do we even begin? If we don’t begin with ourselves, how will we be able to achieve it? The pursuit of justice must come from a place within us. It is not simply a cloak to put on. It is part of the process of self-examination that the month of Elul provides.

As we begin this process of self-examination, we ask ourselves: which process shall we use? Do we use the one where we rend ourselves into so many pieces that the result leaves us unrecognizable? Or do we use a gentler surgical approach, one guided by kindness to our innermost self, the place where the child of yore resides?

As we begin the process, I remind you to be kind to yourself.

An Elul thought:
“Ani ledodi v’dodi li”*
“I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.”

revealing oneself
showing yourself
sharing yourself
This is the time…
           not all at once
           slowly and with care

waiting to create trust
trusting that change is possible
trusting that the best will occur
trusting that forgiveness will be granted

*The word Elul is an acronym of this phrase*

Shabbat Shalom and enjoy the last days of summer.
P.S. Please send me your Elul thoughts.


Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784