Parashat Shoftim

August 29, 2025
5 Elul 5785
Parashat Shoftim
Deuteronomy 16:18 - 21:9

Dear Friends,

As Labor Day weekend approaches, the start of the school year and Rosh Hashanah are not far behind. As the warmth of summer fades, we are reminded that there is work ahead. Our pace quickens once more as it is time to begin again. We are in the month of Elul: a time of reflection and gathering of our inner resources.

We are taught in this week’s Torah portion Shoftim, judges (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9), that we are to pursue justice. 

“Judges shall be appointed to judge the people with justice. You shall not twist judgment by recognizing a face or accepting bribery, because both blind the eyes of the wise and cause the words of the righteous to falter. Justice, justice shall you pursue, so that you may live and take possession of the land which God, your God, is giving you.”

We are also taught what to value and what is worrisome when it comes to our leaders.  We know that no leader is perfect, but the Torah lets us know which flaws can be the most destructive for the people they are being asked to lead. Putting oneself above the people has always been deemed dangerous, hence the importance of justice and the rule of law being so deeply embedded in our tradition.

“When you come to the land that God is giving you, and dwell in it, you will want a king. You shall then set a king over yourself who God will choose. This king shall not be a foreigner but one of your brethren. This king must not have many horses, nor many wives, nor amass silver and gold for himself in excess, so that his heart may not go astray. Rather, when he sits upon the throne, he shall write for himself a duplicate of this Teaching in a book. He shall read from it as long as he shall live, so that he may learn to fear God and not lift himself above his brethren nor turn aside from the commandments.”

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l quotes Lord Acton in regard to what our Torah teaches: “Thus the example of the Hebrew nation laid down the parallel lines on which all freedom has been won… the principle that all political authorities must be tested and reformed according to a code which was not made by man” He added: “All power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Our Torah portion tells us that a leader should carry around his own Teaching, a copy of the Torah. What is that little Torah scroll like? Is it so small that it is like an amulet? Or maybe it has just enough verses to serve as a reminder of being in the presence of God?

Is it an amulet? Or is it something more, a physical reminder that the power given to a leader has its limits? Perhaps it is a reminder to be humble in the presence of the Divine. Our tradition teaches us that to lead is to serve, with both the best and the worst examples to give us guidance.

Shabbat Shalom, wishing you a good Labor Day weekend.

Rabbi Linda Shriner-Cahn