Dr. Laitman reminds us that the Torah was given to every person for the purpose of self-correction; every person would be aware that s/he is filled with the evil inclination. In Shoftim, the judges represent the decisions that a person makes in advance; they are the premeditation concerning how to work with one’s ego, turning evil inclinations into fair towards others. Officers are what we need to establish over ourselves, to preclude deviations from the way.
The parashah writes about the cancellation of debts in the seventh year. However, the text is understood to cover the laws of charity, or “distributive justice, equity.” However, as Rabbi Sacks observes, the laws also incorporate the restoration of self-respect. In other words, anonymity in the giving is essential.
Rabbi Staub explores the challenge of the “black and white” nature of the text – “I set before you a blessing and a curse.” He observes that the text also states that our ancestors were given the land to possess conditionally, along with the commandment to destroy all places of worship of the people whom we would dispossess.
Rabbi Gold writes about the blessing of vision. Instead of saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it,”, she writes that as a child she understood the phrase differently: If I open my eyes and see it, then it is believable. Every moment when our eyes are wide open, we can choose between the blessing and the curse.
The parashah writes about the cancellation of debts in the seventh year. However, the text is understood to cover the laws of charity, or “distributive justice, equity.” However, as Rabbi Sacks observes, the laws also incorporate the restoration of self-respect. In other words, anonymity in the giving is essential.
Daphne Lazar Price focuses on the opening promise: “And when you listen to these laws, God will keep the Covenant with you.” The cause and effect of the verse seems straightforward, except for the “eikev” – heel, the lowest and most overlooked part of the body. She references Rashi who compares it to mitzvot that people “tread underfoot.” Yet in God’s eyes, even small, seemingly trivial commandments matter just as much.
Benjamin Mann writes about Deuteronomy 8:10, which is incorporated into the birkat Hamazon: When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the ETERNAL your God for the good land given to you. He references his students, who question the need for reciting the Birkat Amazon. The answer is in 8:12-14, wherein Moses cautions the people to beware of becoming haughty and forgetting God.
Rabbi Sacks writes about the juxtaposition of 2 verses; one about God’s supremacy, and the other about God’s care for the low and lonely. This juxtaposition is incorporated into the concluding service for Shabbat, reminding us that as we return to our weekday concerns, we should not be so caught up in our own interests that we forget others less favorably situated.
Naomi Graetz observes that Shabbat Nachamu very quickly follows Tisha B’Av, moving us rapidly from devastation to consolation, yet the rapid shift doesn’t quite work. She states that Lamentations emphasizes that “there is no comforter”. This is the defining condition. The lack of a neat resolution is reflected in Moses’ situation: he pleads to enter the land and is refused, without compromise or opportunity for appeal. He does not achieve fulfillment.
Rebecca Good considers Moses at the time when he becomes aware that he will not enter the Promised Land. She writes that when Moses struck the rock, he did what he wanted to do, instead of what God told him to do. Although he had faith in God, he lacked the confidence that God would deliver.