This parashah Shoftim is very special to our sages as it introduces the various functions of the Messiah: as a judge, a king, a priest, and a prophet and especially as God’s special envoy. We have been waiting for the Mashiach and our understanding of him depends upon which group we belong to. It is not my intention to discuss whose Messiah is better, rather I prefer that we see that the Creator is working in these four functions and that He is the final word, not us. Here the Creator is telling us that we as individuals need to choose our leaders so that they would guide us well. All the men chosen for those roles were to be guides for the people but how does Israel elect them?
As a rabbi and marriage and pre-marriage counselor, I have never found the perfect family but I have seen those who do their best. These men from judges to kings were never meant to be perfect, however they did need to be an example to others. We Jews were called to be “ohr l’goyim” – light to the world and it’s important that we portray only one face to others, that we are open to letting people know that we all struggle, that not everything is easy. We are not perfect and it is time that we show ourselves for who we are, with our shortcomings, our victories and defeats. We were not handed this life on a silver platter, rather our successes would take hard work. Only then can we appreciate them.
How many of us think that what we do or believe is wrong? We have a built-in system of self-preservation. Most of us believe the lies that we tell ourselves to protect our own egos. Do you know that our ego can be our greatest enemy? We don’t like to take advice from others yet Torah teaches that those of us who do not seek counsel are fools. It is so easy to deceive ourselves.
The judges were appointed to help bring clarity to difficult situations so that the people could make good decisions. When I do counseling, I use a method called mirror or reflective counseling. I listen carefully to the person, write down what they say and then repeat to them what I heard. They are usually surprised and remark about how intelligent I am, stating, “How do you know that?” when all I am doing is repeating back to them what they told me. We all need someone objective to help us by reflecting the truth back to us.
To do that, judges have to be impartial and not accept bribes. We were told in this portion “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof” – צֶדֶק צֶדֶק, תִּרְדֹּף “pursue, always pursue justice” and this has become the fabric of our national character. Throughout history, Jews have sought justice at every level. That is why we are having so much trouble in the Middle East today with neighbors who do not look for justice, they just want to destroy us. If most people understood the facts of our return to the land and its foundation in 1948, it might be a different story. Our calling to be light to the nations has caused the castigation of our people throughout the centuries. When lies are repeated often enough, people start to believe them. Men change the Truth and we need to search for the truth. This is a lesson that the world needs at this time when such lies about Israel are being spread.
When I do counseling, I need to listen to both sides of the story before reaching a decision about who is telling the truth and who is not. I can’t listen to only one side otherwise I am biased. Both are right and both are wrong on certain issues but if the goal is to improve their relationship, they need an impartial judge. If they say that they don’t care what the other thinks, that is pride and the best thing to do is to humble themselves before the Creator.
If we are so full of ourselves, there will be no resolution. By the Torah telling us to choose leaders – judge, prophet, priest and king, it is saying that we need guidance from those gifted to bring wisdom to the table. When Moses was told to choose Betzalel, it was because he had the skill, the ability and the knowledge. Skill is achieved over time through application of our innate ability and knowledge is learned through research. We each have something special to give. No one has nothing. Most of us spend our lives pursuing these gifts. I recently spoke to a man who told me that his life had been a waste… that he had accomplished nothing. In his mind, this had to do with amassing material wealth. I asked him about family, children and friends. He hadn’t taken these into account.
In our community, we work together as one to help each other. Problems arise when pride rears its ugly head, when most of us, believing that what we are doing is right, work hard to cover up or justify our actions whenever we are caught doing something wrong. If we would simply accept what we do wrong and acknowledge it, we would see how much freer we become. However, our pride often gets in the way and we need to be humbled before we can receive help. At this time of year before the High Holidays, we think about teshuva, acknowledging what we do, recognizing who we are, and searching the depths of our souls. As long as we aren’t honest with ourselves, we will continue to live a lie.
One of my favorite prophets is Jeremiah and he tells us in chapter 9:22-23: The LORD says this, ‘Let the wise not boast of wisdom, nor the valiant of valour, nor the wealthy of riches!23 But let anyone who wants to boast, boast of this: of understanding and knowledge of Me. For I am the LORD, who acts with faithful love, justice, and uprightness on earth; yes, these are what please me,’ the LORD declares. This is what teshuva is all about. If we continually examine ourselves and bring our faults to the Almighty, He releases us from living a lie but how many of us prefer to cover up and wear a mask of righteousness instead?
I often repeat the words of our Messiah Yeshua “You shall know the Truth (i.e., God) and the Truth shall make you free”. To know the Creator implies a personal relationship with Him! He helps us to be free in all those areas of our lives that need improvement and a paradigm shift. These areas are what hold us back from progressing in our lives, so let us be honest with ourselves. There are no two people alike; run away from cultlike leaders who want everyone to believe exactly as they do. We are not robots but are uniquely made in His image. Psalm 139 tell us how marvelous each of us is made.
When we are so negative and say that the Creator made a mistake with us, we destroy ourselves and this attitude needs to change. Are we afraid of failure? Most successful people fail over and over but they are persistent. We just need to be the best that we can be, comparing ourselves only with ourselves and working to improve. It begins by being honest with ourselves and we need a righteous “judge” to examine us. We may be afraid to hear the truth and prefer to run away from facing ourselves instead of looking at what is good about us. People have said to me, “I’m good for nothing; I don’t know why I should keep living”. This is like committing suicide which is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. The worst thing that can happen to us by facing ourselves is that we lose our pride. This is good; that’s one thing we don’t need! Understand that the Creator wants the best for us and the best thing we can do is to ask for help wherever we need it.
It’s time that we look at who we are. Are we the person we want to project to others or are we projecting a lie? It is better to have one face, to be honest rather than to be a hypocrite. We live in a society that honors the hypocrite and the liar. We have become so polite, so politically correct that now we are afraid to be honest. We can learn to tell someone we care about the truth without hurting them. The truth can be bitter and it can be hard. Introspection is great but we need to ask someone we trust to help us with our self-analysis because we are not objective enough to be our own counselor. A doctor is not allowed to treat their relatives because they lose objectivity.
We need to start learning to help each other by always putting the Creator first. If someone tells us something that sounds harsh, we can see it as constructive criticism which when given kindly can be very helpful. Before reacting, speak to the person, listen to what they are saying and then check yourself. Maybe you can learn something that will be helpful for your own growth. If you hide or cover it up, you are not helping yourself or the other person. Covering up, forces you to hold it in your heart with the tendency to grow bitter.
Our Creator is a God of order; everything has its place; only we create chaos which causes us problems. God is not a God of darkness but of light and He wants us to be transparent. This can be difficult. People confuse being polite with being a hypocrite, with being nice by being a liar. No two cases are the same so when the judge gives a verdict based on the Torah it brings justice. The Torah brings us light and gives us value. We were told to choose leaders to guide us – judges to keep us honest and straight, a king who would lead the people of his country justly, a priest to teach us about our relationship with the Creator and we need a prophet to guide us and keep us on the right path.
May our Creator bring us hope in the world that is presently going from bad to worse, on a downward spiral heading toward the point of no return. I once told you about the process in the science of going from the point of elasticity to plasticity. When we are in the state of elasticity, we can be stretched and can still return to the original state but when we are overstretched, we can no longer return and soon reach the point of rupture. I believe that this world has entered the state of over-elasticity to the point of plasticity in which we are very close to rupture. We need to be prepared for the coming events and the only One who can help us now is our Creator. That is why we need to be stronger than ever, to be clear with ourselves, with our families and with our communities. We are all distinct and unique but the question remains: are we working together or not?
Shabbat Shalom
Ranebi