From Dream To Reality: Shoftim.20

From Dream To Reality: Shoftim

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

September 21, 2020

As the Jewish year comes to a close (Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is just about a month away) so does our cycle of weekly Torah readings. This cycle starts anew every fall, reminding us not only of the beginning of the year, but also of our origins and obligations as a people.

Deuteronomy, the fifth and final book of the Torah, is thus both a summary of the first four books and a distillation of how we view ourselves and our relationship with God.

Deuteronomy is structured as a series of sermons delivered by Moses as the Israelites, after forty years of wandering in the wilderness, finally reach their goal and destination, the Promised Land. It’s a look back, a recounting of the hardships endured and lessons learned along the journey. But at the same time it also offers insight into the future, a foretelling of historical events to come—the battles that will be fought as the Israelites settle in Canaan and the social, religious and political dilemmas that they will be facing.

Most of all, however, Deuteronomy is a collection of laws. About one-third of the Torah’s 613 Commandments are found in this book.

Why so many?

Laws are not necessary where the population is sparse. Where there is little traffic and few intersections, there is no need for stop signs. The number of laws in Deuteronomy—and the many different situations these cover—reflect the time and place in which they were legislated.  There are laws about warfare—a sure sign that the Middle East never was and probably never will be a haven of peace. Rules limiting the power and wealth of a king likewise indicate a political and social reality. The focus in this week’s portion (Shoftim, “Judges,” Deut. 16:18—21:9), is on the need to establish a judicial system, necessary for any civilization and culture to exist and prosper. First steps are also taken toward the centralization of religious practice and authority, enabling the nascent Jewish religion to survive in the Middle East, a place where the world’s major trade routes intersect—and with them, the cultural and religious influences of many lands and peoples.

Some of the laws in Shoftim strive to control human passions such as sexual lust, hunger for power, and the brutal urge for blood vengeance.

As the last of the Five Books of Moses, we would expect Deuteronomy to offer denouement, a satisfying conclusion tying together all the loose ends, all the storylines that interweave and leave us wanting more. As a work of theology, one could expect some answers about God, God’s nature, and the nature of God’s relationship with humanity. We could be pardoned for wanting to know more about our role and place in the universe, to see the larger picture, with all the whys and wherefores answered.

Yet exactly the opposite happens. No explanations, no sweet resolutions.  Ironically, even though it is part of a religious text, Deuteronomy says little about the nature of God’s divinity and is actually a roadmap into the human soul. Rather than explain why God or the Universe are the way they are, Deuteronomy actually helps us understand ourselves, the complex entity that we human beings are—that I am, that you are, that each individual is, in his/her/their own and unique way.

Deuteronomy isn’t about God at all. Rather, it’s about you and me. Every law in Shoftim is addressed to the individual, taking the form of the singular “you,” the “thou.” That’s what it all comes down to. There is no grand finale, no revelation of things or days to come. Everything is up to you.

Maybe that’s why Deuteronomy is read during Elul, the last month of the Jewish year. As we begin to reflect on the year that is now ending and as we begin to look, with hopes and expectations, toward the new year, we are reminded that so much depends on what our choices are going to be.

Yes, prayer is good. Prayer expresses the deepest longings in our hearts and souls—for peace, for health, for satisfaction, for a good job, for love. But prayer by itself is no more than wishful thinking. It’s what we do that complements and completes prayer.

If we want peace, we must work towards it, and not strive for destruction.

If we want to be treated with dignity and kindness, we have to treat others in exactly the same way.

If we want to live in a just world, then we need look no further than to the words that open this week’s portion: “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” The doubling of the word justice has been taught as a reminder that we must judge others as we judge ourselves, no more and no less.

And lastly, if we want to live in a world where all people—regardless of race, color, creed or gender—are treated equally, then we must tear down walls of prejudice, fear and hatred and replace them instead with fair and equitable systems and practices. No one, no matter how rich or powerful, is above the law; we are all—president or ordinary citizen, rich or poor, subject to a higher power, a higher authority, a higher and ultimate Judge.

Deuteronomy is set in the days immediately prior to the People of Israel’s crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land. As we read it now, facing a new year, new opportunities and new challenges, these chapters remind us to see ourselves as our ancestors must have: Our fear mingled with faith, our doubts replaced with resolve. Our dreams of a Promised Land remain unfulfilled until we—you and I—take action to make them real.

© 2020 by Boaz D. Heilman