This is Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa and based in Mason City. Thank you for coming by. A reminder that services will take place at the shul on Friday Evening the 18th at 7PM and then our Midrash (Study Session) will be on Shabbat the 19th starting at 10AM. Hope that we'll see you in shul.
Parsha Shoftim
This week we've been reading Deut. 16:18 - 21:9 or Parsha Shoftim. The Hebrew word "shoftim" mean judges as we read: "Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your cities - which Hashem your G-d gives you - for your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgement." (Deut 16:18) The key word here is "righteous". Not just anyone could serve as a judge. They must be of such character that they will judge honestly and not be swayed by bribes or gifts. It is an issue of personal respect and wise decision making.
King of Israel
Later in this Parsha we read: When you come to the Land that God gives you… and you will say, “I will set a king over myself”…;You shall surely set a king over yourself. (Deut. 17: 14 - 15). It's pretty clear what Moses is telling the people yet later in the history we find that Samuel decried kingship after the people said this to him: "...and they said to him, "You have grown old, and your sons have not followed your ways. Therefore appoint a king for us, to govern us like all other nations.” (Samuel 8:5).
To understand this we need to look, carefully, at the difference between the commandment from Moses to what the people requested from Samuel.
The Lesson
It is a mitzvah to appoint a king when the intention is, “I will set a king over myself,” i.e., when one is willing to subordinate oneself to the king's rule and accept his authority. Close attention to the request of the Israelites of the Prophet Samuel show that they requested, “Give unto us a king,” not a king over us whom we will obey, but rather a king unto us who will cater to our wishes. It was this request that angered the prophet.
A term frequently used to refer to a rabbi is “spiritual leader.” However, not infrequently, the rabbi is a spiritual follower rather than leader.
Rabbi Yisroel of Salant commented on the Talmud that describes the sorry state of affairs that will prevail before the Ultimate Redemption, among them, "the leaders, of the generation will be similar to dogs”. He said that a dog often runs ahead of its master, but then looks back to see whether the master has turned the corner. If he sees that the master has veered off in another direction, he runs back to follow him.
“That is how the leaders will be before the Ultimate Redemption,” Rabbi Yisroel said. “They may give the appearance of leading the community, but like a dog watching its master, they turn around to see which way the community is heading, and they follow them.”
We must accept authentic leadership and defer to authority, rather than expect the leaders to follow us.
And...notice a similar requirement of both the judges, the king and the people? Honesty and integrity on all sides. What a message for our time.
Thank you for reading and Shabbat Shalom! See you in shul...