פרשת שופטים
In this week’s parsha Moshe Rabbeinu admonishes the people to uphold justice and emphasizes the importance of establishing a society run in accordance with Torah law. We must have competent judges, an effective police force, and firm leadership in order to fully actualize the Torah and maintain the peace. However, there’s an interesting nuance in the beginning of the parsha that can only be understood in the original Hebrew. In the English translation, Moshe appears to tell the people: “Judges and officers you shall appoint for yourselves in all your gates…” However, if one looks into the actual text of the Torah he will notice that the command is given in the singular. Why is Moshe talking this way? Why not speak normally? He is talking to the entire Jewish people about the importance of communal responsibility!
The Shla HaKadosh answers that Moshe was trying to hint to the people that the pursuit of righteousness begins with the individual. Not only does a Torah society have an obligation to stay true to the ideals of justice and maintain the peace. Every person must appoint “judges” and “officers” over his own personal “gates” as well. The eyes, ears, brain, heart, and mouth are all avenues that can be sources of great benefit to so many people. However, at the same time they can also be used for the greatest evils. Mouths can be used to speak hurtful words, eyes can be used to look at inappropriate images, our hearts can be filled with hate, etc. We need to be in control of ourselves and use all of our faculties with the integrity and nobility that Hashem demands from us. We need to be effective judges in our own lives, not only in our courts. Rav Gedalia Shore adds that sometimes a person even needs to become an officer over himself. Regardless of how we may feel at times, we must force ourselves to comply with Hashem’s will. This means that a person should strive to find any method of discipline that may help him maximize his potential. A person may even have to penalize himself in order to be pushed to grow and perform the greatest Divine service. When we act in accordance to these principles we are truly being responsible leaders of our own spiritual kingdoms.
In the Kuzari 3:5 the king of the Kuzars asks the Rabbi what the definition of a servant of G-d is. The Rabbi replies that a servant of G-d is someone who has complete control over all his thoughts, feelings, and actions. The king of the Kuzars challenges the Rabbi, feeling that his question was left unanswered: “I asked you about the definition of one who serves G-d, not one who has self-control!!!” Replied the Rabbi: “But they are one and the same. Only one who has complete control over all his thoughts, feelings, and actions can truly serve G-d. Only then can he use his entire being to serve Him without being influenced by anything else.” According to the Kuzari, self-control is the actual center and primary element in one’s service of G-d. It is control of one’s self which separates the men from the boys and the professionals from the amateurs. It is control of one’s self which makes one’s service of Hashem refined and complete.
In the beginning of the 6th chapter of Pirkei Avos, Rebbi Meir presents a long list of all the incredible things that a person who learns Torah lishma is privileged to receive. One of these gifts is that his Torah learning will give him “kingship and dominion.” The mishna obviously can’t be understood in its simple sense. Do we see any bnei Torah – let alone those who learn Torah lishma – serving as world leaders? Rather, Rebbi Meir is telling us that when one learns Torah the way Hashem wants him to, the Torah itself will give him the power to control himself and the inner strength we all desire. When a person makes the Torah the center of his life and just wants to be able to do what it says, he will find new strengths he never knew he had. This is why the gemara in Gittin 62 calls the Rabbis “kings.” Through their complete dedication to Torah, they grow into people who are categorically equivalent to monarchs. And in truth, they have more control than any human ruler. Human rulers don’t have complete control over anybody, even themselves. However, those who learn Torah lishma end up in complete control of their lives, able to overcome their personal inclinations and to make their own decisions.
There’s another interesting section in this week’s parsha which deals with the appointing of a king over the entire nation. The Torah considers it very important for the Jewish people to be led by a monarch. Such unlimited authority concentrated in the hands of one man instills respect and fear into the populace. So, there is a check on the people, but where is the check on the king? What constrains the king is a special mitzvah only incumbent on him. To make sure that the king remains completely dedicated to the Torah, he must constantly be accompanied by a sefer Torah. Through the constant presence of the Torah at his side, he is reminded at all times of Hashem’s presence and his obligation to subjugate himself to His service. We see from here that the Torah shows concern for every Jew’s unwavering commitment to Torah. The Torah even gave the king a special mitzvah, understanding that a king, who need not answer to any man, will be especially challenged in remembering this message. The sefer Torah reminds the king that even though he is fully empowered to implement the law as he sees fit, he must remember that he should only act according to what is right in Hashem’s eyes.
Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv z”l embodied many of the greatest midos that all Jews aspire to attain. One of his most notable accomplishments was his incredible self-control. He consecrated his entire being to the learning of Torah. Known as a tremendous masmid, he would wake up no later than 3 o’clock in the morning and would even learn standing up in order not to fall asleep. When people would come to ask him shailas, Rav Eliyashiv would make eye contact as long as the person was facing him and as soon as he would turn away, Rav Eliyashiv’s head was back in the book, as fully concentrated as before. He was extremely calculated in every one of his actions, even his slightest movements. A head psychiatrist in the army even said that of all of the trained individuals in the special units in the IDF, Rav Eliyashiv had by far the greatest self-control he had ever seen. There’s a story told of how when Rav Eliyashiv was a young yeshiva bucher, he went to go hear a famous hazzan, reasoning that it would boost his yiras shamayim. Just as he arrived at the door, he stopped and asked himself, “Why am I really going? To get more yiras shamayim? Isn’t it obvious that I can get even more yiras shamayim by learning a daf of gemara?!!!” Immediately, Rav Eliyashiv turned around and went back to the beis midrash, missing out on the once-in-a-life time opportunity. That’s self-control!!!
May we all be the judges and officers Hashem wants us to be!!!