Shoftim שֹׁפְטִים - Judges
Torah Portion:
Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9
Deuteronomy 16:18–17:13
16:18 You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which Hashem your Elohim gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which Hashem your Elohim gives you. 21 You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside Hashem your Elohim’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves. 22 Neither shall you set yourself up a sacred stone which Hashem your Elohim hates.
17:1 You shall not sacrifice to Hashem your Elohim an ox or a sheep in which is a defect or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Hashem your Elohim
2 If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Hashem your Elohim gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Hashem your Elohim’s sight in transgressing His covenant, 3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded, 4 and you are told, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such an abomination is done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates, even that same man or woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones. 6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness, he shall not be put to death. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
8 If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise, and go up to the place which Hashem your Elohim chooses. 9 You shall come to the priests who are Levites and to the judge who shall be in those days. You shall inquire, and they shall give you the verdict. 10 You shall do according to the decisions of the verdict which they shall give you from that place which Hashem chooses. You shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you. 11 According to the decisions of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do. You shall not turn away from the sentence which they announce to you, to the right hand, nor to the left. 12 The man who does presumptuously in not listening to the priest who stands to minister there before Hashem your Elohim, or to the judge, even that man shall die. You shall put away the evil from Israel. 13 All the people shall hear and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
Today’s Meditation:
Today is all about the Israeli judicial court system. They were to go to the priests and the judge, listen to them, and do what they say. There must be at least two witnesses to an offense. It’s all about fairness. We may think it super harsh to enforce the death penalty, but remember, they are entering a land filled with paganism. Hashem wants to protect them against this. And to set an example. It is His decision to do things this way. At the time, life and death were handled quite differently from how they are today. His desire has always been, and will always be, that people follow Him, not false gods. And that is what we also desire to do.
Today’s Challenge:
We are told in verse 19, “You shall not pervert justice.” Taking bribes or favors to help a guilty person be freed is not allowed. It is not allowed in our United States judicial system. However, that does not mean that it is not happening. Look at our lobbyists who so influence our lawmakers. Money and promises during election years determine support for potential candidates. Our justice system is perverted every day. In our system, if the accused (defendant) in a case has money and influence, they are likely to win. The less advantaged person without money will face a very different type of trial and is likely to be sentenced, whether guilty or not. In the USA, our judicial system has its roots in Judeo-Christian teachings, but what really happens when someone goes to court can be a different story.
My challenge to you today is to do your part in defending the defenseless. Hashem will show you who they are and how you can help them. And if you can help bring justice to our court system, I pray that Hashem will help you do so. Let’s each do what Hashem enables us to do to ensure people are treated fairly and that our constitutional rights are protected.
