Netvort
Parshas Shoftim 5770: All Things Considered
By Rabbi Joshua (totally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
In commemoration of the seventy-fifth Yahrzheit of Rav Avraham Yitzchak
HaKohein Kook, zt'l first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisroel. His Yahrzheit
occurs Thursday night/ Friday, 3 Elul. (August 12-13). May his merit
stand us in good stead.
In this week's parsha, we are told "You shall be whole (tamim) with the
Lord your God" (Devarim, 18:13). This verse is placed in the context of
the prohibitions of consulting with soothsayers and the like, which the other
nations resort to. The Torah, then, seems to be telling us that, in contrast
to these nations, we should turn to God alone when we are confronted with
uncertainties in life. Rav Avraham Aharon Yudelevitch, who served as
rabbi of the Eldridge Street shul on New York's Lower East Side in the early
twentieth century, cites Targum Onkeles on this verse and explains it in a much
broader way, which should, in turn, be seen in the wider context of the book of
Devarim in general, and the parsha of Shoftim in particular.
The Targum translates the word 'tamim' as meaning 'shelim' or complete, and the
entire verse as meaning "you shall be complete in you fear of God,"
or as Rabbi Yudelevitch explains the Targum's translation, "you shall be
complete in your service of God." Rabbi Yudelevitch goes on to explain
that a person should be a complete Jew, not a part-time Jew. In other words,
he should not compartmentalize his life, letting God into it in some aspects
but not in others. For example, he should not consider himself a Jew only up
to his pocket and thus refrain from giving of his money to a poor person.
Similarly, he should not consider himself as Jewish only in areas that touch on
his relationships with man but not in regard to his relationship with God.
Being a Jew, bringing God and His Torah into one's life is a total experience
and should relate to all aspects of life. This contrasts to the other nations,
who bifurcate their lives and consider religion as something that is
practiced in their various houses of worship but not brought into their daily
lives. I often heard Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, s”hlita, the Novimimsker Rebbe, cite
a Chassidic Torah thought, perhaps from the Kotzker Rebbe if I remember
correctly, that a non-Jew, although permitted to bring a sacrifice to the Beis
HaMikdash, was only allowed to bring an olah, which is totally burned on the
altar, he could not bring a korban shelamim, from which certain parts
were burned on the altar, certain parts were given to the kohanim to eat, and
other parts were given back to the owner to eat. The non-Jewish view of
religion is something that is relegated to the house of worship, but not
brought into every day life, and, therefore, they can only understand the
korban olah, which is completely given back to God. However, a korban shelamim,
in which all participate, representing the role of God in the very act of
eating, is something that only the Jewish people can relate to. This is the
message of our verse, as well. In contrast to the other nations, who isolate
the religious elements in their lives form the rest of their activities, the
Jewish nation should be complete in its service of God, bringing all aspects of
life within the purview of their adherence to Torah and engagement with God.
Understood in this way, we can appreciate why this verse appears in the book of
Devarim. Ramban, in his introduction to this book, writes that the mitzvos
given in it relate to the life of the nation in Eretz Yisroel. As Rav Kook
zt’l taught, the role of Eretz Yisroel is to provide a stage for the
realization of the Jewish nation's role of being a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation, bringing Torah into all aspects of the life of a nation, including
economic, social and political concerns. Rabbi Reuven Katz, in his Dudaei
Reuven to parshas Shoftim, writes that this function of Eretz Yisroel is
brought out especially in our parsha, with the laws of the king and the judges.
That is why the Talmud tells us that the establishment of proper judges is
considered as sufficient merit to settle the Jews on their land. The judges,
says Rabbi Katz, teach the nation how to bring the Torah standard into all
aspects of their lives, and thereby fulfill the purpose of Eretz Yisroel in the
life of the nation.
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