Parshas Shoftim: Gathering the Forces
This has been one of those weeks. The kind where I feel like I’m just trying to hold it all together. One person, one pair of hands, only so many hours in the day. Then Torah comes and reminds me not to worry. I’m not on my own in this. Inside me is a whole workforce, each able to do its part.
This week the Parsha opens with:
שפטים ושטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך
“Appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates.”
Shoftim reminds me: I’m not just one small person. I’m a whole nation within. Shabbos is my chance to bring those voices to the same table, to live whole with Hashem through His Torah.
And what does that give us? The next teaching (Avos 6:7) says:
שהיא נותנת חיים לעושיה בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא
“It gives life to those who live it in this world and in the World to Come.”
That wholeness becomes alive, here and beyond.
Wishing you all a whole and peaceful Shabbos.
Shabbat Shalom,
Berke Chein
This week the Parsha opens with:
שפטים ושטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך
“Appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates.”
The Midrash teaches that these “gates” are not only the gates of a city, but the gates of the body: our eyes, ears, and mouth. Chassidus adds that each of us is an olam katan, a small world. Just as a nation needs judges, officers, priests, courts, kings, prophets, and safe havens, so too does the soul.
That means I need to keep all these voices active and supervised, not just once but all the time.
The Judge helps me catch myself before reacting harshly.
The Officer teaches me to pause and hold to my word.
The Sanhedrin humbles me to ask for help instead of pretending I know everything.
The King calls me to step up with dignity for my family and community.
The Kohen and Levi keep me setting aside time to daven, learn, journal, and serve.
The Prophet whispers when a path is no longer serving me.
The Ir Miklat gives me space for my stumbles and helps me forgive myself and others when we fall.
The Torah sums it up simply:
תמים תהיה עם ה׳ אלקיך
“Be whole with Hashem your God.”
So how do we actually do this? How do we keep all these voices working together and live tamim, whole with Hashem?
This week’s Pirkei Avos (6:6) gives the answer:
גדולה תורה מכהנה וממלכות - “Torah is greater than priesthood and greater than kingship.”
Torah is not just one more voice. The sages teach it is forty-eight threads, weaving the whole nation into harmony.
That means I need to keep all these voices active and supervised, not just once but all the time.
The Judge helps me catch myself before reacting harshly.
The Officer teaches me to pause and hold to my word.
The Sanhedrin humbles me to ask for help instead of pretending I know everything.
The King calls me to step up with dignity for my family and community.
The Kohen and Levi keep me setting aside time to daven, learn, journal, and serve.
The Prophet whispers when a path is no longer serving me.
The Ir Miklat gives me space for my stumbles and helps me forgive myself and others when we fall.
The Torah sums it up simply:
תמים תהיה עם ה׳ אלקיך
“Be whole with Hashem your God.”
So how do we actually do this? How do we keep all these voices working together and live tamim, whole with Hashem?
This week’s Pirkei Avos (6:6) gives the answer:
גדולה תורה מכהנה וממלכות - “Torah is greater than priesthood and greater than kingship.”
Torah is not just one more voice. The sages teach it is forty-eight threads, weaving the whole nation into harmony.
Threads of humility, joy, listening, service, awe, calm, compassion, friendship, sharpness, study, and more. Torah is what binds the whole self together. It makes the Judge just, the Officer disciplined, the Sanhedrin a source of guidance, the King humble, the Kohen devoted, the Prophet attuned, and the Ir Miklat compassionate.
Shoftim reminds me: I’m not just one small person. I’m a whole nation within. Shabbos is my chance to bring those voices to the same table, to live whole with Hashem through His Torah.
And what does that give us? The next teaching (Avos 6:7) says:
שהיא נותנת חיים לעושיה בעולם הזה ובעולם הבא
“It gives life to those who live it in this world and in the World to Come.”
That wholeness becomes alive, here and beyond.
Wishing you all a whole and peaceful Shabbos.
Shabbat Shalom,
Berke Chein