Elul 4, 5772 · August 22, 2012 | General Overview:
| This week's reading, Shoftim, addresses fundamental issues pertaining to the leadership of the Jewish people. It begins with a discussion regarding judges, and later discusses the concept of the kings, prophets, and the kohanim (priests). Many commandments are introduced in this weeks reading, including: appointing judges, the obligation to follow Rabbinic Law and the words of the prophets, the obligations of a king, the punishment for perjury, laws of war, and the procedure for dealing with unsolved murders. |
 | By Rabbi Jonathan Sacks |  |
|  | | THE PARSHAH | | | Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9
"Justice"—the very concept is said to be a Jewish contribution to the world. A glance at this week's Parshah (equality before the law, due process, protection of criminals from vigilante vengeance, curbs on the behavior of kings, rules and ethics in warfare . . . ) shows why.
|  |  | | COLUMNISTS | | | Simply put—you want to fix what you broke? The first step is to get "tamim." But what does "tamim" mean?
By Baruch Epstein |  | | | | He was standing at the entrance of the strip mall, his front and back covered by identical, cumbersome cardboard signs. He was still there a few hours later when I returned from the synagogue . . .
By Naftali Silberberg | | | | | Just because you decided against leaving your footprints in the sands of time, that's no excuse for knocking other people off their feet.
By Levi Avtzon | | | | FEATURED VIDEO | | | Practical Parshah - Shoftim
The Torah gives the Sages the power to enact new laws and observances. We look at the "rabbinical holidays" of Chanukah and Purim. By Mendel Kaplan | | | | | Parshah Shoftim
"By the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall the one liable to death be put to death; he shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness." (Deut. 17:6) What does it mean that the Jewish people are "witnesses" to the truth of G-d's existence? By Moshe New | | | | | A Taste of Text—Shoftim
There is always some explanation, some justification, some perspective for another's behavior. If you cannot see it, you are not fit to be a judge. By Chana Weisberg | | | | FEATURED AUDIO CLASSES | | | In this week's Torah portion we are commanded to use witnesses to establish the law. There are two types of witnesses; ones that observe and later clarify an event, and ones that are integral to actually establishing and creating the event. By Moshe New | | | | | A five minute weekly Torah insight based on the wellsprings of Torah and Chassidut. By J. Immanuel Schochet | | | | | |
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