{"id":62546,"date":"2019-09-06T17:46:49","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T14:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=62546"},"modified":"2019-09-06T17:46:49","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T14:46:49","slug":"shoftim-call-out-in-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/shoftim-call-out-in-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoftim: Call Out In Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shoftim (Deut 16:18-21:9) contains an injunction that can be of use of almost any situation: call out in peace (20:10). Before going to war and resorting to the most extreme measure to quell an argument, force, it is incumbent upon us as a society to try to use diplomatic means and negotiate first.\u00a0\u00a0 As I have written earlier, the medieval commentary Sefer Hahinuch says about this verse, \u201cThe quality of mercy (rahmaniut) is a good quality; and it is fitting for us, the holy seed, to behave thus in all matters even with our enemies, worshippers of idols.\u201d<\/p>\n

But along with mercy is justice. This week\u2019s portion is sort of catch all for different juridical situations: what to do when a corpse is found and there is no obvious clue as to who murdered it (21: 1-9); the repetition (earlier in Ex 21:13-14 and Num 35) of the law of three cities of refuge for those who accidentally kill (19:1-7) and then another three (19:8-10); and the need to set up a system of magistrates and judges who are forbidden to take bribes or show partiality (16:19).<\/p>\n

One particular law, for a capital case exemplifies the tension between strict justice and leniency due to possible human error. There must be two or more witnesses in order to put someone to death, a single person cannot be the sole testimony to seal the case against an accused murderer (17:6); even when circumstantial evidence is overwhelming, this law must be adhered to. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37b) brings the example of a person who sees one man pursuing another holding a sword and returning with the sword dripping blood and the other person in the throes of death. The witness has not seen the actual act of murder, only the circumstantial evidence, so his viewing of this action has no value for a court of law.<\/p>\n

Yet, the Talmud there continues with the statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach who experienced this very situation. He said, \u201cThe One Who knows thoughts [God] shall punish this man who killed his neighbor. The Sages said: They did not move from there before a snake came and bit the murderer, and he died.\u201d<\/p>\n

I believe this story is a metaphor for the divine justice exacted with appropriate judgement and appropriate mercy to ensure the world runs as it should. Calling out in peace before declaring war will always lead to a more positive outcome. Yet when it seems that human situations create unfairness, we can recall Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach\u2019s metaphor: the world is filled with snakes and sometimes, one of those vipers may just bite those in need of justice. It may not be until messianic times when the world is so perfected that all those who should get viper bites do, but it is something to hope for.<\/p>\n

Until then we humans have these laws enumerated in Shoftim to enable us to strive to create a society built on justice as best we can, so that we can lead, ultimately, to peace.<\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Parashat Shoftim 5779","main_caption":"Shoftim: Call Out In Peace","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"And don't forget the justice\u2026","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62546"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62546"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62547,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62546\/revisions\/62547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}