We're opening Parashat Shoftim and the month of Elul, the month of Tshuva, after such a difficult week. Six more hostages are dead.
Ori Danino. Carmel Gat. Almod Sarusi. Alex Lobanov. Eden Yerushalmi.
And Hersh. Hersh Goldberg Polin, the kid who saw his arm torn by a grenade before he was taken from his life and burried alive underground for eleven month, where he managed to "survive", as his mother had asked her, until he was shot in the head by his Hamas captors right before the IDF got to get to him.
Hersh, so dear to our hearts, in part because his parents were such ambassadors of Mishpat Tsedek (Righteous Justice) teaching us about building, beyond their personal pain, the emergency about building a more Just world.
Justice as an existential ethics is the theme of our Parasha.
But Parashat Shoftim speaks about much more than the Pshat of establishing righteous "Judges."
For the Mei Ha Shiloach, it is are really pointing to inner work.
In his commentary on the first verse of the parasha (Devarim 16:18), he hints to one practice in particular that is central to the movement of Tshuva that we just started, with the month of Eloul.
The verse simply says this
שֹֽׁפְטִ֣ים וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים תִּתֶּן־לְךָ֙
`And you shall appoint for ourselves judges and officials`
But the Hasidic Master offers an inner ready of this. To him, this means:
that a human must consider their ways in all their actions.
היינו שיחשוב האדם את דרכיו בכל מעשיו שיעשה`
Without naming it, reb Leiner is hinting here at a central Jewish spiritual practice: Cheshbon Nefesh, soul accounting.
This practice which Jews customarily do in between Rosh Hashana and Yom kippur, is a process we actually started at Tisha B’Av. In Eicha, in the midst of our pain, we read an invitation to `seek our ways, and investigate, and return to God` (3:40)
But Maimonides suggests it should be performed daily.
Each night, we should close the day reflecting on "our ways": how do I live? And perhaps more importantly: How do I want to live?
Who do I want to be in this world? How do I want to embody righteousness and Justice in this world?
Can you imagine, if the Israeli leaders, if the Hamas captors, were doing this just once?
Now how about us?
Friends we hurt. We hurt incredibly. And one of the natural impulses when we hurt is to project outside. To externalize the guilt. To point the fingers at others. It's this one's fault; or this one.
This is getting no one nowhere. The only thing that may save us, is if each of us- yes, each of us, was taking responsibility. For their own life, and for the role they have to play in the world. This is the invitation of Parashat Shoftim-even in the pshat ' give yourself judges'. Titen Lecha This is another form of Lech lecha;
Do it for yourself.
Do it yourself
Start by doing justice within yourself. This is at the root of Cheshbon nefesh- soul accounting, but also of prayer- lethitpalel, which is a reflexive form pointing to self- assessment. Friends the world is in crisis. We are hurting.
Let's work to bring more mishpat tsedek- true justice. And that starts by judging constructively my own actions. This is the spiritual dimension of " brining judges/judgments for ourselves." There is not much we can do to change others.
But we can work on changing ourselves. As broken as we may feel today, it is our responsibility to not give up.
For those who are still captive. For those who fought for us and are dead now. For those who are still hospitalized. For those who are traumatized. For those who are just born. And for those who will be soon.
Yes the world needs justice. Let us make it start with this one.
Beautiful