Shoftim
Rabbi Schapiro on the Parshah: Shoftim
Unpacks the halacha of eglah arufah, where the elders measure to the nearest city and declare their hands did not spill the blood, as an eternal spiritual lesson even though the din itself no longer applies. Reads the 'dead body found in the field' as a person who has fallen to a low spiritual madreigah, tracing the remez in ir, sadeh, and midbar as descending levels of kedusha and connection to the Shechinah. Shows that even though such a person brought his own downfall by leaving an environment of kedusha, the Sanhedrin Gedolah bears responsibility to feed him with Torah and clothe him in mitzvot until he is led back to the ir, a place of kedusha.
A Vort From the Rebbe: Shoftim
When the Yidden asked Shmuel Hanavi for a king, Hashem responded as though it were a personal rejection — despite appointing a king being a mitzvah He Himself commanded for after entering Eretz Yisrael. The resolution lies in two different reasons a nation might want a king: the simple need for law and order, or the deeper purpose of a king whose own lofty spiritual level, like Shaul Hamelech's, elevates the entire nation. The Yidden's request came from the first motive alone, which is why it drew Hashem's displeasure even as He granted it.
Parshas Shoftim
A short Elul-season class on Parshas Shoftim's comparison of a person to a tree, and the lesson of delayed fruit as a model for patient self-reflection.
Parshas Shoftim
A class on Parshas Shoftim's cities of refuge, exploring the eternal relevance of mitzvos tied to a specific place, and the idea of Elul itself as a temporary refuge before the new year's judgment.
Parshas Shoftim
A class on Parshas Shoftim's commandment to mark the road to the cities of refuge, using the crossroads as a metaphor for choosing between Torah and sin during Elul.
Parshas Shoftim
A class on Parshas Shoftim exploring Rashi's comment on the Torah's singular phrasing for Egypt's army, paralleling the spies' fear of giants, and applying the lesson to Elul self-assessment.
Parshas Shoftim
A class on Parshas Shoftim's law of false witnesses, exploring the requirement to publicize their punishment and the lesson that real teshuva must prevent others from repeating the same sin.