Parashat Shoftim

In the contemporary Jewish community, judging goes beyond adjudicating.

At a time when Jewish influence has increased, how do we approach unethical commandments?

Resisting the temptation to return, geographically or psychologically, to the site of our bondage.

The prohibition against encroaching on your neighbor's land teaches us that our own expansion and success must not compromise the success of others.

True justice balances the needs of a whole group, rather than just the individual.

The Torah takes care to limit the power of both the kingship and the priesthood, the formal institutions of leadership and governance in ancient Israel.

Justice, expressed in Parashat Shoftim, is one of the eternal religious obligations of Judaism.

The commandment to be wholehearted with God requires us to devote our entire beings sincerely to God.

The instructions to pursue justice and practice communal responsibility should motivate us to constantly improve our efforts to alleviate the crises that affect our people.

Moses reviews for the Israelites their system of justice, the rules of kingship, their relationship to idolatrous nations, and the rules of doing battle.