שופטים
Parshas Shoftim
Deuteronomy
51 source sheets
Jewish Law on Forbidden Magic and Divination
These sources examine the Torah's prohibition of sorcery, divination, and occult practices, exploring why such arts are forbidden, how they are distinguished from legitimate spiritual authority, and what constitutes actual sorcery versus deception. The sources emphasize that all forms of magic are understood as falsehoods rather than genuine powers.
וּדְבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ כֻּלָּן דִּבְרֵי שֶׁקֶר וְכָזָב הֵן
Jewish Law on Forbidden Magic and Divination
These sources examine the Torah's prohibition of sorcery, divination, and occult practices, exploring why such arts are forbidden, how they are distinguished from legitimate spiritual authority, and what constitutes actual sorcery versus deception. The sources emphasize that all forms of magic are understood as falsehoods rather than genuine powers.
וּדְבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ כֻּלָּן דִּבְרֵי שֶׁקֶר וְכָזָב הֵן
Chassidic Teachings for Shabbos Chazon
Hasidic interpretations of rebuke, repentance, and spiritual repair that illuminate the unique spiritual atmosphere of Shabbos Chazon—the Shabbat before Tishah BeAv. These sources reveal how the mood of mourning and admonition already contains within it the seeds of consolation and cosmic restoration.
ומכח היראה זוכין לשמחה
Chassidic Teachings on Shabbat Chazon
Chassidic sources explore the spiritual dynamics of Shabbat Chazon, addressing themes of joy and inner awareness on Shabbat, the power of repentance and spiritual elevation, and the vision of redemption as a present spiritual reality rather than a future external event.
שבת חזון תרצ״ו כל ישראל מאמינים בהקב״ה
Chassidic Teachings on Shabbat Chazon
Chassidic sources explore the spiritual dynamics of Shabbat Chazon, addressing themes of joy and inner awareness on Shabbat, the power of repentance and spiritual elevation, and the vision of redemption as a present spiritual reality rather than a future external event.
שבת חזון תרצ״ו כל ישראל מאמינים בהקב״ה
Spiritual Forces During the Nine Days
These sources explore the nature of divine and supernal influences that govern specific times of year, particularly the month of Av leading to Tisha B'Av. They discuss whether Jewish people are subject to astrological forces, how different moments carry distinct spiritual qualities, and the relationship between merit, repentance, and the removal of protective barriers during periods of national mourning.
אֵין מַזָּל לְיִשְׂרָאֵל
Trees Throughout the Tanakh
The Hebrew scriptures reference trees in various contexts, from the creation of fruit-bearing vegetation to prophetic imagery comparing the righteous to flourishing trees, prohibitions against destroying them, and their symbolic use in descriptions of joy and redemption.
כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל־מַיִם
Plagiarism and Intellectual Theft in Halakha
Sources explore the halakhic prohibition against stealing another person's intellectual property, credit, or labor. The sources frame plagiarism as a form of theft and misappropriation, drawing on biblical prohibitions against theft and landmark-moving, as well as rabbinic discussions of wrongful taking and the obligation to speak with truthfulness.
וְאָסוּר לִגְנֹב דַּעַת הַבְּרִיּוֹת
Understanding 'Ki Ha'adam Etz HaSadeh'
This phrase from Deuteronomy 20:19 appears in the context of prohibiting the destruction of fruit trees during siege warfare. Medieval commentaries offer varying interpretations of the verse's meaning and its relationship to the broader prohibition against needless destruction.
כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
Understanding 'Ki Ha'adam Etz HaSadeh'
This phrase from Deuteronomy 20:19 appears in the context of prohibiting the destruction of fruit trees during siege warfare. Medieval commentaries offer varying interpretations of the verse's meaning and its relationship to the broader prohibition against needless destruction.
כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
Trees of the Field: Interpreting a Cryptic Verse
Sources examine Deuteronomy 20:19's enigmatic phrase "ki haadam etz hasadeh" (is the tree of the field a man), which frames the Torah's prohibition against destroying fruit trees during siege warfare. Commentators interpret the verse as a rhetorical question emphasizing that trees, unlike human combatants, cannot flee and should therefore be preserved.
כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
Understanding 'Ki Ha'adam Etz HaSadeh'
This phrase from Deuteronomy 20:19 appears in the context of prohibiting the destruction of fruit trees during siege warfare. Medieval commentaries offer varying interpretations of the verse's meaning and its relationship to the broader prohibition against needless destruction.
כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
Understanding 'Ki Ha'adam Etz HaSadeh'
This phrase from Deuteronomy 20:19 appears in the context of prohibiting the destruction of fruit trees during siege warfare. Medieval commentaries offer varying interpretations of the verse's meaning and its relationship to the broader prohibition against needless destruction.
כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה
Governance and Authority in Sefer Shoftim
Sources examine how classical commentators understood systems of political authority and rulership in the Book of Judges, including perspectives on the contrast between judicial and monarchical governance in ancient Israel.
בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
Orthodox Perspectives on the Conquest and the Seven Nations
Classical and modern Orthodox Jewish sources address the theological and moral meaning of the biblical command to destroy the Canaanite nations, examining the rationales offered by Rishonim and later authorities, the role of peace offers, the distinction between commanded and optional war, and frameworks for understanding this difficult passage within Jewish law and ethics.
לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא יְלַמְּדוּ אֶתְכֶם לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל תּוֹעֲבֹתָם
Orthodox Jewish Thought on the Conquest of Canaan
Classical and modern Orthodox authorities examine the Torah's command to destroy the seven Canaanite nations, exploring how this directive relates to rejected peace offers, idolatrous practice, moral corruption, and the theological purpose of the conquest. Sources address the distinction between this command and ordinary warfare, the role of conditional surrender, and how believing Jews understand these difficult passages.
שִׁבְעָה עֲמָמִין שֶׁלֹּא הִשְׁלִימוּ אֵין מַנִּיחִין מֵהֶם נְשָׁמָה
Adding Days to Pesach: Torah Law and Rabbinic Authority
These sources address the apparent tension between the Torah's prohibition against adding to commandments and the rabbinic institution of an eighth day of Pesach outside the Land of Israel. They explain how rabbinic enactments, enacted for legitimate purposes such as preventing confusion about festival dates, operate within the framework of Torah law and rabbinic authority.
תקנה ראשונה לא זזה ממקומה
Rishonim and Chazal on Joshua's Warfare
Classical Jewish commentators address the moral and theological dimensions of the conquest narratives in Joshua, offering interpretations that range from divine justice and spiritual corruption to considerations of human choice and divine decree. These sources explore how rabbinic tradition understood the destruction of Canaanite cities and populations.
יען נתמלאה סאתם ורצה ה' להענישם
Obligation to Fight in a Mandatory War
Jewish sources discuss who is obligated to participate in a milchemet mitzvah (a mandatory war), contrasting universal obligation in such wars with the exemptions that apply to optional warfare. The sources establish that in a mandatory war, virtually all categories of people—including grooms and brides—are obligated to serve.
אֲבָל בְּמִלְחֶמֶת מִצְוָה, הַכֹּל יוֹצְאִין
The Prohibition of Baal Tashchit
Sources explore the mitzvah prohibiting needless destruction, rooted in the Torah's command against cutting down fruit trees during a siege. The sources trace how classical halakhic authorities codified and expanded this principle to encompass wasteful destruction of property more broadly.
לֹא תַשְׁחִית אֶת־עֵצָהּ
The Breaking of the Tablets at Sinai
Sources explore the significance of Moses breaking the first tablets upon witnessing Israel's sin with the golden calf, examining both the justification for this act and the enduring sanctity of the broken pieces. The sources present varied perspectives on how this breaking relates to divine will, human agency, and the ultimate repair through the second tablets.
יִישַׁר כֹּחֲךָ שֶׁשִּׁבַּרְתָּ
The Nature of Prophecy and Divine Communication
These sources explore how prophets receive divine wisdom and communicate with God. They examine prophecy as an elevation of the soul to perceive divine wisdom, the role of causes and causal chains in prophetic knowledge, and how the prophetic faculty operates within the constraints of human perception and intellect.
הנבואה באה מהתעלות נפש הנביא אל רוממות מעלת החכמה האלהית
The Commandments of Parashat Shoftim
Sources identify and explain the commandments derived from Parashat Shoftim, including the establishment of judges and officers in every city, the appointment of a king, prohibitions against judicial partiality and bribery, and proper treatment of the executed.
שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ
Monarchy as Divine Concession, Not Ideal
Abarbanel and other classical commentators argue that the Torah does not command or praise monarchy as an ideal institution, but rather permits it as a reluctant concession to the nation's misguided desire to imitate foreign kingdoms. The sources present the divinely sanctioned model of Israelite governance as a system of judges and elders, which represents the true vision for Israel's political order.
אין בזה מצוה כלל כי לא צוה הש״י
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