Weekly Reading – שֹׁפְטִים – Shoftim – Judges; Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9; Isaiah 51:12-52:12
The parashah Shoftim shifts our attention to something different this week: the responsibility, the limits, and the danger of losing oneself in power. What matters is not only what office a person receives, but what that office makes of them.
Why do people fight so hard for offices and positions? In politics, in the judiciary, but also in organizations and companies. Sometimes the fight for the chair seems greater than the chair itself. Perhaps because every office promises us something we all seek: prestige, influence, and significance. In the parashah Shoftim, however, the Torah does not elevate the prestige of these offices — it strips it away almost entirely.
The most coveted positions are described in this weekly reading in a way that leaves no room for doubt: The judge is commanded: “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” He is forbidden from perverting the law or accepting bribes. The king, arguably the most coveted of all offices, is subject to the strictest of limits: “He shall not acquire many horses for himself…...
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