by Shlomo Ressler | Sep 1, 2022 | 5:5-Parshat Shoftim, Devarim / Deuteronomy, Weekly Dvar
Moshe details the rules that a Jewish king must follow, including the mandate to personally write two Torah scrolls and keep one with him at all times, as a reminder to remain humble and follow G-d’s law (17:18-19). Since a prerequisite for becoming king of the Jewish...
by Shlomo Ressler | Aug 11, 2021 | 5:5-Parshat Shoftim, Devarim / Deuteronomy, Weekly Dvar
After instructing us on the prohibitions against divination and other occult practices, we are instructed to be “wholehearted with the Lord your G-d” (18:13). This sentence doesn’t seem to follow the previous sentence so coherently and it seems to be without any...
by Shlomo Ressler | Aug 21, 2020 | 5:5-Parshat Shoftim, Devarim / Deuteronomy, Weekly Dvar
Parshat Shoftim details various rules of war, including the unique commandment to preserve fruit trees when besieging a city (20:19). Moshe adds what some interpret as a rhetorical question “is the tree of the field a man?” This mandate alludes to the fact...
by Shlomo Ressler | Sep 6, 2019 | 5:5-Parshat Shoftim, Devarim / Deuteronomy, Weekly Dvar
Among the many topics discussed in Parshat Shoftim is the concept of cities of refuge for those that inadvertently killed another. The Torah says that these cities are a way to avoid spilling the innocent blood of the accidental perpetrator (18:10) by the original...
by Shlomo Ressler | Aug 16, 2018 | 5:5-Parshat Shoftim, Devarim / Deuteronomy, Weekly Dvar
This week we read the Parsha of Shoftim, which charges us to “Appoint for you judges and officers at all of your gates” (16:18). Rav Moshe Feinstein points out that the word “lecha” (for you) seems superfluous. This commandment could have...
by Shlomo Ressler | Sep 8, 2016 | 5:5-Parshat Shoftim, Devarim / Deuteronomy, Weekly Dvar
This week we read the Parsha of Shoftim, which charges us to “Appoint for you judges and officers at all of your gates” (16:18). Rav Moshe Feinstein points out that the word “lecha” (for you) seems superfluous. This commandment could have...
