Transcript
Okay, good evening everyone. Welcome back to פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. It's great to be back. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem just landed today from ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. And I have to tell you, it's very hard to leave. Every time you leave Israel, you leave a piece of yourself to come back to to be whole again. But for me, the opportunity and the privilege to come back to learn together and to grow together is essentially the only excuse or reason to be able to leave. And so I'm honored and grateful that you're here this evening. Starting next week, we'll go back to our regular scheduled slot and time, Tuesday mornings at 9:30, but glad that you're here together tonight. Our פרשה parsha series is sponsored yet again this year by our dear friends Becky and Avi Katz, for so incredibly grateful to them for their generosity in sponsoring our שיעור לעילוי נשמת shiur l'ilui nishmas in memory of David Grossman, Becky's father, דוד בן מנחם מניש David ben Menachem Manish. We have the privilege this week of reading and learning פרשת שופטים Parshas Shoftim, page 1,024 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך Shoftim v'shotrim titen l'cha b'chol she'arecha. We are marching on in Moshe's monologue, Moshe's soliloquy, the last days, hours of his life, in which he's turning to the people as they are on the cusp of entering the land without him. And he's sending them in with a message. He's sending them in with a charge. He's reminding them these are mistakes we've made, this is what's gone right, this is what you need to look out for, and this is your purpose and your mission when you enter that land. So he continues now, שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך Shoftim v'shotrim titen l'cha b'chol she'arecha, that we have an obligation and responsibility to place judges and officers in all of our cities that Hashem gives us. ושפטו את העם משפט צדק v'shaftu es ha'am mishpat tzedek. And then, those judges and those police will exact, they will practice righteous judgment in all of those communities. And the Torah continues, לא תטה משפט לא תכיר פנים lo sateh mishpat lo sakir panim, don't pervert just judgment, don't disrespect someone's presence, ולא תקח שוחד v'lo sikach shochad, don't take a bribe, כי השוחד יעור עיני חכמים ויסלף דברי צדיקים ki hashocḥad ye'aver einei chachamim visalef divrei tzaddikim, because שוחד shochad, bribery, blinds the eyes of the wise and makes the words, makes just words crooked. It means no one's immune. All are susceptible. And bribes take the form not only of money, we gave a series of שיעורים shiurim in the past on issues of bribe, using פרוטקציה protektzia, speaking of Israel, trying to get ahead, using connections, not what you know, but who you know, and what are the ethics and what's the הלכה halacha around all those issues. Our חז\"ל Chazal, our rabbis tell us the word שוחד shochad, bribery, is שהוא חד she'hu chad, that he and you are חד chad, you're one. שוחד Shochad creates aligned interests even when there shouldn't be. An objective judge should not be aligned with a particular party, but when they receive a bribe, that could be in the form of resources, money, or the bribe could be currying favor, or the bribe could be flattery, or the bribe can be a compliment. A bribe can be all kinds and all forms and we're all vulnerable and susceptible when we issue judgment in our lives, and we have to be careful because it יעוור עיני חכמים ye'aver einei chachamim, it can blind even the wise. צדק צדק תרדוף Tzedek tzedek tirdof, pursue justice with justice, למען תחיה וירשת את הארץ אשר השם אלוקיך נותן לך lema'an tichyeh v'yarashta es ha'aretz asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lach, so you'll live and possess the land that Hashem is giving you. So the opening section of our פרשה parsha, which is really a continuation of the last week. The end of פרשת ראה Parshas Re'eh, we had the laws of the מועדים moadim, the holidays, the three festivals that we ascend to ירושלים Yerushalayim. And in an atmosphere of celebration of יום טוב Yom Tov, it can be pretty frivolous. You drink a lot of wine. אין שמחה אלא בבשר ויין Ein simcha ela b'vasar v'yayin. So a lot of barbecue, a lot of קרבנות korbanos, a lot of the sacrifices, the meats being consumed, and with a nice delicious steak, a proper, properly chilled red wine. And so the environment can be very social, very frivolous, somewhat inebriated, intoxicated. So it's specifically in contrast or continuing that theme that our פרשה parsha begins, שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך Shoftim v'shotrim titen l'cha b'chol she'arecha. Don't allow a frivolous atmosphere or environment to let you not be regulated, undisciplined, to act in a way which isn't just or isn't righteous. And that's the contrast of the continuation of these two sections. Rabbi Sacks, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks in the Sacks חומש Chumash, he quotes his teachings and it says the following. For Jews and not only Jews, the religious voice is above all a moral voice. Avraham was chosen so he'll instruct his children to do righteousness and justice. When Hashem tells Avram, you know why I love you? You know why you're my man? I'm paraphrasing. Do you know why I've chosen you? Do you know why I want you to be the leader and the father of all nations? Not because you have the longest עמידה Amida, שמונה עשרה Shmoneh Esrei, not because you are the most religious, not that there's anything wrong with being so scrupulous and vigilant and having a long prayer, but he says, the reason I love you is because you will command, you command your children after you. לעשות משפט la'asot mishpat to do righteousness and justice. ישעיהו Yishayahu begins his prophetic mission with the most powerful speech ever made against the idea you can serve God in the house of prayer while ignoring him in the marketplace. ישעיהו הנביא Yishayahu HaNavi teaches us and we know this is the reason of the חורבן churban, the great destruction of the temple happened, not because of religious neglect, but because of moral corruption, when we violate and when we forfeit, when we abdicate our responsibility towards morality and ethics in the marketplace, in the marketplace. מיכה Michah, the prophet sums up the religious quest in three imperatives: do justice, love goodness, והצנע לכת עם אלוקיך v'hatzneah lechet im Elokecha and walk modestly with God. And here in the text of the covenant, Moshe tells the Jewish people, צדק צדק תרדוף tzedek tzedek tirdof, pursue justice. How? With justice. Writes Rabbi Sacks, no idea in the Hebrew Bible has been more influential than this, that society is founded on a moral covenant between its members, vested in an authority that transcends all earthly powers, and whose most famous symbol is the Ten Commandments engraved in stone. Law, as envisaged by the Torah, makes no distinction between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, homeborn or stranger. Equality before the law is the translation into human terms of equality before God. Time and again, the Torah insists that justice is not a human artifact. I don't know if you're watching or listening later, but we're in the middle of a monsoon in Boca Raton, so I don't know if the mic is picking it up. But if you hear that sound, it is the sound of a very captive audience who have nowhere to go. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem. Because it belongs to God, it must never be compromised by intimidation, bribery, or favoritism. It is an inalienable right and also an inescapable duty, something that must be pursued actively. One might suppose that divinity of justice reduces our accountability for justice on earth. God exists, therefore the universe is just. We, however, are human. And God has empowered us to seek the justice that is human, not justice from the point of view of the universe and eternity, but the point of view of the fallible, frail, ephemeral, vulnerable beings we are. We live in a space and time cannot but see injustice. We cannot know the rewards of a life beyond the grave. Our pain is not made less by the belief that it is necessary for the good of the whole. Still less it is made bearable than it is justified as punishment for sin. So, here Rabbi Sacks explains the significance of צדק צדק תרדוף tzedek tzedek tirdof, of a society that is not intimidated, it is not held by a tyrannical leader, it is not impressed by power, but bears an awesome responsibility for morality and for justice and for virtue. Not virtue signaling, which is an epidemic of our generation, people who want to signal they're more virtuous or just than others. But here our rabbis say, why the redundancy? צדק צדק תרדוף Tzedek tzedek tirdof. Rabbi Sacks alludes to it, he doesn't spell it out, but our rabbis do explicitly. I've shared it many times before, it speaks to me very deeply. צדק צדק תרדוף Tzedek tzedek tirdof. Why does it say twice? צדק צדק תרדוף Tzedek tzedek tirdof. Justice, justice shall you pursue. First of all, why do you have to pursue it? When do you have to run after something? When it's running away. So, sometimes justice and righteousness, they feel like they're inaccessible. They're difficult to achieve or to grab on to or to hold. Sometimes they're fleeting, they're fleeing, they're running away. So pursue, run after it. Don't be satisfied with anything less, run after that justice. But why the redundancy? And there are many, many explanations that are offered. צדק צדק תרדוף Tzedek tzedek tirdof. My brother-in-law's father is a federal judge in New York. He has over his bench this פסוק pasuk, צדק צדק תרדוף tzedek tzedek tirdof. And he's a man who stands for justice and includes Torah teachings in his, certainly in his perspective, in his responsibility as a judge. But why the redundancy? So חז\"ל Chazal say, צדק בצדק תרדוף tzedek b'tzedek tirdof. Pursue justice with justice. Sometimes people, in the pursuit of justice, they in fact cut corners. They're dishonest. They lack integrity because of some noble ends, they practice an ignoble means. And our rabbis understood the Torah to be teaching us, צדק בצדק תרדוף tzedek b'tzedek tirdof. Even if the ends are noble, it doesn't justify an ignoble means. No matter how righteous the goal, you cannot cut corners, you can't be dishonest, you can't lack integrity, you can't be corrupt. You can only pursue justice specifically with a sense of justice. צדק בצדק תרדוף Tzedek b'tzedek tirdof, you have to run after it, and you have to pursue it, you have to pursue it together. People have It's very troubling and deeply painful. New York Times today picked it up as a story, and maybe I'm getting into trouble on my first day back. But it's okay if you get rid of me and I have to turn right around, I'm happy to go back.There were 80 self-described modern Orthodox rabbis who signed a public letter challenging Israel for its methodology and what it's doing and the civilian famine and hunger in Gaza. And it's bad enough it was issued or published all together. Now it was picked up, and the authors of that letter are in the company of the נטורי קרתא Neturei Karta and others who are on a side of criticizing Israel in a public way. That doesn't mean Israel or the Jewish people are beyond reproach. We make mistakes as a people and our and our country too. But how and where we communicate, when we have concerns, צדק בצדק תרדוף tzedek bitzedek tirdof. We have to be exceedingly and extremely careful and measured and sure of where we communicate, how we communicate, to what effect we communicate, the unintended consequences of our communication, how just we are in what we're communicating, and not only virtue signaling or trying to position as being more moral or more concerned than others, but what message is the Torah here is telling us, the awesome responsibility of those who are in positions of leadership and who have a voice, how, where, when, to whom, why, with what confidence and facts we communicate it. The Torah is telling us to be extremely, exceedingly careful and cautious when it comes to this, when it comes to this area. And how we do it. How we do it.שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך Shoftim v'shotrim titen lach. The parsha begins by telling us, judges and officers, we have to place לך lach. Why doesn't it just say שופטים ושוטרים תתן shoftim v'shotrim titen? You need judges and you need officers. Why לך lach? לך Lach means, what's the translation? What does the word לך lach mean? You. You should have officers and you should have judges. But the pasuk could have easily have read without the word לך lach, it's extra and the Torah doesn't waste words. It could have said, שופטים ושוטרים תתן בכל שעריך shoftim v'shotrim titen b'chol she'arecha, have judges, have police in all of your gates. Says the כלי יקר Kli Yakar, says the holy כלי יקר Kli Yakar, שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך קשוט עצמך תחילה shoftim v'shotrim titen lach k'shot atzmecha t'chilah. You know why? Because the גמרא Gemara in בבא מציעא דף ק\"ז Bava Metzia Daf kuf zayin teaches, קשוט אחר עצמך ואחר כך ושפטו את העם וקשר לזולתו כי כל דיין דמפקי מיניה ממונא בדין לאו דיינא הוא k'shot acher atzmecha v'achar kach v'shaftu es ha'am v'kashar l'zulato ki kol dayna d'mafkei minei mamona b'din lav dayna hu. That a person has to judge themselves before they judge others. First make sure you have judges and police, you can regulate yourself. Make sure you look in the mirror, who are you? How do you behave? How do you conduct yourself? Who are you? First. So therefore, שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך shoftim v'shotrim titen lach. First, first, install judges and police for you, and then you can turn to everybody else. קשוט עצמך ואחר כך קשוט אחרים k'shot atzmecha v'achar kach k'shot acheirim. It's brought down in the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim based on this כלי יקר Kli Yakar. חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim, when the פוניבז'ר רב Ponevezher Rov, רב יוסף שלמה כהנמן זצ\"ל Rav Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman zatzal came back from Radin. Radin was the hometown where the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim, the great רב ישראל מאיר הכהן Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan, the author of the משנה ברורה Mishnah Berurah, שמירת הלשון Shmiras Halashon. So the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim lived in Radin. And the פוניבז'ר רב Ponevezher Rov came back from Radin, he stopped in Tels. And there, the טעלזער ראש ישיבה Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, רב אליעזר גורדון Rav Eliezer Gordon asked him, נו nu, tell me something you saw. What'd you see from the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim? Tell me a story. Give me a little taste of the greatness of the great חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim. So he said, I'll tell you, every day after davening, the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim would give a little חזק chizuk to his yeshiva. He'd give מוסר mussar, a message. He'd give values, a lesson for life. He said, one day he announced he wouldn't be speaking that day. Why? He said, because the previous day, the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim said about himself, I can't give a message after davening today, I'm not in a position to offer a public comment because yesterday I didn't learn the way I should have. And if I didn't learn myself the way I should have, who am I to stand before you giving you a message? Why didn't he learn the day before the way he should have? Because the day before, he took delivery of his משנה ברורה Mishnah Berurah. And the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim sat and painstakingly went through every word of every page of every volume to ensure that whatever customers would buy his new ספר sefer, there wasn't a misprint, there wasn't a page that was blank, there wasn't something that came out wrong. Lest they buy something from him and he would violate a prohibition of not providing the product that was sold. He was painstakingly going through it. That's why he didn't learn the time that he a standard he held himself. And because of that, he felt unqualified to get up and give a message that day to his yeshiva. So, that's what the פוניבז'ער רב Ponevezher Rav told the טעלזער ראש ישיבה Telzer Rosh Yeshiva, that's what he saw from the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim and he thought of this כלי יקר Kli Yakar. שפטים ושוטרים תתן לך Shoftim v'shotrim titein lecha. First make sure you have judges, policemen, practice what you're preaching, live the life before you turn to others with criticism, with feedback, before you offer anything to anyone else. That's at least how the חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim understood and lived being careful himself before he would talk to someone else. But I saw another interpretation of this opening פסוק pasuk that we'll move forward, and its פרשה parsha perspective is for today. I think this is something happening right now in Washington, D.C. The רב לייב חסמן Reb Leib Chasman, the משגיח mashgiach of חברון Chevron, said the following: לא לחינם מובן מה שופטים מה שוטרים Lo l'chinam muvan ma shoftim ma shotrim. If you have judges, why do you need policemen? The judges legislate. The judges legislate the law. So why do you need policemen? It's a non-obvious answer because without policemen you'll have law but no law enforcement. And if you don't have law enforcement, you could have all the law you want on the books but you're going to have an enormous amount of crime. למדנו שאין די בהחלטת משפט של שופטים Lamdeinu she'ein dai b'hachlatat mishpat shel shoftim. It's not enough you have judges who can arrive at the truth, who can legislate the law. אלא זקוקים אנו בהכרח גם לשוטרים ela zekukim anu b'hechrach gam l'shotrim שמכין וכופסין ומכריחין ברצועה she'makin v'kofsin u'machrichin birtzuah, שאם כן בלעדיהם לא יהיה למשפט תוקף she'kein biladeihem lo yihiyeh l'mishpat tokef. What's the goal, what's the purpose, what do you accomplish and achieve with the law if it's sitting on a book collecting dust, but it's not being practiced in the streets? לכן Lachein, therefore the התורה Torah teaches us, שופטים shoftim, ומחברת התורה את השופטים עם השוטרים יחד u'mechaberet haTorah et ha'shoftim im ha'shotrim yachad, כי באמת אחד הם ki be'emet echad heim, because really they go together: law and law enforcement. We don't defund police, we don't fight or resist law enforcement, but we believe we need law, proper law, truthful law, authentic law, binding law, and you need law enforcement. כי גם אם ירצה אדם מחויב לקיים משפט לא יקיימנו בעולם ששוטרים שאוחזים ומכים ברצועה ki gam im yirtzeh adam mechuyav l'kayem mishpat lo y'kaymenu b'olam she'shotrim she'ochzim u'makim birtzuah. No matter how much a person in theory wants to obey the law, but there's a lot of temptation, and a lot of opportunity, and a lot of drive, and a lot of distraction, and if you didn't have the image of the law enforcement to help keep you on the straight and narrow, to keep the law, then the law would be something in theory and on the books, and that's why we need and we believe, the התורה Torah endorses in all communities and in all cities, you need law and you need law enforcement. And if that's true, if that's true for cities and community, for society, then certainly it's also true in the great teaching we know of the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Hakadosh, that primarily the התורה Torah here is talking to each and every one of us. And that's why it says שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך Shoftim v'shotrim titein lecha, לך lecha. בכל שעריך b'chol she'arecha, in all of your gates, have judges and law enforcement. What are the gates to the individual? A city has gates, it has entrances and exits, and thoroughfares. What are the gates to the person? So the של\"ה הקדוש Shlah Hakadosh, שני לוחות הברית Shnei Luchos HaBris, רבי ישעיה הלוי הורוביץ Rebbe Yeshaya Halevi Horowitz, השל\"ה HaShlah is buried in טבריה Teveria, I was just in טבריה Teveria. He says the seven gates in a person's head, in a person's body, you have the nostrils, you have the ears, you have the mouth, you have the eyes, these are the gates of the person. What we see, what we say, what we hear, how we engage, how we encounter, our senses through which we operate and navigate this world, are the gates to the person. And they need law, and they need law enforcement. And if you don't have law enforcement, you don't have law. Because if you're not regulated, if we don't have the capacity to self-regulate, to be disciplined, to follow through and practice what we preach, it's all lip service. It's all lip service. So we are what we do, not what we say we'll do, not what we believe, not what we pledge and what we promise, but you are how you behave. That is who we are. So, the real, the reality, the real us is not what we pledge or promise, it's not the image we have of ourselves for ourselves, it is our capacity to regulate, to be disciplined, to have self-control, to practice what we preach, and to put into our lives everything we say. So this teaching שופטים ושוטרים Shoftim v'shotrim תתן לך titein lecha, it begins with us, as the כלי יקר Kli Yakar said, before we can impose it on others. It applies to society and nationally, but it also applies to us individually, and it requires the partnership and the balance of both, השופטים והשוטרים ha'shoftim v'ha'shotrim. Law and law enforcement. Truth in our beliefs, our principles, the laws by which we live, but also the law enforcement, the capacity to enforce on ourselves, to hold ourselves to the standard of that law. That's what the התורה Torah here is getting at. Then the Torah continues next section, לא תטע לך אשרה lo tita lecha asheira, פסוק כ\"א pasuk kaf aleph, verse 21. You shall not plant for yourself an idolatrous tree, אצל מזבח השם אלהיך אשר תעשה לך etzel mizbach Hashem elokecha asher ta'aseh lach. You can't plant an idolatrous tree, you can't plant any tree near the altar of Hashem your God that you make for yourself. ולא תקים לך מצבה אשר שנא השם אלקיך V'lo takim lecha matzeiva asher sanei Hashem elokecha. Don't erect a pillar which Hashem your God, Hashem your God hates. Says the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, שמואל בירנבוים Shmuel Birnbaum. Our first תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel of the day. He quotes Rashi, לא תטע לך אשרה lo tita lecha asheira, don't plant an אשרה asheira, an idolatrous tree, near the מזבח mizbeach. אזהרה לנטע אילן ולבנות בית בהר הבית Azharah lanoteah ilan v'livnot bayis b'har habayis. You're not allowed to plant trees on the Temple Mount. Where הר הבית Har Habayis where the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash stands, stood, will stand, you're not allowed to plant a tree. Wonders of שמואל בירנבוים Shmuel Birnbaum. יש להעין שדרך העולם הוא כי כשבונים בנין מפואר ויופיעו לטוע אילנות כדי ליפות המקום סביבות Yesh le'ayin she'derech ha'olam hu ki k'she'bonim binyan mefo'ar v'yafi'uhu lin'to'a ilanot k'dei l'yafot hamakom s'vivav. So we have a magnificent campus expansion going on. ברוך השם Baruch Hashem we're so grateful to our incredible generous donors. We're going to expand the impact, the influence, the teaching, the lessons, the light that we hope spreads forth from here. So we have an architect, and what else do we have to have? A landscape architect. Why do you need a landscape architect? Because if you build a beautiful building, if you build a beautiful home, but you don't have anything left for a landscape architect, it looks blah. You pull up and it's eh. You want it to really be beautiful, you want it to be striking, you need an architect and you need a landscape architect. So, one would think, א-קודשא בריך הוא's Akudsha Brich Hu's home, you'd have some great uplighting, landscape lighting, magnificent landscaping. And here the Torah says the exact opposite. When it comes to Hashem's home, Hashem's house, בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, הר הבית Har Habayis, Temple Mount, not only don't you plant a אשרה asheira, not only don't you plant an idolatrous tree, don't plant any tree. דבכולה תורה אשרה הוא עבודה זרה ולא סתם אילן. וכאן סתר פירוש רש\"י אשרה כל אץ D'v'chula Torah asheira hu avodah zarah v'lo stam ilan. V'kan satar peirush Rashi asheira kol eitz. Here we're talking not only about an idolatrous tree, we're not only talking about some tree people bow down to, we're talking about any tree. ויש לומר V'yesh lomar says Rav Shmuel Birnbaum, you know why? שבית המקדש בעצמותו הוא יפה נוף משוש כל הארץ She'Beis Hamikdash b'atzmuso hu yefei nof m'sos kol ha'aretz. דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech in תהלים Tehillim describes the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash as magnificent, the most beautiful thing on earth. שציוה שהקדוש ברוך הוא איך לעשות את בית המקדש נתן בכל השלימות והיופי שראוי לכבוד בית השם She'tzivah she'Hakadosh Baruch Hu eich la'asos es Beis Hamikdash nitan b'chol hashleimus v'hayofi she'ra'uy lichvod Beis Hashem. Hashem's design is the ultimate design. It lacks, it is missing, nothing. If you add on, if you try to complement, if you put something more, then you're taking away. More sometimes is less. And if you add, you're actually subtracting. ובא אדם להוסיף וליפות את בית המקדש, כמו שנוטע אילנות בהר הבית הוא מראה בזה שדברי הקדוש ברוך הוא אינם בתכלית השלימות V'im ba adam l'hosif u'l'yafos es Beis Hamikdash, k'mo she'note'ah ilanot b'Har Habayis, hu mar'eh b'zeh she'divrei Hakadosh Baruch Hu einam b'tachlis hashleimus. If you think it's lacking or missing, you want to add bushes or landscape or lighting, then you're suggesting that Hashem is imperfect, that Hashem is incomplete, that his vision, his home is not the way it should be. And that's not us. That's not what we believe. We follow the strict instruction, we follow what Hashem tells us, and we're doing what he provides is perfect. And it doesn't need any help. It doesn't need any addition. תורת השם תמימה Toras Hashem temima. We say in תהלים Tehillim, תורת השם תמימה Toras Hashem temima, the Torah of Hashem, תמים tamim means whole or complete or perfect the way it is. It doesn't need help. It doesn't need our addition. It doesn't need us to complement it. It's perfect the way it is. And that's why Hashem says the design for הר הבית Har Habayis that's mine. This house is perfect the way I'm giving it. And therefore you don't need any other architect, you don't need to complement. If you add anything, in fact, you're going to be taking away. Rav Soloveitchik also has a comment here. Rav Soloveitchik in his חומש Chumash writes, רבי עקיבא איגר Rabbi Akiva Eiger in his commentary on the שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch cites the view of רב דוד אבו דרם Rav Dovid Abudraham, that the prohibition of not planting trees was extended by the rabbis to include even a synagogue courtyard. The Rambam in his enumeration of the mitzvos in the introduction of Mishneh Torah equates the קדושה של בית הכנסת kedusha shel beis haknesses with that of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. The sanctity of a shul, says the Rambam, is the same as the sanctity of the holy בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash. Seemingly then, Rambam would consider this to be a biblical prohibition, which is even more stringent than the opinion of רב דוד אבו דרם Rav Dovid Abudraham, which considers planting trees to be a rabbinic prohibition. On the other hand, the נצי\"ב Netziv, רב נפתלי צבי יהודה ברלין Rav Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin in his responsa משיב דבר Meishiv Davar argues, there is altogether no prohibition to plant a tree in the synagogue area. Indeed, writes Rav Soloveitchik, my זײדע zeide, רב חיים מבריסק Rav Chaim Brisker permitted planting trees in the courtyard of the great synagogue in Brisk and entirely rejected the opinion of רב דוד אבו דרם Rav Dovid Abudraham. In truth there is no connection between Rambam's words in the introduction and the view of רב דוד אבו דרם Rav Dovid Abudraham. The prohibition of planting trees in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash depends on there being sanctity, קדושת מקום kedushas makom. With regard to the shul, the Rambam maintains the structure sanctity is therefore forbidden to destroy it, but this does not prove that there is sanctity attached to the place, which would forbid planting trees there. And even if we were to maintain there is sanctity attached to the place, in which case it would be forbidden, there's no reason to extend it to the courtyard, which certainly does not share the properties of the שול shul. So we followed that פסק psak, we have landscaping planned, we have landscaping currently, we have landscaping planned in our expansion, and we follow that opinion of רב חיים בריסקער Reb Chaim Brisker that that was true for the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, but is not true for a מקדש מעט mikdash me'at, for a, for a שול shul, for a temple in, in miniature. The גמרא Gemara comments on the juxtaposition of this verse to the obligation of appointing judges. And רש לקיש Reish Lakish teaches, this appears in the גמרא Gemara in סנהדרין Sanhedrin.רש לקיש Reish Lakish said he who appoints an incompetent judge over the community is as though he had planted an אשרה Ashera in Israel. If you appoint an incompetent judge, it's like you planted an idolatrous tree. What does one thing have to do with the other? You see that by the juxtaposition at the beginning of our פרשה parsha. First we talked about judges, we went right to the idolatrous tree. But what's the connection between those themes? So רב חיים סולובייצ'יק Rav Chaim Soloveitchik commented that an incompetent judge is compared specifically to an אשרה Ashera because idolatrous shrines are generally identifiable. The אשרה Ashera, however, appears as an ordinary tree. So if you have a house of idolatry, if there's an idol, you know it's an idol, you know it's a house of idolatry. But a tree that people bow down to just looks like a tree. It's not identifiable. Outwardly, it is beautiful and luxuriant, but its essence is rotten. So too is a judge who outwardly appears qualified, but inwardly is incompetent and rotten. One who judges righteously is given extraordinary authority to act in lieu of the divine judge. In reality, no human being is capable or has the right to decide the fate of another, for he never knows the absolute truth. A דיין dayan is referred to in the תורה Torah as, anyone know another name for a judge in the תורה Torah? אלוקים Elohim.In fact, when you're pronouncing the word, you have to know, is it referring to God? Then it's אלוקים Elokim. If it's referring to judge, it's אלוקים Elohim. Because he is of necessarily granted a divine prerogative. Consequently, if a human judge is incompetent, he is in effect, he in effect usurps divine authority and desecrates it. This is akin to idolatry. Figuratively, he has planted an idolatrous shrine at the very place which is imbued with divine justice, near the altar of the holy Temple. It means that a judge who's using judgment is endowed with a divine inspiration and therefore is in the place of the altar. And if you're incompetent or unqualified or corrupt, it's like you've planted an אשרה Ashera tree next to the altar because in the place of the judgment that you represent השם Hashem, you're corrupt or somehow incompetent or unqualified. פרק י״ז Perek Yud Zayin, פסוק י״ז pasuk yud zayin. Moving right along, turning the page. Turning two pages. 10:28.כי תבוא אל הארץ אשר השם אלוקיך נותן לך וירשתה וישבת בה Ki savo el ha'aretz asher Hashem Elokecha nosein lecha virishta v'yashavta bah. When you enter the land that God gives you and you inherit it and you live in it. ואמרת אשימה עלי מלך ככל הגויים אשר סביבותי V'amarta asima alai melech k'chol hagoyim asher svivosai. You know what the people are going to say? We want a king. Everyone else has a king in the Middle East. We want a king, we want a ruler. We want to be like everybody else. Here the תורה Torah formulates it as sort of predicting, prophetic, you're going to conquer and inherit the land, you're going to set up shop, and then you're going to say, \"we want a king.\" Who initiates it? The people. ואמרת V'amarta, you're going to say. שום תשים עליך מלך אשר יבחר השם אלוקיך בו Som tasim alecha melech asher yivchar Hashem Elokecha bo. So God says okay. God says okay, you should surely set over yourself a king whom השם Hashem your God shall choose. So here it's prescriptive, and yet in ספר שמואל Sefer Shmuel, when the Jewish people want to place a king, all of a sudden it's a harsh reaction. Why do you want to be like everybody else? Why are you just trying to keep up? What's the criticism? How is that warranted or justified when here the תורה Torah seems to a priori endorse it or predict it or give license for it? So that's a question for another time. So שום תשים עליך מלך som tasim alecha melech. And here we have the תורה Torah telling us the laws of of a king. And they have to become מקרב אחיך mikerev achecha. A king can't come from someone who is a convert, it has to be somebody who descends from the Jewish people. תשים עליך מלך, לא תוכל לתת עליך איש נכרי אשר לא אחיך הוא Tasim alecha melech, lo suchal laseis alecha ish nachri asher lo achicha hu. You can't have a stranger, it has to be one of your own. The ספרי Sifri learns, מלך ולא מלכה melech v'lo malka. When it comes to positions of authority, it's a king and not a queen, a man and not a woman. That's for another time. רק Rak. And now we have some caution. It's it's not because I'm afraid. Tackle it. I'm not afraid, but another time. לא ירבה Lo yarbeh. I'm so tempted, but another time. רק לא ירבה לו סוסים ולא ישיב את העם מצרימה למען הרבות סוס Rak lo yarbeh lo susim v'lo yashiv es ha'am Mitzraima l'maan harbos sus. Torah says be careful. The king has to be very careful. Can't have too many horses. Today we'd say you shouldn't have too much horsepower, not too many cars because they'll... bring the people back to Egypt in order to acquire the horses. That's where you got cars. וה' אמר לכם לא תספון לשוב בדרך הזה עוד V'Hashem amar lachem lo tosifun lashuv baderech hazeh od. You're not allowed to go back to Egypt. ולא ירבה לו נשים V'lo yarbeh lo nashim. Can't have too many wives, even though polygamy was permissible at the time for the king, be careful not too many. לא יסור לבבו Lo yasur l'vavo, because if he has too many wives, he'll turn astray. וכסף וזהב לא ירבה לו מאד V'chesef v'zahav lo yarbeh lo me'od. Can't have too much gold and silver, shouldn't have too much money. והיה כשבתו על כסא ממלכתו V'hayah k'shivto al kisei mamlachto, when he sits on his throne, וכתב לו את משנה התורה הזאת v'chatav lo et mishneh haTorah hazot, and he writes the Torah על ספר מלפני הכהנים הלוים al sefer milifnei haKohanim haLeviim. He writes himself two copies of the Torah in a book from before the כהנים Kohanim and the לוים Leviim. And it should be with him, והיתה עמו וקרא בו כל ימי חייו v'hayta imo v'kara vo kol yemei chayav. He has to have this Torah with him all the days of his life, learn regularly, למען ילמד ליראה את ה' אלקיו l'maan yilmad l'yir'ah et Hashem Elokav, to fear השם Hashem, to have awe of השם Hashem, to observe his Torah and all of his laws, because the king, לבלתי רום לבבו l'vilti rum l'vavo, a king is very vulnerable to growing haughty and arrogant. ולבלתי סור מן המצוה ימין ושמאל U'l'vilti sur min hamitzvah yamin u'smol, and then he can veer from the מצוה mitzvah right or left. למען יאריך ימים על ממלכתו הוא ובניו בקרב ישראל L'maan ya'arich yamim al mamlachto hu u'vanav b'kerev Yisrael. Be careful, take this caution, have these boundaries, and then you'll be able to sit on your throne for a long time. Says Rabbi Sacks. Writes Rabbi Sacks, very interestingly here. About the king. Can't have too much money. Select a monarch. Yeah. Is having a good king a good thing or a bad thing from a Jewish perspective? The question turns out to be almost unanswerable. Rabbi Sacks gets into it. But in any case, he shouldn't have too much gold, silver, or gold. Unique commands are given to the king. He must not accumulate horses so as not to establish trading links with Egypt. He should not have too many wives, lest his heart be led astray. He should not accumulate wealth. These were all standing temptations to a king. It was these three prohibitions that שלמה Shlomo, the wisest of men, broke, marking the beginning of the long, slow slide into corruption that marked much of the history of the monarchy in ancient Israel. It led after his death to the division of the kingdom. But these were symptoms, not the cause. The cause was the feeling on the part of the king that since he's above the people, he's above the law. As the Rabbi said in גמרא סנהדרין כ''א Gemara Sanhedrin chaf aleph, שלמה Shlomo justified his breach of these prohibitions by saying the only reason a king may not accumulate wives is to lead his heart astray. So I'll marry many wives and not be led astray. Since the only reason not to have many horses is not to establish links with Egypt, I'll have many horses, but I won't do business with Egypt. In both cases, he fell into the trap of which the Torah had warned. שלמה's Shlomo's wives led him astray. His horses were imported from Egypt. The arrogance of power is its downfall. Hence the Torah's insistence on humility, not as merely a good thing to have, but as essential to the role. And then he has a Torah that he reads from all the days of his life. Writes Rabbi Sacks here. We see that king, the king is commanded to study constantly. Later in the book that bears his name, יהושע Yehoshua, משה's Moshe's successor is commanded in the very same terms. Leaders learn. True, they have advisors, elders, counselors, an inner court of sages and l-i-t-e-r-a-t-i. Literatai? Literai? I just got off a plane. For those who don't know what that word means. What is that word? Literatai. Literai. What does that word mean? We're trying to learn. Okay. Well read. Apparently something I am not. True, they have advisors, elders, counselors, an inner court of sages and that other word. In addition, biblical kings had prophets, שמואל Shmuel to שאול Shaul, נתן Natan to דוד David, ישעיהו Yeshayahu to חזקיהו Chizkiyahu, and so on, to bring them on the word of השם Hashem. But those on whom the destiny of the nation turns may not delegate the task of thinking, reading, studying, and remembering. They are not entitled to say, I have affairs of state to worry about. I have no time for books. Leaders must be scholars, בני תורה bnei Torah, children of the book, if they are to direct and lead the people of the book. It's a very powerful image Rabbi Sacks is painting. A leader, no matter how busy, no matter the burden they bear, no matter the people they carry, can't claim they have no time. They have the greatest responsibility. Leaders learn. They have to be scholars. They have to be בני תורה bnei Torah. They have to read their briefing books, and they have to read other books. They have to have libraries. They have to be curious and inquisitive. They have to study and learn. They have to challenge themselves. The two greatest kings of early Israel, דוד David and שלמה Shlomo, were both authors. authors. דוד Dovid of תהילים Tehillim, שלמה Shlomo of שיר השירים Shir HaShirim, and משלי Mishlei and קהלת Koheles. What separates the statesman from the mere politician are reading and writing. The key biblical word associated with kings is חכמה chachma, wisdom. We should note that חכמה chachma means something slightly different than from תורה Torah, which is more commonly associated with priests and prophets than kings. חכמה Chachma includes worldly wisdom, which is human and universal rather than a special heritage of Jews and Judaism. Broadly speaking in contemporary terms, חכמה chachma refers to the sciences and humanities, to whatever allows us to see the universe as the work of השם Hashem, and the human person as the image of השם Hashem. תורה Torah is the specific moral and spiritual heritage. Leaders take time to familiarize themselves with the world of ideas. Only thus do they gain the perspective to be able to see farther and clearer than others. To be a Jewish leader means spending time studying both תורה Torah and חכמה chachma. חכמה Chachma to understand the world as it is, תורה Torah to understand the world as it ought to be.Leaders learn. They don't read tweets, they read books. Leaders learn and challenge their mind and have libraries and have ideas and think broadly so that they can lead properly. And that's something hopefully that we're not getting lost. It's something we should demand of our leaders. It's also something that those in positions of leadership have to practice. תורה Torah here is telling us with the king is the ultimate paradigm that leaders learn. Leaders have to regularly, regularly engage in learning. Why? Because if not, לבלתי רום לבבו מאחיו l'vilti rum l'vavo mei'echav. Torah cautions us. Because it's very easy to feel superior, to swell with arrogance. Consistent with the fundamental Judaic idea that leadership is service, not dominion or power or status or superiority, the king is commanded to be humble. He must constantly read the Torah so he may learn to revere the Lord his השם Hashem. It's not so easy to be humble when everyone is bowing down before you, when you have the power of life and death over your subjects. If the king whom all are bound to honor is commanded to be humble, how much more so the rest of us. And here Rabbi Sacks contrasts, all of the cultures and peoples, the king makes statues to himself, the king is power, the king is honor, the king is glory, the king is a name. In the Jewish people, the king is a person of service. He serves the people, not the other way around. משה Moshe, the greatest leader the Jewish people ever had, was very humble, more so than any other man on earth. Was it that he was great because he was humble or humble because he was great? Either way, as רבי יוחנן Rabbi Yochanan said of השם Hashem himself, wherever you find His greatness, there you find His humility. This is a clear example of how spirituality makes a difference to the way we act, feel, and think. Humility means living by the light of that which is greater than me. When God is at the center of our lives, we open ourselves up to the glory of creation and the beauty of other people. The smaller the self, the wider the radius of our world. And therefore the king, who could easily swell with arrogance or power, has a special מצוה mitzva to maintain his humility and to practice even greater humility than others.The רב אברבנאל Rav Abarbanel on ספר שמואל Sefer Shmuel also has a comment here on the prohibition לא ירבה לו נשים lo yarbeh lo nashim. Can't have too many wives, can't be led astray, and too much money, gold or silver. צריך עיון Tzarich iyun. על ריבוי נשים כתבה התורה טעם Al ribui nashim katva haTorah ta'am. When it came to not having too many wives, the Torah tells us why, you'll be led astray. When it told us not to have too many horses, the Torah gave us a reason. Why? Where do they trade horses? Egypt. And we're not meant to go back there ever again. But when it came to the prohibition of כסף וזהב לא ירבה לו מאד kesef v'zahav lo yarbeh lo me'od, don't have too much gold and silver, it doesn't give us a reason. So the first two, there's a reason provided. And here the third, there's only a prohibition, but there's no reason provided, and the question is, why not? ויש לומר V'yesh lomar, says Rav Shmuel Barenbaum, ויש לומר v'yesh lomar, דעיקר הסיבה שמי שרוצה להרבות לו כסף וזהב מאד, הוא כדי להיות בטוח עליהם d'ikar hasiba shemi sherotzeh l'harbot lo kesef v'zahav me'od, hu kedei l'hiyot batuach aleihem. What's the main reason to try to accumulate and amass as much money as possible? Having finances gives you financial security. Why do people want money? Financial security. They think if they have money, they have security. כמו שכתוב K'mo shekasuv, הבוטח במעוזו וברב עשרו יסללו habote'ach b'ma'uzo uv'rov oshro yisalalu. But מבקש הכסף עבור עצמו mevakesh hakesef avur atzmo, כמו שכתוב לא ירבה לו מאד k'mo shekasuv lo yarbeh lo me'od. וממילא מובן מאליו האיסור להרבות כסף וזהב מאד U'memaleh muvan mei'eilav ha'issur l'harbot kesef v'zahav me'od. מה שאין כן ריבוי סוסים ונשים שאין אדם בוטח בהם Ma she'ein kein ribui susim v'nashim she'ein adam bote'ach bahem. לפיכך התורה פירשה טעם שאסור למלך להרבות בדברים אלו L'fichach haTorah peirsha ta'am she'asur l'melech l'harbot bidvarim eilu. When it comes to money, it's obvious, we know why a person wants it. They're seeking security that they'll never find in the money. But when it comes to, they don't, a person has many horses, it's not because they think there's security in their horses. Many wives, not because they think there's security in their wives. So the Torah had to give you a reason for those two. But the money everyone knows the reason, because it's a natural urge we all have which is for the financial security. ולפיכך U'l'fichach. מי שעוסק בפרנסה יותר מההשתדלות הנצרכת mi she'osek b'parnasa yoter mei'ha'hishtadlus ha'nitzrachas. Listen carefully. Says Rav Shlomo Berenbaum. So a person who exerts extreme effort or initiative to earn money, הוא עסוק ביום ובלילה hu asuk b'yom u'v'lailah, works night and day to get it, ומשקיע כל כוחותיו להרחיב פרנסתו כדי להרבות לעצמו כסף וזהב u'mashkia kol kochosav l'harchiv parnasaso kedei l'harbos l'atzmo kesef v'zahav, and exerts excessive effort to earn more beyond what they need to have to survive, even to thrive, but still insatiably want more and more and more, בזה הוא עשה הכסף שלו לעבודה זרה b'zeh hu osseh ha'kesef shelo l'avodah zarah. He's turning the money into idolatry. Because if you think your security will come by having more money, what are you worshipping? Money, not Hashem. Who provides security and safety? Who takes care? Hashem. And if you think that money is the answer and the solution to every problem and if only you have more or the most of it, then you have everything, then you are abandoning Hashem to worship the money. שבא לבטוח בכסף שלו, שהוא יכול למלא כל מחסוריו she'ba livtoach b'kesef shelo, she'hu yachol l'malei kol machsorav. ומסיח בזאת בטחונו מהקדוש ברוך הוא u'meisiach b'zot bit'chono mei'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu. You think the money can answer all your needs, all your questions, all your problems. And then you're going to take away your faith in Hashem if you put your faith in your financial security, not realizing that all security comes only from Hashem. אבל צריך אדם לדעת שכל דבר של ברכה צריך להגיע לאדם יבוא אליו רק מידו של הקדוש ברוך הוא Aval tzarich adam ladaat she'kol davar shel bracha tzarich l'hagia la'adam yavo eilav rak mi'yado shel ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu. Whatever security we have comes from only from Hashem. I said recently, it's not my quote, I forgot who authored it, that sadly there are some people who are so poor that all they have is money. There are people so poor all they have is money. And money can't buy you a cure from an illness. Money can't buy you happiness in a broken relationship. Money can't buy you qualities or quality of life that you're missing. נעבעך nebach there are people who are so poor that all they have is money. And so yes, there's nothing wrong with earning it, having ambition for it, enjoying it, being able to give it away. There's nothing wrong with it. But we don't worship it, we don't pursue it, we don't see our security as tied to or connected with it. And we're cautioned like the king to not express or exert excessive effort in pursuing it, because if we do, we're worshipping it instead of Hashem. רק ברכת השם היא תעשיר Rak birkas Hashem hi sa'ashir. והאדם צריך להסתכל על כסף כמו שטר של כסף שילדים משחקים בו V'ha'adam tzarich l'histakel al kesef k'mo shtar shel kesef she'yeladim m'sachakim bo. We have to look at cash like play money. ולא יותר v'lo yoser. כי כל הכסף בעולם לא יעזור לאדם רק ברצונו יתברך Ki kol ha'kesef ba'olam lo ya'azor l'adam rak b'retzono yisbarach. All the money in the world won't solve a problem if Hashem doesn't want it to be solved. And without any money in the world, Hashem could help you avoid problems if He wants. It all comes from Him. And the more we're aligned and calibrated and understand and living, because שופטים ושוטרים shoftim v'shotrim, we can't just know that up here, the שופטים shoftim, we can't just have that judgment in our head, שוטרים shotrim, we have to police ourselves, we have to enforce it on ourselves to live a life with that perspective and with those priorities and with those priorities. והיה כשבתו על כסא ממלכתו V'hayah k'shivto al kisei mamlachto. And then Rav Shlomo Berenbaum continues. When he sits on his on his throne, he has to write this Torah. קשה, למה יש ציווי מיוחד על מלך וקרא בו כל ימי חייו Kasha, lama yesh tzivui m'yuchad al melech v'kara vo kol yemei chayav? Why does he have to read it all the time? We all have to read it all the time. There's a mitzvah והגית בו יומם ולילה v'hagisa bo yomam va'lailah. There's a mitzvah, Torah obligation to learn Torah day and night. So once we already have the obligation to learn Torah day and night, what's extra, additional, why specifically does the king have an extra command? What's extra here for the king? והלא כל איש מישראל חייב והגית בו יומם ולילה, כמו שמצינו במנחות V'halo kol ish mi'Yisrael chayav v'hagisa bo yomam va'lailah, k'mo she'matzinu b'Menachos. שאל בן דמה בן אחותו של רבי ישמעאל את רבי ישמעאל כגון אני שלמדתי כל התורה כולה מהו ללמוד חכמת יונית? קרא עליו את המקרא הזה לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך והגית בו יומם ולילה. צא ובדוק שעה שאינו לא מן היום ולא מן הלילה ולמד בה חכמת יונית Sha'al Ben Dama ben achoso shel Rabbi Yishmael es Rabbi Yishmael, k'gon ani she'lamadeti kol ha'Torah kulah, mahu lilmod chachmas Yevanis? Kara alav es ha'mikra ha'zeh, lo yamush sefer ha'Torah ha'zeh mi'picha v'hagisa bo yomam va'lailah. Tzei u'vdok sha'ah she'eino lo min ha'yom v'lo min ha'lailah, v'limad bah chachmas Yevanis. All day and night we have to be occupied and preoccupied with the pursuit and study of Torah. ויש לומר דאף מי שאמר והיה באספך את דגנך, הנהג בהן מנהג דרך ארץ V'yesh lomar d'af mi she'amar v'hayah b'ospecha es d'ganecha, hanheg bahem minhag derech eretz. The Gemara in Brachos tells us that when are we obligated to learn Torah? We once did a series of shiurim on the halachic definition of the obligation of learning Torah. What's the shiur, what's the measure? How do I know when I fulfilled the mitzvah? What are the criteria, the definition? מצה צריך ד'כזית Matzah tzrich d'k'zayis to fulfill the mitzvah. שופר Shofar I have to blow certain sounds. מעשרות Ma'asrot has to be a certain size. When there's a mitzvah I have criteria to know I fulfilled the mitzvah. What are the criteria, the parameters, what's the שיעור shiur of the mitzvah to learn Torah? If I learn five minutes, 50 minutes, an hour, a page, a chapter, a book? How do I define fulfilling my mitzvah every day of learning Torah? So there are many answers to that. We spent a long time, we had a series on that topic. But essentially, most define it as there are justifiable justifiable things that take up my time. If I'm not doing any of them, I have to be learning תורה Torah. I have to earn a living, I have to take care of my health, I have to sleep, I have to eat, I need time for recreation, I need to spend meaningful time with people in my life. So all those are justifiable times and during those, it's not that in those moments I'm not learning תורה Torah, it's in those moments I'm exempt from an obligation. When is the obligation fall? When I'm not doing something meaningful, valuable, something that I can justify with my time. So one of those things is ואספת דגנך v'asafta d'ganecha. You got to work. Got to earn a livelihood. אין קמח אין תורה Ein kemach ein Torah. If you don't pay the bills, you can't study תורה Torah. So the truth is that the everyman, the average person has that defense. However, when it comes to the king, he's an exception. Why is the king an exception? The king has to be exceedingly careful and cautious, כל ימי חייו kol yemei chayav. וקרא בו כל ימי חייו v'kara vo kol yemei chayav. He has to read the תורה Torah every day of his life. He has to go overboard because the king, again we said, can be so easily become corrupt. The king can become compromised. The king can become arrogant and feel superior. And the great anchor that when the winds are blowing hard and they're trying to knock us off course, the anchor that holds us true is the study of תורה Torah. So those who are in positions of power, of leadership, who are most vulnerable, who have the greatest danger for for being distracted, they are the ones who even more so have to learn תורה Torah on a regular on a regular basis, says רשב\"ם Rashbam. תורה Torah is the anchor. תורה Torah is the compass that calibrates our life and gives us its direction. The king was responsible for all the people. The king, who so easily could become arrogant and think he's above the law, has to spend extra time studying the law. The more that you're in danger of thinking you're above the law, because power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. And the king who can absolutely bring life and death has a special obligation to learn even to learn even more so. Okay. So our Rabbi Sacks as well. Moving along. פרק י\"ז פסוק כ Perek yud zayin pasuk chaf. We saw this king has to avoid being arrogant, רם לבבו rum levavo. לבלתי סור מן המצוה ימין ושמאל l'vilti sur min hamitzvah yamin u'smol. We don't want him to veer from the מצוה mitzvah either right or left. And I'll just share with you because I found it cute and upcomingly relevant. You shouldn't veer right or left. What would make him veer right or left? Why right or left? So the גמרא Gemara in בבא בתרא Bava Batra tells us הרוצה שיחכים ידרים, שיעשיר יצפין harotzeh sheyachkim yadrim, sheya'ashir yatzpin. The בית מדרש Beit Midrash of Boca Raton Synagogue prints a תורה Torah journal called ידרים Yadrim. Volume six of ידרים Yadrim is coming out. It's going to the printer soon. So why did it get the name ידרים Yadrim? Because the גמרא בבא בתרא Gemara Bava Batra tells us if you want to grow wise, face the south. If you want to grow rich, face the north. Why the south and the north? Because in the בית המקדש Beit Hamikdash, in the משכן Mishkan, the מנורה menorah was where? On the south. If you want to grow wise, face the מנורה menorah, the south. And the שלחן shulchan, the table, was on the north. The table stands for material wealth, whereas the מנורה menorah stands for the light of תורה Torah. So if you want to grow wise, face the light of תורה Torah, face the south, face the מנורה menorah. If you want to grow rich, face the table, material sustenance and growth. I always love to quote, they say that's why the rabbi sits on the left side of the ארון aron, and the president sits on the right side. Because the תורה Torah, the גמרא Gemara here is giving an instruction where to face. We face east towards ירושלים Yerushalayim. But the rabbi who wants to הרוצה להחכים ידרים harotzeh l'hachkim yadrim. So if you're to the left of the ארון aron, you're facing southeast, because the rabbi wants greater wisdom. The שול shul president has got to make sure we stay on budget, sits on the other side of the ארון aron, because he's facing northeast. So הרוצה שיעשיר יצפין harotzeh sheya'ashir yatzpin. He has to make sure he the budget. So he sits to be able to face the ארון aron, he's facing northeast. In any case, so the עוללות אפרים Olelut Ephraim writes, הזהירו על התורה שלא יסחביהו בעשיית מצותיו ימין או שמאל, כי לזכותו בחכמה או בעושר, אלא יעשה הכל לשם שמיים Hizhiro al haTorah shelo yis'chiveihu b'asiyat mitzvotav yamin o smol, ki l'zakoto b'chochma o v'osher, ela ya'aseh hakol l'shem shamayim. The תורה Torah says that the king has to be careful, don't turn right or left. It means don't turn north or south. Don't pursue either wealth or wisdom, do what השם Hashem wants, לשם שמיים l'shem shamayim. So the reference to ימין ושמאל yamin u'smol are reference to ידרים yadrim or יצפין yatzpin, north or south. And I thought that was worth quoting because our תורה Torah journal ידרים Yadrim is going to the printer soon enough. And you don't see פרק י\"ח פסוק י\"ג Perek Yud Ches Pasuk Yud Gimmel. Page 1032. Here the Torah continues about prophecy and warns us not to pursue false prophets. Don't don't read your horoscope. Don't go to the psychic friends network. Don't follow any silly superstition. Don't wear a red bendel, a red string around your wrist. It's not gonna do anything for you. In fact, in Tosefta in Brochos calls it דרכי אמורי darchei Emori. It's a form of idolatry, a silly superstition, as we have here. So in this context, the Torah tells us פרק י\"ח פסוק י\"ג Perek Yud Ches Pasuk Yud Gimmel: תמים תהיה עם ה' אלקיך tamim tihyeh im Hashem Elokecha. Don't read your horoscope, don't go to psychics, don't give into silly superstition. We left all that behind when we left Egypt. מצרים Mitzrayim, Egypt was a place of superstition and silliness. We don't believe in that. We believe only in Hashem. We don't believe in silly superstition, we crack mirror and a black cat, and if you walk over someone, or if you wear a red string on your wrist, or if you believe any of this נרישקייט narishkeit, silliness, superstition. We abandoned all that. Hashem rescued us from all that. He took us out of the capital of that, Egypt. And he took us to an enlightened place where we know that there's a Hashem who runs the world, and he's the only one we need to be worried about. And that's what the Torah cautions us, תמים תהיה עם ה' אלקיך tamim tihyeh im Hashem Elokecha. תמים tamim. What does the word תמים tamim mean? תמים tamim. Be complete or be whole. But what does it mean to be whole or complete? So Rashi says, התהלך עמו בתמימות ותצפה לו hishalech imo b'tmimus v'tetzpeh lo, ולא תחקור אחר העתידות v'lo sachkor achar ha'asidos. אלא כל מה שיבוא עליך קבל בתמימות ela kol ma sheyavo alecha kabel b'tmimus. Don't try to predict the future. Don't go to a psychic, don't do one of those weird ouija boards, don't open a book and see what page it turns out to and it's gonna tell you what's gonna happen. We don't believe in any of that silliness, says Rashi, ולא תחקור אחר העתידות lo sachkor achar ha'asidos. Don't try to figure out the future. Whatever happens to you, accept and receive, receive, live with innocent faith, accept whatever happens without trying to figure out the future. Avoid superstition, fortune tellers, psychics, leave the future in Hashem's hands and know you are where you're meant to be, embrace your place, let go, let God. Don't worry about all these other things. So Rav Shlomo Wolbe, the great משגיח mashgiach in his מאמרי ימי רצון Ma'amarei Yemei Ratzon, understands this command differently. He says, people get focused and anxious about the future. They wonder and they worry, their imagination runs wild with unlimited possibilities, opportunities and challenges about what the future might bring, what's gonna happen, what's gonna be, what if I get sick, what if we grow old, what if this works out, what if this doesn't work out, where will we be, how will it, what's gonna be? Says the Torah, relax. Take a deep breath. תמים תהיה tamim tihyeh! Don't fear the future. Don't get worried about what's not yet here. Live life in the present with confidence and with conviction and faith that Hashem is in charge, that Hashem has a plan. Do everything you're meant to do. Do everything that we can. Take all the initiative that's in your hands and then let go and let God. That's the Torah instruction, that's what the פסוק pasuk is telling us. תמים תהיה עם ה' אלקיך tamim tihyeh im Hashem Elokecha. Don't worry about the future. Don't worry about things you can't impact or change. Don't try to predict what's not yet here. Have faith that if you live in the present, if you're mindful, and you do all you're meant to do in the here and now, that Hashem will take care of the rest. Let go and let God. The past and future have value and how they shape and contribute to the present. But don't forfeit the present because we're concerned about the future or because you're lost in the past. The countdown to ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah has begun. We're now in the month of אלול Elul. We usually think of יום הדין Yom Hadin, ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, as being judged. What do we get judged for? Were you nice or naughty? Were you good or bad? Hashem is going to open up the past year and he's going to see how we behaved. We think it's all about the past and accountability and the future and our promise and pledge for how much better we'll be in it, but we're wrong. We're wrong. I'll never forget years ago when I first came across this חז\"ל Chazal and it changed my entire understanding of these days. The גמרא ראש השנה ט\"ז, י\"ז Gemara Rosh Hashanah Tet Vav, Tet Zayin tells us, אין דנין את האדם אלא לפי מעשיו של אותה שעה ein donin es ha'adam ela l'fi ma'asav shel oso sha'ah. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, we are judged not for the past and not for the future, but only for the present. If you think about it for a moment, how could you be judged for the past? You can't change it. You can't go back there. You can't amend it, you can't edit it. How can you be judged for a future? It's not yet here. The only dimension we live in, the only dimension we have control over, the only dimension we make choices in is the present. And therefore אין דנין את האדם אלא לפי מעשיו של אותה שעה ein donin es ha'adam ela l'fi ma'asav shel oso sha'ah. Hashem judges us only only for the that moment. Ah, so you'll say, I'm off the hook. I spent a whole year looking at the wrong things, saying the wrong thing, going the wrong place, being dishonest, cheating, being miserable, getting angry, being impatient, being corrupt, and I'm off the hook. No, you're not off the hook. If the past is shaping your present, you're still responsible for it. But if you've left the past in the past, and in the present you've redefined yourself, in the present you're a new person, then the past you're not accountable for. תמים תהיה tamim tiyeh, don't try to figure out the future and don't live in the past. Make the most of every moment by putting your faith and confidence in השם Hashem and live in השם Hashem.The Rambam teaches in שמונה פרקים Shmonah Perakim, I wish we had time, I'd read to you inside what the Rambam writes. האדם השלם ha'adam hashalem, צריך לו שיזכור מדותיו תמיד tzarich lo sheyizkor midosav tamid. What does it mean to be an אדם השלם adam hashalem? What does it mean to be the complete person? If you're living in the world of שידוכים shidduchim, you hear someone described, he's the complete package. She's the complete package. What does it mean they're complete? It means they're missing a lot if they're described that way. But what does it mean they're the complete package? So the Rambam says, you know what a complete package is? האדם השלם ha'adam hashalem יזכור מדותיו תמיד yizkor midosav tamid. The complete person, I'm reading the translation, must always be mindful of his character traits, considers actions, assesses his soul's qualities each day. Anything he sees within his soul tending towards any of the extremes, be quick with the remedy and not allow the bad quality to be reinforced by repeating the wrongful act. Also, he places before his eyes his deficient character traits and always tries to cure them. The Rambam teaches the אדם השלם adam hashalem, the whole person is the person who lives at all times with self-awareness, assessing his conduct, identifying strengths and weaknesses. The whole person is not a perfect person. The whole person is the mindful person, the person who is in the present, the person who is quick to recalibrate, to pivot, to make changes.אונקלוס Onkelos translates the word תמים tamim in our פסוק pasuk as שלם shalem, whole. Rav Wolbe writes the command of תמים תהיה עם השם אלקיך tamim tihiyeh im Hashem Elokecha requires following the Rambam's prescription. What essentially the Torah is telling us תמים תהיה tamim tihiyeh is, be an אדם השלם adam hashalem. Constantly introspect, evaluate, live mindfully and purposefully, carefully determine who we are, who we want to be, and then be that best version of yourself. תמים תהיה tamim tihiyeh doesn't mean be perfect, but it means be perfectly mindful. It means be present. Too many people are living life, they're on autopilot. They're mindlessly coasting through life. They're repeating the same day over and over and calling it a life. תמים תהיה tamim tihiyeh means be present, means be mindful, be purposeful, evaluate. Many people go through life mindlessly. They go through their day doing what they do but without thinking about it even for a moment. An אדם השלם adam hashalem, being שלם shalem is not about the quest to be perfect. It's not possible. And in fact, working towards it will set you backwards, not forwards. Being an אדם השלם adam hashalem means to be a person constantly thinking and reassessing and growing and challenging. It means having a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. It means to be an אדם השלם adam hashalem, be a whole person by being present in everything that we, that we do.We have time for one more. We have time for one more.At the end of the פרשה parsha, at the end of the פרשה parsha, we have the story of the עגלה ערופה eglah arufah. A corpse is found between cities, we don't know where it belongs, and we don't know who the murderer was. So there's a whole formula the Torah tells us that you send out the elders, that shines a light, all the news cameras come and do coverage, maybe that will help us solve the crime and the murder. But the elders come and there's a ritual that they perform, and they conclude in פסוק ז pasuk zayin, וענו ואמרו ידינו לא שפכה לא שפכו את הדם הזה ועינינו לא ראו ve'anu ve'amru yadeinu lo shafcha lo shafchu es hadam hazeh ve'eineinu lo ra'u. The elders of that city they say, our hands have not spilled this blood and our eyes didn't see. כפר לעמך ישראל kaper le'amcha Yisrael, atone for and forgive your people. And Rashi here says, וכי עלתה על לב שזקני בית דין שופכי דמים הם vechi alsa al lev sheziknei beis din shofchei damim heim? Supreme Court's going to come to this little שטעטל shtetl, this little town, they're going to find this corpse and they're going to say, wasn't us. We're not the murderers, we didn't do it, we didn't see who did it, we're good. What, as if we thought it was them? As if we're about to accuse them, that they have to say it wasn't us? Why are they saying that? הביאור בזה כתב ר' גרשון שטרן בעל יריעות שלמה בשם ר' משה בן עמרם Ha'biur bezeh kosav R' Gershon Stern ba'al Yeri'os Shlomo b'shem R' Moshe ben Amram, שהוא נחשב בעיני הבריות ויש לו כח לשמור את עצמו בדרך ולעמוד לוחם כנגד מי שקם כנגדו shehu nachshav be'einei habriyos v'yeish lo koach lishmor es atzmo baderech v'la'amod lochem keneged mi shekam kenegdo. When a person feels seen, when a person feels seen, and they feel relevant, and they feel they matter, and they feel consequential, then that gives them the strength and the courage and the confidence to face and persevere whatever comes their way. But when a person feels invisible and inconsequential, that they don't matter, and that they go through life unseen, then they're depleted of any energy. They have nothing inside to be able to fight, to be able to navigate. They have no resiliency. What happened here this corpse? The Gemara tells us this individual left the city, בלי לויה beli levayah, nobody escorted them out. Nobody gave them some צידה לדרך tzeida l'derech. Nobody said here's some food for the way. Nobody said let me walk you out. Nobody said let me send you and say goodbye. Let me nobody said, do you need any food to take with you? What made the person vulnerable to be attacked? How did they end up a corpse, murdered, nameless? Because nobody bothered to help them feel seen. And that's why indeed, the elders, a community whose leaders aren't careful to make sure that everyone feels seen, the blood of those corpse, that corpse is on their hands.This is a very powerful lesson, a very powerful message and one we could and should expand on another time, but particularly relevant for our generation, in which there's so many struggles with mental health. And the language that so many use, so many use is, I don't feel seen. I feel invisible. I don't think I matter. I don't think anyone would notice if I disappeared. We have an awesome responsibility, all of us in every community, particularly the זקנים zekenim, the leaders of every community, to ensure that no one lives in the margins, that no one is neglected, no one is invisible, no one feels unseen.There are people who do. And I tell you, I have a privilege as a rabbi sometimes to interact. I recently did with two such people who both had the same reaction. When I responded to something they shared with me, they said, \"Thank you, I feel seen, I feel noticed.\" That very language is exactly what the Torah is emphasizing here, the responsibility. So would we suspect? Really? We're going to suspect the זקנים zekenim murdered this corpse? Not directly. But if they led a people and a community that led people feel unseen, they let them walk out unescorted, they let people feel invisible and inconsequential, they don't matter, then a whole community who allows that are responsible for what happens to such a person. Hopefully that will never be us. We'll all take that care. Thank you for coming back. We're on regular time next week. Tomorrow morning we're back on with Tanya and living with אמונה emunah. Have a great day. May we hear
