With all your heart

Shoftim

Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

Précis: The parasha Shoftim (literally, “judges”) is devoted primarily to various themes of justice, and includes warnings against false testimony, idol worship, and the dangers of mortal kings. The parasha includes regulations for rulers, and also warns the people against false prophets, magicians, soothsayers and witches. It establishes requirements for cities of refuge in the Promised Land. In short, the parasha is devoted to ways to create a just society in the Land of Israel.

Deuteronomy 18:13 “You must be wholehearted with Adonai your God.”

The Hebrew word “tamim” is here translated as “wholehearted.” It has also been translated as being undivided (in loyalty). Nahama Leibowitz notes that the opposite of wholehearted is a disharmony between the inner and outer man, a separation between words and deeds. Elsewhere in the Bible, the word is used to describe Noah and Abraham, and usually given the translation of “blameless.” Rabbi Harold Kushner suggests that to be wholehearted means to “Know what is good and what is evil, and when you do wrong, realize that that was not the essential you.” (How Good Do We Have to Be? p. 180).

Some of the sages suggest that being wholehearted connotes a sense of “meaningfulness,” an intention which involves both the body (action) and the mind (thought). If we are not wholehearted, we allow a barrier between ourselves and the kind of person we hope to be (or perhaps between ourselves and God). To act in an appropriate and proper way is good, in and of itself. But to act well with the proper intention is more meaningful and impactful on our future actions.