Shoftim
Deut. 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 posed by mortal kings. The parasha 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.
Deut. 17:8-10 “If a case is too complicated for you to adjudicate, whether it is a controversy over a homicide, civil law, or assault-matters of dispute in your court-you shall quickly take it to the place where God has designated [for such disputes]. Appear before the Levitical priest or the judge who will be in those days and present your problem. When the verdict has been announced, you shall carry it out from the place God chose, attending meticulously to the details of the decision.”
Rabbi Adam Raskin, in his d'var torah to Congregation Har Shalom (8/25/12) suggested that there is a deeply radical message embedded in this parasha. He says that the verse establishes the “very basis of rabbinic authority, the capacity for change, and the continuity of our tradition…. a handful of verses that are nothing short of a theological revolution...”
In these verses, human beings are commanded to participate in the evolution of Jewish law and tradition. The Torah is the basis of law, but it must be implemented by human beings. In effect, the judgment of these human judges is the articulation of the Divine Will! This is what we call “ongoing revelation.” Jewish law and thought are not to be frozen forever.
For centuries, rabbinical authorities have issued t'shuvot (responsa) on all aspects of Jewish life; this is a process which continues today, with respected authorities from each branch of Judaism issuing thoughtful explications of law on a range of issues which were not considered 3,000 years ago: how are we to deal with issues of scientific discoveries, complex commercial concerns, or how the 21st century impacts on our ritual observances.
The Conservative Movement maintains that the Torah's intent is for an evolving Jewish perspective on all aspects of life which is based on the text as well as on the thoughtful exegesis of generations of scholars. Those of other branches may disagree (and they do!) with responsa issued by the Conservative Movement’s rabbis, and there are heated debates within every branch of Jewish thought. Most will at least acknowledge that Jewish thought and life have in fact evolved over the centuries and millennia. How we evolve, and the way in which we hold the text and tradition sacred is the cornerstone of the concept of continuing revelation.
