Shoftim
Deuteronomy 16:18 – 21:9
Moses establishes the institutional framework for a just society in the Promised Land. Judges and officers must be appointed in every city, and justice must never be perverted by bribery or favoritism. The parasha legislates the powers and limitations of the king, who must write a Torah scroll and read it daily. It defines the priestly tribe's portion, warns against the abominations of the Canaanite nations, and promises the rise of prophets like Moses. Laws of warfare include the requirement to offer peace before besieging a city and the prohibition against destroying fruit trees. The parasha concludes with the ceremony of the eglah arufah (broken-necked heifer) when a murder victim is found between cities.
Key figures
- Moses — Legislates the constitutional structure of the future Israelite society
- The future king — Must not accumulate horses, wives, or wealth, and must study Torah daily
- The future prophet — God promises to raise a prophet like Moses whom the people must heed
Famous verses
- 16:18 Judges and officers shall you make for yourself in all your gates, which Hashem your God gives you, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
- 16:20 Justice, justice shall you follow, that you may live, and inherit the land which Hashem your God gives you.
- 18:15 A prophet will Hashem your God raise up to you, from the midst of you, of your brothers, like to me; you shall heed him;
- 20:19 When you besiege a city for a long time, waging war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat of them, and you shall not cut them down — for man depends on the tree of the field, that it should come before you under siege.
Haftarah: {'ref': 'Isaiah 51:12-52:12', 'connection': "The fourth Haftarah of consolation; Isaiah proclaims God as Israel's true comforter and judge, echoing Shoftim's vision of a divinely ordered society ruled by justice."}
Total gematria: 364,568.