Parashah Shoftim Comments 2024
Our God is a God of compassion. Our parashah (Torah portion) for this week (“Shoftim”) illustrates this. He gives us what we want when it doesn’t conflict with what He knows is best for us.
“When you have entered the land Adonai your God is giving you, have taken possession of it and are living there, you may say, ‘I want to have a king over me, like all the other nations around me.’ In that event, you must appoint as king the one whom Adonai your God will choose. He must be one of your kinsmen…”
The people wanted a king, so HaShem allowed it—while guarding them from a fatal choice. He then required compassion of the chosen king, keeping him close to God and to God’s people by reminding him whom he serves.
“When he has come to occupy the throne of his kingdom, he is to write a copy of this Torah for himself… It is to remain with him, and he is to read in it every day… so that he will not think he is better than his kinsmen… In this way he will prolong his own reign and that of his children in Isra’el.”
A Prophet Like Moses
The people asked for an intercessor between themselves and God. He allowed Moses—and then provided the greater one in Yeshua.
“Adonai will raise up for you a prophet like me from among yourselves… I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him…”
The Brit Chadashah confirms the fulfillment:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only and unique Son…”
“The Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing…”
“The Father who sent me has given me a command—what to say and how to say it.”
“I am united with the Father… the Father living in me is doing His own works.”
Compassion for the Innocent
HaShem showed compassion by commanding sanctuary towns and by protecting due process with multiple witnesses.
“Divide the territory… into three parts… so that any killer can flee to these cities… someone who has killed… by mistake…”
“One witness alone will not be sufficient… the matter will be established only if there are two or three witnesses.”
Leaders were required to be forthright about bloodguilt, and property rights were safeguarded to promote peace and security.
“All the leaders of the town nearest the murder victim are to wash their hands… ‘This blood was not shed by our hands… Adonai, forgive your people Isra’el…’”
“You are not to move your neighbor’s boundary marker…”
Courage, Mercy, and the Ethics of War
God gives courage and compassion—even in battle. He releases the newly married, the fearful, and those who have unfinished life commitments; and He prioritizes peace before conflict.
“Don’t be fainthearted… Adonai your God… is going with you to fight on your behalf…”
“Is there a man who has built a new house… planted a vineyard… engaged to a woman… is afraid and fainthearted? He should go back home…”
“When you advance on a town… first offer it terms for peace.”
Haftarah: The Book of Comfort
Isaiah’s voice turns from judgment (chapters 1–39) to comfort (40–66). Our reading, Isaiah 51:12–53:12, reveals Yeshua as the ultimate expression of God’s compassion: the obedient, suffering Servant through whom repentance and deliverance come.
Image of God and the Call to Return
“So God created mankind in his own image… male and female He created them.”
Daniel, exiled to Babylon, modeled faithfulness in a pagan culture—serving Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius with integrity, prayer, and obedience. Even in discipline, God remained with His people for seventy years, shaping them to return.
Living Faithfully in a Pagan Age
Our culture often mirrors ancient idolatry. Like Daniel, we’re called to resist false gods—whether state, self, or creation—and to rule creation as stewards (Genesis 1:28), not worship it.
“Nothing will be impossible for you.”
God is preparing us for testing. He is faithful and does not abandon us. He proposed covenant at Sinai: “I shall be your God and you shall be My people,” echoing through Genesis 17:7; Exodus 6:7; Ezekiel 34:24; 36:28; Jeremiah 7:23; 30:22; 31:33.
Wholehearted Devotion, Not Mere Religion
Yeshua did not come to establish a new religion but to reveal the truth of God. Religion can only take us so far; surrender to HaShem brings true life.
“You must be wholehearted with Adonai your God.”
“You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources.”
On the compassion of shaping the heart, see the discussion of “Sending Away the Mother Bird,” contrasting Rambam and Ramban, here: shemayisrael.com – Mother Bird Mitzvah.
Chesed Lived Out
HaShem sustains the cosmos, yet is near to all who call. We are to emulate Him in chesed—lovingkindness. Consider Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s compassion: when his fingers were accidentally shut in a car door, he stayed silent until the helper had left—so as not to embarrass him. Such humility reflects God’s heart.
Seek, Knock, Enter
“Keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you…”
HaShem is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He longs to reveal His compassion to us in Yeshua and to shape us into faithful witnesses who cling to Him through every trial.
Prayer
Father in Heaven, thank You for showing us Your heart and Your love—through Your Word and through Your messenger, Yeshua HaMashiach. Draw us closer. Cleanse and prepare us to be worthy vessels of Your compassion. Strengthen us to withstand every pressure and to become a spotless offering to You. B’shem Yeshua HaMashiach, omein.
