Machshava:

Leadership 

Parsha:

Shoftim 

Collections: R' Brander 4 Minute Video Series

Description

שופטים ושוטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך You shall appoint shoftim – judges – and “shotrim” in all of your communities. Many commentators and Midrashim translate “shotrim” not as the commonly translated "police officers" but rather as “leaders”. According to this interpretation, the verse reads: You shall appoint judges and leaders in all of your communities. The Torah’s juxtaposition of “judges” with “leaders” wishes to accentuate that it is in the best interest of any society even with the most regal of leaders to have checks and balances. That was the role of the Biblical prophet with the leader of the Sanhedrin and the King. Government requires structures that allow for a balance of power, if we are to build a just and moral society.