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שבת שלום - פרשת שופטים

Video Shiur

Click play to watch the video shiur by Rav Yosef Kaminetsky

News and Notes

The yeshiva was excited to welcome our new students this past Wednesday morning. Our 34 shana alef students joined our shana bet group, who arrived last week. Opening day was dedicated to orientation, tours of the campus and neighborhood, and placement tests, and was capped off with a gala barbecue in the evening. On Thursday, following a booksale in the morning, our regular schedule of shiurim began with classes in Gemara, Nach, and Chumash. On Friday morning, following davening at the Kotel, the entire yeshiva experienced our annual opening week tiyul to Ir David and Chizkiyahu's Tunnels. We thank Rav Yoav Druyan for accompanying the tour, as well as our returning tour guide, Hillel Brenner. This Shabbat is an in-Shabbat, and will be hosted by Rabbi Wolicki and his family. Rabbi Wolicki will present several shiurim, and will host an oneg Shabbat after dinner Friday night. These events, together with our spirited davening and delicious meals, will certainly make our first in-Shabbat of the new zman both inspirational and memorable. Finally, we would like to thank our shana bet students, who arrived at the yeshiva even before Rosh Chodesh Elul, and who have been learning in the yeshiva day and night. Their hasmada and dedication to learning have been inspirational, and have set a tremendously positive tone for the entire yeshiva.

The Peace Process
By Rabbi Pesach Wolicki

"When you approach a city to wage war upon it, you shall call out to it in peace." (Devarim 20:10)

In this week's parashah, the Torah commands us to attempt to make peace as a first choice over going to war. Only if the overtures of peace are rejected are we supposed to resort to military attack.

The Midrash Rabbah offers a homiletic interpretation of this commandment.

"'You shall call out to it in peace': See how great is the power of peace. When a human being has an enemy, he seeks and pursues what to do to him. He seeks out one who is more powerful and tries to influence him to harm his enemy. G-d is not this way. Rather, all of the idolaters who anger Him go to sleep at night. All of thesouls go up to Him [while they are asleep]. In the morning He returns the soul to each and every one of them." (Devarim Rabbah 5:15)

The Midrash highlights G-d's characteristic of Mercy. Although the transgressors of the world are opposed to G-d's will, He treats them kindly and gives them another chance. People are much less forgiving.

According to the Midrashic allegory, not only does G-d not seek the downfall of the wicked; He refrains from destroying them even when He has the opportunity to do away with them.

This same idea appears in the liturgy for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

"For you do not desire the death of the guilty, rather for his return from his path so that he shall live." (Unetaneh Tokef)

The Talmud (Sotah 14a) stresses that we are to look to G-d as the example of moral behavior.

"Just as He clothes the naked (see Bereshit 3:21) so must you clothe the naked. Just as He visits the sick (see Bereshit 18:1 and Rashi) so must you visit the sick. Just as he comforts mourners (see Bereshit 25:11 and Rashi) so must you comfort mourners. Just as He buries the dead (see Devarim 34:6) so must you bury the dead."

Rav Soloveitchik (RCA Convention 1977) explained that this passage in the Talmud implies that the definition of that which is moral is that which is an emulation of one of G-d's characteristics.

The Midrash quoted above calls upon us to ask ourselves, "Are we emulating G-d?" Are we relating to others as we would have G-d relate to us? Do we seek peace and well-being even for those who we perceive as enemies? This is not to say that we are not to defend ourselves. Certainly we are.

There is a time for war. Enemies are often real and must be defeated. Unfortunately, conflict brings out the worst in people. The litmus test of the purity of our motives, the check of the moral compass, is stated by the Torah:

"When you approach a city to wage war upon it, you shall call out to it in peace."

The question is, "What do we want for our enemies?" Do we want them to be destroyed or do we want them to realize the truth and beauty of morality and good; to realize that their path is wrong and rectify their ways? Do we strive for the patience that G-d displays in returning their souls to them for what may very well be another day of sinning?

We are now in the month of Elul. The Days of Judgement are only a few weeks away. Each of us hopes and prays for G-d to understand our misdeeds, to overlook them, and to forgive them.

The imperative to emulate G-d demands of us to treat others as we would have G-d treat us. Let this Elul be a time when we grow closer not only to G-d but to each other as well.