The Icing On The Decalogue’s Cake: Shoftim

My wife loves to make up rules. While in scripture the laws often are preceded by “and the Lord spoke to Moses,” for me, the words “from now on…” often initiates a session of marital legislation at most likely an inopportune time. Who makes laws while struck driving on the 405!

For me, matrimonial government I am subject to is a singular body; a dictatorship of sorts.

Armed with 30-plus years experience of lawyering, and with extensive litigation involving the legal interpretation of various statutes and regulations, I zealously resist any and all proposed marital laws, legislation, regulations and edicts.

My not so blistering retort to anything proposed is simple. My political philosophy is of the great Groucho Marx. Thus, each and every “from now on” is expertly met with the pointed query “why should we? Ater all, aren’t we are most likely never going to follow it?”

For those unfamiliar with one of the most base positions of Groucho Marxism is “whatever it is, I’m against it!”

The Challenge of a Meaningful Justice System

My query brings with it the stark reality: laws and rules neither followed or nor enforced are meaningless.

The Torah is packed with 613 commandments. Beyond the scripture, extensive oral law and commentaries have attempted to bring clarity to what many find perplexing. Torah-based law is so rich that there are individuals who devote an entire lifetime engulfed in study of these laws.

The big question is “How was it that, over the millennia, that these Torah laws were maintained?”

The answer lies, in part, to the Torah Portion Shoftim. Shoftim offers the icing on the cake to the Ten Commandments and the other 603.

Shoftim in Light of Yitro

While Shoftim contains a vital ingredient in manufacturing the glue that keeps the commandments alive, it cannot be fully appreciated in isolation. Prior to Shoftim, the concept of an effective judiciary system for Torah-based law was revolutionized by Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro. This was in the Torah Portion Yitro.

The Midian Priest brilliantly laid out the format and composition of a judiciary. Jethro advised Moses that he “be for the people toward God and, and you[Moses] will bring the matters before God. And you’ll enlighten them with the laws and the instructions, and you’ll make known to them the way in which they’ll go and the thing that they’ll do. And you will envision, out of all the people, worthy men, who fear God, who hate bribery…And they’ll judge the people all times. And it will be: they’ll bring every matter that is big to you, and they will judge every matter that is small.” Exodus 18:19-22.

Shoftim

Shoftim elaborates upon judicial efficiency and quality. Shoftim’s specific contribution concerns the access to justice for all residents of a nation.

“You shall put judges and officers in all your gates that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes and they shall judge the people: judgement with justice. You shall not bend judgment, you shall not recognize a face, and you shall not take a bribe, because bribery will blind the eyes of the wise and undermine the words of the virtuous. Justice, justice you shall pursue, so that you’ll live, and take possession of the law that the Lord, your God is giving to you.” Deuteronomy 16:18-20.

Thus, a foundational element to the Ten Commandments based government is that the society insures that each and every individual has access to the court system. Not only should there be access to courts, the courts also were required to employ competent and honest judges.

Only with access to a functional, competent and ethical judicial system can laws truly have societal value. Laws, without an effective means of adjudication or that are susceptible to corrupt application, are both worthless and damage society.

Conclusion

Thus, unlike my wife’s marital laws, the Decalogue’s justice system, is quite well-tuned. This accomplishment, as we see from Shoftim and Yitro, involve not only outstanding laws but also a societal commitment to tap individuals of character as well as to devote resources towards maintaining an operational and efficient judicial system.

Marriage, in contrast, is perhaps more about diplomacy than law. Compromise, concession and accord are perhaps the first line of handling marital matters. As when Abraham approached God on how to deal with his significant other Sarah’s issues, the Creator of the World offered up the following advice: “listen to your wife.”

Be well!!

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