Shabbat Shalom!

Please join us in shul this Shabbat Parashat Shoftim

At the beginning of this week’s parasha, parashat Shoftim, we find a verse that tells us: צדק, צדק תרדף Justice, justice shall you pursue. This evocative phrase is often cited and, perhaps, more often, made into art (including art that hangs on the wall next to the dining table in my own home). 

The question has been asked many times: Why does the verse repeat the word “justice” twice? 

There are a few well-known answers. The biblical commentator known as Ibn Ezra gives two options. In one, he tells us that this repetition means that we should pursue a just outcome in our disputes regardless of whether we win or lose. Ibn Ezra also offers that the repetition of the word “justice” simply serves as a literary tool that emphasizes the pursuit of justice. Another rabbi teaches that the repetition of the word “justice” indicates that we should both seek out systems of justice in our disputes—court systems—and also that we should seek to create justice in our own world beyond a system of courts.

There is, however, one explanation of this extraneous use of the word “justice” that I stumbled upon that speaks to this moment in the Jewish calendar, the month of Elul. The rabbi known as Ramban, or Nachmanides, brings the following explanation in the name of a Midrash: The word “Justice” is repeated twice to remind us that if we judge ourselves justly, we will thrive as human beings. If we do not, then the Holy Blessed One will judge us and our fate will be in God’s hands. This month of Elul, the month that begins today, the month that precedes the Days of Awe, is a time when we begin the painstaking process of teshuva, of repentance, of aligning who we are with who we want to be. Ramban’s message communicates that we must engage in this process; we must look inwards, take stock of who we are, and judge ourselves fairly. Only then can we change. Only then can we thrive. 

Ramban’s interpretation of the verse “Justice, justice shall you pursue” is one of hope. We can pursue personal justice. We can look inwards and, no mater how challenging it seems, we can change. It is in each of our hands to transform into the person who we want to become.

Read more about this week's parasha here.

Have a gut shabbos!

-Rabbi Eitan Bloostein

The rabbi known as Rambam, or Maimonides, wrote that the blast of the shofar serves as a spiritual alarm clock. It shakes our internal selves, and reminds us that we must wake up, open our eyes, to the people who we have become.

Sometimes this process is one of great joy: We can and should love the people who we are--especially when we spend time working on our selves. Other times, this process is painful as we look in the mirror and admit that our behavior, our character, is not what we hoped it would be. Most often, each of feels a combination of these joys and disappointments. And yet, the shofar, blasted relentlessly each day of the month, reminds us that we must not shy away from the challenge of waking up. Only once we awake can we change; only once we see ourselves for who we really are can we truly engage in the act of teshuva.

Please join us for minyan each day this month as a member of our community blasts the shofar.

Read more about the month of Elul here.