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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Table Talk for Shabbat Shoftim, August 13th-14th, 2010

This week’s parashah (Torah portion) is called Shoftim, which means “Judges” (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9). In this part of the story of the Israelites, Moses is talking to them about what will happen when they enter the Promised Land, Israel. He is giving them many laws and rules that tell them what they should or should not do when they finally get to enter the Promised Land.

Moses warns the people not to break any rules or laws, including the rule to not practice idolatry (worshipping or believing in other gods than our God, Adonai, the God of the Israelites). Then Moses tells them about how justice should be carried out. Moses says judges have to be fair and not biased; they can’t make their friend win just because they are friends or make a rich person win because they hope to get a present or bribe from them.

This Torah portion also discusses appropriate punishments and contains the phrase “a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye” when talking about how a punishment should fit the crime. While many believe that this describes a very harsh way of punishing people for what they did wrong (as in, if you knock someone’s tooth out, someone should knock your tooth out), it really means that the punishment should make sense based on what a person did wrong. It doesn’t mean that if your brother hits you, you should hit him back because he deserves it. It means, he should have to do something to make up for it. It doesn’t mean that if you lie, people should just lie to you because you deserve it. Instead, it means that you should have to do something to earn their trust again.

By giving the Israelites all of these rules and laws to follow, Moses hopes to help them create a peaceful wise, and moral community that runs smoothly.



Table Talk Questions:


(1) Have you ever had to figure out who to believe or whose side to be on when two of your friends had a fight? What happened? Was it hard to be fair or was it easy? Why?

(2) Has there ever been a case when your mom or dad had to decide who to believe or who was right when you had a fight with your sister/brother? Do you think it was hard for him/her to be fair? Why?

(3) Can you think of a time when a teacher was fair or not fair? What happened?

(4) How are punishments or consequences chosen in your family? How does the punishment fit the misbehavior? How do you think punishments should be chosen or given?

(5) What do you think a judge—or any person who has to listen and decide between two people—should do to make sure to be fair? How can you tell if someone is being fair?

(6) If you were Moses, what rules would you tell the Israelites to follow when they entered the Promised Land?


Shabbat Shalom!

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