We are in the month of Elul, the month before Rosh haShannah. I will keep this brief, but I feel I do need to share a few thoughts on this month.
This month is a time to look backwards and forwards. We look backwards to see what we have done that we did not like, that did not fit in with our perceptions of who we are and who we want to be. We also are looking forwards visualizing how we want to be in the coming year. By honestly looking back at our mistakes, we have the opportunity to make amends and consciously set our mind to not making those same mistakes (better to make new mistakes, no? 😉
There is a teaching that normally the king, haShem (god) sits in his palace, except during the month of Elul. In the month of Elul she is walking around in the fields and is very approachable. I hope all of you take advantage of the availability of haShem, to talk with him and tell her who you want to be, and to ask for help in becoming that person, and to ask for help on changing the habits that you know longer wish to be stuck in.
I wonder what all this has to do with our parsha (weekly Torah portion)? The parsha we read this shabbat is called Shoftim which means judges, or ones who judge, and it begins with Moshe (Moses) telling us that we should give to ourselves judges and law officers in all our gates that haShem is giving to us, and that they should judge righteously. Righteousness we are to pursue in order that we will live and settle the land that haShem is giving to us. We are then told not to plant trees near the altar we are to make for god, and not to make a monument that haShem hates. We are not to slaughter an offering to haShem that has a blemish. If someone is found in our gates who is worshiping other gods or the sun or the moon or the stars, we are to investigate and if it is found to be true, the person is stoned to death with the first stones thrown by the witnesses.
If a matter to be judged is too difficult, it is to be brought to the cohen (priest) and the judge at the place haShem chooses. Whatever answer they provide, it must be carried out under penalty of death. We are next told that when we enter the land, we might want to put a king over us. We are allowed to do this providing we put over us a king haShem chooses. The king is not allowed to amass horses or wealth or wives and he is to write two Torahs. One of these Torahs he is to always carry with him and study it daily and to follow it so he does not become haughty over his people.
Suddenly we move from the king to the cohen who we are told has no inheritance except haShem, and so gets to eat from god’s fire offerings. He also gets the first of the grains, oils, wine, and sheep shearing, all because god chose him to minister in the name of haShem. A Levi is welcome to come to the place of god’s choosing and serve there whenever he wants.
Again there is a shift and our parsha tells us that when we enter the land, we are not to learn to do the abominations of the previous nations, because it is the practice of these abominations that got the other nations thrown off the land in the first place. HaShem, we are told, is not permitting us to listen to fortunetellers and enchanters. Instead, haShem will give us a prophet, like Moshe, and we are to obey him. The reason we have a prophet is because when we received the Torah, we did not think we could see god’s words and live.
The parsha then talks about false prophets and what to do with them. Next we read some details about the cities of shelter we are to reserve for those who accidentally kill. After that is a word or two in regards to dealing with an intentional murderer. The parsha quickly tells us not to move back the ancestral boundaries of our companion,s and that one witness is not enough to convict a person of a sin. We hear about false witnesses and what to do with them.
Now, the parsha feels it is time to talk of war. First it tells us not to be afraid no matter how powerful the enemy is because haShem who brought us up out of Egypt is with us. Then we are told that anyone who has not had a chance to dedicate their new house, or a man who is engaged, but not married, or a person who has not enjoyed the grapes of their newly planted vineyard, or a person who is soft-hearted is exempt from fighting. This leads us into how we are to lay siege onto an enemy city. The parsha ends by telling us what we are to do if we find a dead body in the fields between cities.
Crazy parsha, don’t you think? And we always read it in the beginning of Elul. What do you think the connection is?
I think it has something to do with kingship. Now, I don’t recall if the Torah itself refers to haShem as king; however, our family tradition thinks of him as king or king of kings. One example of this is in our blessings, where we call haShem, “King of the world.” It is an image of haShem that we use in understanding the month of Elul, as I described above.
The question is: What is a king? The first thought many people have is a person who rules over people against the people’s will. I want to challenge this assumption. I claim we have other words for that. Sultan or dictator or tyrant are three that come to mind. If a sultan or a tyrant is a person who rules others against their will, what is a king?
The answer to that question can be found in our parsha. Our parsha, in verses 17:14-15 of D’varim/Deuteronomy, says, “When you come to the land that haShem your god/powers is giving to you, and you settle in her and live in her and you say I will put on me a king like all the nations that are around me, (15) you will put on you a king that haShem your god/powers will choose in him…”
What I see from these verses is that a king is someone that each and every person chooses to put over them. In other words, a king gets his power of kingship from his people. This is what makes a king a king and not a sultan. If you don’t believe me, think about stories you’ve heard about kings. They don’t become kings until others swear to serve under them. Two examples of this that come to my mind are the legends of King Arthur and the end of the book, “Lord of the Rings.”
Now that we have defined a king as someone who others allow to rule over them, we have to ask how this relates to god. How can god, the creator of everything, the one entity that can do anything and control everything, be a king? A sultan, god most certainly is. HaShem rules over us by the mere facts I just mentioned. How could we possibly choose to not have god rule over us?
The answer to this is simple: because she lets us. Hashem, the sultan, has chosen to give to each and every one of us the power of choosing to serve under him or not.
What does this mean?
It means that haShem is willing to let a person’s life go without benefit of her help, protection, support, and rules if that is what a person chooses.
On the other hand, we can choose to serve haShem, and let him do what a good ruler does which is protect, help, and support each of her citizens to be the best they can be. One example of that is the month of Elul where haShem allows himself to be completely available to talk to about anything at all. However, this holds only to those under her rule – those willing to call god king.
We read this parsha at the beginning of Elul to remind us that we, individually, have the choice of putting haShem over us as a king, or of going at life alone. The choice is ours, and we can make it anytime.
One aspect of Rosh haShannah (the Jewish new year) is to declare haShem as our king. In essence, those who choose haShem as king, coronate him on Rosh haShannah (which is the beginning of the next month, Tishrei). So, if you want to be part of that, you now have less then a month to decide.
To let another rule over us, one who has our best interests at heart and the resources to give us what we need and to protect us, or to say that we are sovereign and we will not put another being over us to rule us. This is the question of Elul. I bless you all to make a good choice.
If you want to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.
About the Author
Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.