Shoftim: Judicious Accounting
Dear Friends,
Several of my friends work for the same company, and one of them was recently promoted to COO. I know him as a talented and and motivated worker, yet it quickly became clear that he lacked the skills to be a good boss. He was rude, yelled at associates, and stepped on lots of toes. I found myself wondering, “What lesson can I apply from this to my own life?”
In corresponding with another rabbi, it happened that the Rebbe, of righteous memory, asked for forgiveness. The rabbi was taken aback. He felt that a man of the Rebbe’s caliber did not need to apologize to others.
To illustrate that everyone can make mistakes and must own up to them, the Rebbe responded that even Moses admitted his mistakes, as Rashi (Leviticus 10:20) famously quotes, “[Moses] admitted and was not ashamed...”
If a leader like Moses was able to recognize his shortcomings, I thought, how much more must I. Now, in the Jewish month of Elul, while preparing for the High Holidays, it’s imperative that I take some time to think about my own shortcomings and admit my errors in judgment.
Surely if we all follow Moses’ humble lead the world will become a kinder, better and more G‑dly place.
Happy introspection!
Dovid Zaklikowski,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
There is something very grounding about trees. They are solid, stationary and easy to hug. And, with roots knotted firmly in the soil and a dense net of branches that dance at its head, a tree can help anchor a lost and disoriented person . . .
Can a bribed judge be impartial? How about if the “bribe” was given on the condition that the judge issues a fair verdict—no matter whom it will favor?
Justice in all its forms: equality before the law, due process, protection of criminals from vigilante vengeance, curbs on the behavior of kings, rules and ethics in warfare . . .
Introspection and stocktaking, mercy and forgiveness, sounding horns and whispered psalms, prayer, charity and repentance . . .
For me, coming from Washington, D.C., where the synagogue members paid their cantor to allow their prayer to be as passive as possible, the spontaneity was wonderful.
The first to be ordained was Joshua. Moses placed his hands upon his head, as well as the heads of 70 other sages . . .
Although the Jews did not require a king in their ideal state, Moses foresaw that the need for one would arise.
There is something mystical about the moon. Despite its secondary status as a luminary, people have always been fascinated by its silvery, luminous light and its precise cycle of waxing and waning.
Why suppress human nature in favor of environmental nature? Are we not all part of the same ecological system?
My husband and I have traveled a lot. Of course, we never considered going to Israel. Coming as Russian Jewish immigrants to California, we did our best to leave the past behind us.
Last week I spent 24 hours with two chickens. Live chickens. You know, the ones with feathers and that squawk. My one-year-old was petrified. My four-year-old was intrigued, and my seven-year-old had a blast.
Is wealth a mark of sin, a sign that a person has greedily taken too much and necessarily impoverished others? Is poverty a sign of laziness, an outer indication of a poor character?
There is always some explanation, some justification, some perspective for another’s behavior. If you cannot see it, you are not fit to be a judge.
The chassidim hotly debated the significance of their rebbe’s final words. Various theories were offered on the Kabbalistic meanings of “wool,” “summer” and “handsome profit.”
At the conclusion of the voyage, the doctor asked the rebbe to forgive him for having been the cause of his illness. “You, the cause of my illness?” asked the rebbe in amazement.
Sometimes you look at yourself in the mirror and you feel unqualified. You know yourself, your failures and your faults, and you don't feel like you could be a model for others.
You say, "I should teach others? I should provide guidance?!"
So we tell you, “Yes. Because that is your place upon this planet: We live in a...
