Shabbat Shoftim -
שפטים
Shoftim = "Judges" - During Elul
Judge Yourself Not Others - This is
The Beginning of Teshuva - RepentanceJ
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Consciousness Builder
Investment With HaShem
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People invest money. HaShem invests people.
People invest money into whatever they think could give them back more money.
HaShem invests people into those situations He knows could give Him back better people.
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So, this week, we read the story of HaShem investing His people into slavery in Egypt.
Definitely a high-risk investment. But, without it, there would be no Torah, no eternal Jewish Nation, no concept of freedom or human dignity in our world.
Good investors study good, successful investments. That’s another good reason to read this week’s parshah and all the wisdom our sages have taught on it. And then to apply that wisdom to our lives.
Let me know what you gained this week from the situation HaShem has invested you in. Is He turning a profit on where HaShem invested you?
Tzvi Freeman
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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- Have you ever considered bondage in Egypt being an investment?
- Is this an accurate portrayal? Is this truthful?
- As you are going into the period of Teshuvah, do you think it important to evaluate HaShem's investment with regard to you.?
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Story Section:
The Pious Thief
Of all the stories told about the great Rabbi Yisrael, the Maggid of Kozhnitz, this is perhaps one of the strangest and the most wondrous.
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Among Rabbi Yisrael’s many chassidim was a learned man, a pious Jew who was well regarded by all as a righteous individual. Like so many others in Poland in those years, he was beset by poverty.
He had, thank G d, many mouths to feed and no steady source of income.
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“
Rebbe,” he said one day to Rabbi Yisrael, “please advise me. How can I support my wife and children? I simply cannot bear to watch them suffer, hungry and inadequately clothed. Is there anything I can do?”
“
It appears to me,” replied the holy man, “that all avenues of earning are closed to you. There is but one channel through which you can receive your sustenance, but it is a profession you would never consider.”
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“
My dear teacher,” replied the man, “I am so desperate to feed my family that I will do anything. No profession, no matter how lowly, is beneath my dignity.”
“
If you insist,” said the sage grudgingly, “I can tell you, but you will not be happy with what you hear. It is revealed to me from the heavens that the only profession in which you can succeed is thievery. If you turn to stealing, nothing can stand in the way of your success.”
Sadly, the chassid returned home. “How can I ever steal?” he thought to himself. “It is against the will of G d.”
Time passed, and the chassid and his family grew more and more hungry. One night, he began to reason with himself. “G d allows us to break the holy Sabbath for the sake of saving a life,” he figured. “Why should stealing be any different? My family will soon starve to death. Let me go out and see if I can steal a little something. As soon as G d wills it, I will have a few coins of my own, and I will pay them back.”
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With that, he went to the deserted marketplace. He walked among the shuttered stalls and shops, trying the locks. Finally, he found an open door. He quietly slipped inside, tiptoed toward the back and rummaged around until he located the cash box, which was unlocked.
With his heart in his throat, he withdrew a single coin and fled homeward as fast as his legs would carry him. The next morning, he went to the baker and bought bread for his wife and children.
The following morning, the shopkeeper was greeted by an open door flapping in the breeze. Suspecting the worst, he entered his store and was surprised to see that none of the merchandise had been disturbed. In fact, even the cash was still in his box, save for a single coin.
Word spread quickly, and people began to talk about the strange robber who took just one coin.
After the poor man and his family finished their bread, the man tried his hardest to resist the temptation to “borrow” another coin. But the sight of his hungry children proved too much for him, and he found himself once again walking among the deserted market stalls. Once again, he located an open door, and was soon holding another coin.
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This became a regular occurrence. Every few weeks, a single coin would be missing from another shop, and no one had the slightest idea who could be the one behind the rash of mini-robberies.
Guards were posted at every store in town. But the honest thief managed to slip through their fingers. After all, the righteous Rabbi Yisrael had assured him that he would find success in thievery.
One night, the mayor himself decided to stay up late and see if he could solve the mystery.
Dressed as a civilian, he waited in the shadows, watching for any sign of movement. Finally, he saw a hunched figure hurrying away from a shop.
“
I got you!” he cried, grabbing hold of the man’s collar. “You thought you could run away, but I’m not going to let go of you. Tomorrow, I’ll bring you to the mayor, and he’ll see to it that you are properly dealt with.”
“
Please have mercy on me,” begged the distraught thief. “I’m just a poor man trying to borrow a few coins to support my starving family. Everyone can attest that I never took even a single penny more than what I needed. If the town finds out that I was the one, I will be ruined. This will stain my good name and standing in the community forever. Believe me, G d is my witness that I plan to pay every penny back just as soon as I am able.”
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The thief continued to beg, and the undercover mayor finally relented. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “You’re obviously a skilled thief. Do me this one favor, and I’ll let you free. I have secret knowledge that the mayor of this town just received a large sum of money. He has it in a box under his bed. There is a small window to his bedroom. If you can manage to squeeze into his room and come back with the box of treasures, we can split it evenly between ourselves, and I’ll let you go free.”
“
I cannot do that,” protested the chassid. “I’m not a burglar or criminal. I took just what I needed. How can I rob an innocent man of what is rightfully his?”
“
That’s your decision,” replied the mayor. “Either you do as I say, or I report you in the morning.”
Left with no choice, the chassid made his way to the mayor’s house and soon returned empty-handed.
“
Thank G d, I did not take a thing,” he told his captor. “I crept into the room and was about to look for the box, when I heard voices. The mayor’s household assistants were talking among themselves, saying that they were planning to slip some poison into their master’s morning tea and then make off with his treasure. We must warn the mayor as soon as possible. He may even reward us.”
As soon as the mayor heard the man’s words, he said, “You go home, and I’ll warn the mayor. Just give me your hat, so that I can later identify you.”
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With that, the mayor returned to his mansion. The following morning, as soon as his tea was served, he had it fed to one of the dogs, who immediately began showing signs of distress. He had caught his servants in their treacherous act.
As soon as the drama of his near-death had subsided, the mayor summoned the leaders of the Jewish community.
“
Do you know who owns this hat?” he asked them. “He is the one who has been stealing from the market.”
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“
It cannot be,” they replied. “We know the owner of that hat. He is one of the most respected men in our community, a gentle, G d-fearing scholar of the highest order.”
“
No matter,” replied the mayor. “Summon him immediately.”
When the broken-hearted man was brought before him, the mayor asked, not unkindly, “Is this your hat?
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“
The leaders of the community have told me about you, and it is truly out of character of you to have been out pilfering coins in the market,” continued the mayor, whom the man now recognized as his captor from the night before. “It seems to me that you must have been sent by heaven to save me from the plot of my staff, who tried to take my life and steal my money. It is only right that you should have half of the treasure as reward for your actions last night.”
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The poor man had never seen so much money in his life. He immediately set aside a significant portion for charity and then went back to repay all the shopkeepers from whom he had taken coins.
He then devoted the remainder of his life to charity, prayer, Torah study and other lofty pursuits.
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- Do you think this is a true story?
- If it is true, how does that change the message of the story?
- What is the moral of the story? Does being a thief for a good reason pay off?
- Does using the tool of binding by striking work with illegal actions like theft?
- Would the wealth have turned up earlier if he had not chosen to be a thief?
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Go to this link as it is about the
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Shabbat Shoftim:
Parasha Shoftim is always read in the month of Elul. The energy of Elul and Shoftim is about judgment. Elul is about judging yourself with regards to your actions during the past year or years or previous lifetimes in order to do the Mitzvah of Teshuvah.
The Parasha of Shoftim is a vaccine against judging others. This is part of HaShem's mercy.since when we judge others HaShem judges us using strict judgment.
At the end of the Parasha in Chapter 21 Verses 1 - 9 is an unusual Mitzvah that has a community's leaders reject the responsibility for causing the death of a human being.
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The Mitzvah concerns a dead body found outside of various towns. The high judges of the Sanhedrin are required to travel to the location of the body. Then these judges must measure the distance to various close towns to determine which town is the closest. These judges must measure - they can not accept any other determination like a map or common knowledge.
Once the measurement is made the leaders of the town are summoned to the location of the body and must stand in front of the judges and declare their personal innocence as well as their communities innocence. This is done under an oath that uses HaShem's Name.
Please understand this is not modern people with modern values. They are the highest spiritual level people in the land. They understand that if someone dies it is because they did not care enough about visitors to find lodging within their town.
T
hey did sincere Teshuvah before they traveled cross country to the Sanhedrin court. They did not take these oaths lightly. In fact they would verify by talking to the gossips of the town that no one in the town was responsible for the death. In addition to talking to the gossips they would personally verify the information they received. If there was a rumor they would personally question the people involved with the rumor until they felt that they could with good conscious make the oath.
This Mitzvah teaches some important spiritual principles. Look at our generation last weekend in the city of Chicago. If you were the city council in Chicago would you take the oath in this Mitzvah?
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The Torah teaches that we are responsible for the deaths in the city of Chicago. We did not pull the triggers yet we also did not reveal sufficient Light so that people who pulled the triggers would know their responsibility to not pull the triggers.
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Please add this to your list of items to do Teshuvah!
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For Parasha - Shoftim - Deuteronomy - Chapter 16 Verse 18:
שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים, תִּתֶּן-לְךָ בְּכָל-שְׁעָרֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ, לִשְׁבָטֶיךָ; וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת-הָעָם, מִשְׁפַּט-צֶדֶק.
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Translation:
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which HaShem thy God giveth thee, tribe by tribe; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
Transliteration:
Re'eh, Anoki Notain Lifnaichem - Hayom: Bracha WuKlalah.
Numbers from the Verse:
Number of words:
17 words. The number 17 connects to the Hebrew word Tov which translates as good. There is a teaching in the Zohar that the essence of HaShem is Tov..
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Number of Letters:
64 letters.
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Shiluv - First Letters:
This is my intuitive connection. You need to do this for yourself as well
שותלבשאיאנללואהמצ
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Regular Gematria:
1302 is the regular gematria. 1302 = 1274 +28. 28 is the gematria of the Hebrew word Coach which translates as power or strength. 1274 is the gematria of the Hebrew phrase Elohim Chayim which translates as " living God of Judgment". Together it connects to the phrase "power of the living God".
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Small Gematria:
60 is the small gematria, 60 is the gematria of the Hebrew word Kli which translates as "vessel". It is also the gematria of the Hebrew word "Halacha" which translates as "path to follow" or law.
Normal gematria
Normal gematria is when the position of a letter within the order of the Alef Bet is recognized:
21+6+22+12+2+21+1+10+1+14+12+12+6+1+5+13+18 = 177.177 is the gematria of the Hebrew phrase "Garden of Delight" or "Gan Eden" which is usually translated as "Garden of Eden".
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Shiluv - Final Letters
This is my intuitive connection. You need to do this for yourself as well.
םםןךלךרהךןךךותםטק
Regular Gematria
Regular gematria is 1070. 1070 is the gematria of the Hebrew phrase "sekhel chayam" which translates as "stable mind" or "stable intelligence".
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Final Letter Gematria
1925 is The final letter gematria. 6950 6950 = 5000 + 1000 + 950. 950 is the gematria of the Hebrew word Shamayim which translates as "heaven" or "fire and water". 1000 is the gematria of the Hebrew word Ketz which translates as "end" using the final letter gematria. 5000 connects to the Sefira Binah meaning understanding.This is because the gematria of the individual letters when multiplied together total 5000. All together 6950 has the meaning "Binah is in the End of Heaven".
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Small Gematria:
63 is the small gematria. 63 is a number associated the Name HaShem associated with the Sefira Binah meaning understanding.
Normal gematria:
Normal gematria is when the position of a letter within the order of the Alef Bet is recognized:
13+13+14+11+12+11+20+5+11+14+11+11+6+22+13+9+19 = 215.
215 is the gematria of the Hebrew word that translates as "back - of a body or form", It is also the gematria of the Hebrew word that translates as "the giants" as expressed in Genesis 6:4.
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Please email
yeshshem@hotmail.com
with your own meanings to these letters as acronyms. Your meanings will be added to the parasha page along with the attribution unless you request that there not be an attribution posted.
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It is important that the above is not misinterpreted. There is only one God and He/She/It is the God of the Children of Israel. Always feel and show respect - fear, awe for God whose Name is
יהוה
Included in this name are all of the attributes that a human being perceives as belonging to HaShem, including Elohim - Shadai - myriads of other Names.
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In this section we offer a few Kabbalistic tools and links to more on their Explanations:
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Shiluv:
Yeshshem teaches about a spiritual tool named Shiluv - intertwining Hebrew Letters.This tool represents HaShem's mercy, yet only if you know how to utilize it.
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The DNA Tool:
There is still an opportunity to change the DNA of the year until Tevet according to the Kabbalists. From Tevet until Tishrai it is more difficult yet still possible.
Yes it is more difficult than doing this on Yom Kippur yet it still can be done. To do this requires us to continue our Teshuvah
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Sunday Aug 12th at 7 AM - Morning Prayer + Shofar Wake Up Call
Monday Aug 13th at 7 AM - Morning Prayer + Shofar Wake Up Call
Tuesday Aug 14th at 7 AM - Morning Prayer + Shofar Wake Up Call
Wednesday Aug 15th at 7 AM - Morning Prayer + Shofar Wake Up Call
Wednesday Aug 15th at 7 PM
- Questions and Answers
Thursday Aug 16th at 7 AM - Morning Prayer + Shofar Wake Up Call
Thursday Aug 16th at 4:30 PM
- Deep Zohar of Parasha Noach
Thursday Aug 16th at 7 PM
- Zohar Ekev
Friday Aug 17th at 7AM
- Psalm Study + Shofar Wake Up Call
Motzie Shabbat Aug 18th at 6 PM
- Havdalah
Motzei Shabbat Aug 18th at 7 PM -
Rosh Chodesh Elul Event
All classes can be heard live on our conference call system at
605 475 6333 using pincode 911904#
Please Note NEW Number
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The 72 Names come from 3 verses - Exodus Chapter 14 Verses 19 - 21. The Zohar tells how to form these 3 verses into 2 sets of 3 letter sequences. These Names are utilized as meditative tools and Kavenah when saying the Shema Israel Prayer.
If you can not find your Name send an email to yeshshem@hotmail.com requesting your Personal Name and Chart.
As we enter the new year and Month of Nissan we recognize that there are many ways to allocate these Names.
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Hebrew Astrology
Rosh Chodesh Elul Event will be on August 11th at 7 PM Pacific Time.
The recording will be available on Sunday August 12.
Rosh Chodesh Av Event was
7PM July 12th 2018. Here is the
link to the recording
of that event which explains the potential energies of the month.
There will be a recording about the energy of the year of 5779 shortly.
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Last week began the dozen days (August 7–18) during which
Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto will all be retrograde.
These are the celestial “dog days” of summer.
The retrograde motion of planets is an illusion caused by the moving Earth passing other planets in their orbits, a phenomenon relative to our location on planet Earth.
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The planets of our solar system themselves do not actually reverse their orbits and travel backwards; it just looks like it from our vantage point. Nevertheless, the energetic manifestation of any planetary retrograde reflects a sense of energetic impedance, feeling “stuck,” or difficulty going forward. Which is why these dozen days in August call for vacation time, whether it’s a getaway or stay-cation. If you can’t get away physically, at the very least it’s time for a brain vacation.
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Nevertheless, the energetic manifestation of any planetary retrograde reflects a sense of energetic impedance, feeling “stuck,” or difficulty going forward. Which is why these dozen days in August call for vacation time, whether it’s a getaway or stay-cation. If you can’t get away physically, at the very least it’s time for a brain vacation.
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Sidereal Hebrew Astrology
The New Moon begins the week in Leo - Aryeh and during the week will move to Virgo - Betulah. The new moon energy from Leo will be felt throughout the month of Elul. This will be based on what gives each soul joy and happiness. The influence will help you to cultivate traits and projects that give you joy. On the negative side be on the lookout for enhanced pride especially false pride.
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This week is the first week of the month. This is an especially good time to reflect on the past year as to your actions or inactions that hurt people. It is also a good time to rework the experiences of the last 6 months to a year and evaluate your perspective of these events.
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Aspects:
Mars is in retrograde until late August.
Mercury is in retrograde until early August.
These retrogrades support the correction of past mistakes.
It is recommended to make sure your words are clear and clearly understood.
Please note the other retrogrades as they will last for about half the month of Elul.
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The new moon will be square to retrograde Jupiter for most of the week. This will tend to give us a feeling of expansiveness as we reflect on the past year. This square will support the manifesting of the new refined perspectives that the Children of Israel are now able to perceive.
The moon Jupiter square supports the effect of the partial solar eclipse impacting India as well as the North part of North America.
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Wanted Volunteers to put some links up on the Yeshshem website -
Looking for Volunteers who wish to learn more about a deeper Kabbalah - send an email to
yeshshem@hotmail.com
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Is the content of this email relevant to you?
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