In this week’s parsha, Shoftim, the Maor VaShemesh gives us new insights into several familiar ideas.
The parsha begins, “Shoftim v’shotrim titen lecha”, “Judges and officers you shall appoint for yourself.” Chassidic masters traditionally read this as relating to each one of us: we need judges and officers at our own she’arim, our gates, guarding our mouth, eyes, ears, and the other ways we interact with the world. The Maor VaShemesh takes this a step further. It is not enough to guard ourselves against doing what we shouldn’t do. We must also examine how we do what we should do, judging even our yetzer tov, our good inclination, to make sure our Torah, tefillah, mitzvot, and good deeds are performed sincerely and with the right intentions.
In the second piece, he returns to the simple meaning of the verse and to the judges themselves. If people genuinely want to serve Hashem and follow their judges, why should shotrim, officers, be necessary to enforce their decisions? His answer is a lesson about moral authority. When judges themselves live with righteousness and integrity, people see those values in action and willingly follow them. The judges themselves become the shotrim.
The third piece offers a remarkable reading of “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” Even if you have already achieved a measure of righteousness, pursue more. Do not plant an asheirah beside the mizbeach, the altar, of your Torah, tefillah, kindness, and other good deeds by becoming proud of what you have achieved. And “do not erect a matzevah” becomes an instruction not to remain in the same matzav, the same spiritual place. Growth itself must never stop.
Finally, the Maor VaShemesh offers two complementary readings of the two Torah scrolls a king was required to possess. One Torah accompanied him wherever he went; the other remained hidden in his treasury. He sees in them the visible and hidden Torah of a true teacher: how that person lives on the outside and the inner spiritual life that animates it. But he then goes further. A great teacher can open our eyes to dimensions of Torah that were always there, even after we have read the same words two or three times. There is Torah we know, and Torah we have not yet learned how to see.
Four teachings, but perhaps one underlying challenge: never assume that what we see, in ourselves, in our leaders, or even in Torah, is all there is to see.
Use this source sheet for further exploration of Parshat Shoftim, complete with footnoted sources and a concise, footnoted bio of R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Ma’or Va-Shemesh) to enjoy this teaching at your own pace, perfect for self-learners.
Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach
The Ma’or Va-Shemesh is a classic Hasidic commentary on the weekly portions and festivals by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823). A foremost later disciple, and for years the Shamash, of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk, he emerged after his rebbe’s passing as a leading figure in the fourth generation of Chassidut and of Polish Hasidism. His Torah blends close reading of the Psukim with mystical depth, emphasizing Dvekut, heartfelt prayer, joy, and sanctifying the everyday, with a hallmark leadership ethic: the tzaddik sweetens judgment into mercy and draws people close.