“Judges and officers you shall place for yourself .…” (Devarim, 16:18) A man must consider his ways in all his actions. This is why it then says (in verse 20), “so that you shall live,” for nothing will be lost when man acts with the spirit of justice, (with a reckoning of his actions.) This is discussed in the Holy Zohar (Bamidbar, 178a) on the verse (in Kohellet 9:10), “… there is no action, no account, no knowledge, no reckoning in sheol (the grave, or purgatory) ...” That is, an action done with careful consideration will not fall into sheol. In the beginning of this week’s Parsha we find six warnings corresponding to the “six sides on which thought depends.” They are 1) Judges and officers, 2) Do not plant an asheira tree near the Altar, 3) Do not erect a monument as was practiced by idolaters, 4) Justice, justice, you shall pursue, 5) Do not sacrifice a blemished animal, and 6) The rebellious elder.¹

footnotes: ¹ We learn from Kabbalah that not only are the six lower attributes born from thought, i.e. the upper three, but, regarding our discussion here, they embody and give voice to thought. [Hagahot Peretz]

“Judges and Officers .…” (Devarim, 16:18) This is as it is written (Yesahya, 45:6), “Thus spoke God the King of Israel and its Redeemer … and besides Me there is no God.” This means that all exalted states come only from God, and what is said, “Judges and officers you shall place for yourself” means that a man must subordinate himself before the Judges whom God shall elevate. “You shall give for yourself,” means that you should subdue yourself before them in the hidden places in your heart. Thus it is with the order of subjects in the Parsha, the discussion of the judges or scholars preceding the discussion of the king, the sage coming before the king even though the king is greater than the sage. According to the protocol in Jewish law, we find that the Sanhedrin (the Torah scholars) appoints the king (Tosefot Sanhedrin 83), then the high priest, and afterwards the prophet. Yet once appointed, the king takes precedence over the scholar, as all that comes out of the mouth of the king are the words of God. This is as the Gemara explains (Shabbat, 56a), that when Uriah the Hitti said something seemingly inconsequential (“my master Yoav,” disrespecting David’s kingship), he was branded an inciter to rebellion, which shovws that even though it seemed to be mundane chatter, it was from God.¹ The high priest feels in his understanding how something is God’s will. With the prophet, at the time when he says, “Thus spoke the Lord,” all must heed his words, yet when he speaks only from his own knowledge he has the status of a sage. “Judges” hints at Moshe Rabeynu, for he was a judge and not a king (Gemara Zevachim, 102a). God said to Moshe at the burning bush, “do not approach, remove your shoes .…” (Shemot, 3:5), as if to say that he was only a king for his own generation. (See Devarim 33:5, “there was a king in Yeshurun”). For this reason he does not receive the title of king. The discussion of the king (Devarim, 17:14) hints at King Shlomo, and these two were the paramount of all generations, Moshe was the paramount of all judges, and Shlomo the greatest of all kings. The development of events that Moshe Rabeynu wrote in Parshat Hazinu, King Shlomo also wrote in the Shir haShirim on a different matter. And there is a difference between them, for they both wrote of the course of events from the beginning to the end of all generations, and at present the Holy One, blessed be He, agrees with Moshe Rabeynu, because the section of judges precedes the section of kings. Yet in the days to come, with the resurrection of the dead, the Holy One, blessed be He, will make it clear that both of them are true. Amok. amok.¹. [Hagahot Peretz])

footnotes: ¹ Providence manifested through the king is so intense that even what others say to him is akin to prophecy. [Hagahot Peretz] ¹ King Shlomo was greater than his father King David in that he ruled over the whole known world (Gittin

“Judges .…” This means that a man needs justice in his heart to understand what is permitted and what is forbidden. “Officers,” meaning with the will that when he understands that this is forbidden and still has the desire to transgress, then he need to concentrate his willpower to force himself, and force himself to follow after his understanding. How so? If he can abandon the transgression owing to his love of God, very well, and if not, he may contemplate that he will receive some reward in this world for his abstention. “In all your gates,” meaning desires; “for your tribes,” meaning all the diverging views.¹

footnotes: ¹ All views and scenarious that result in the deep contemplation of God’s will [Hagahot Peretz]

“Justice, justice, shall you pursue, that you may live and inherit the land .…” (Devarim, 16:20) This means to be scrupulous with regard to the mitzvot. “Shall you pursue,” (“you” voiced in the singular,) means you specifically, and not to become angry with you fellow man who is not so scrupulous. “That you may live” means that by means of this way of conduct you will merit understanding of when to reprove your fellow man.¹ (divine service. Just concentrate on your own.” - Rabbi Moshe Lainer, shlita, Rebbe of Radzin, Jerusalem)

footnotes: ¹ “In Isbitz, we don’t look at anyone elses avoda

“Judges and officers shall you appoint for yourselves in all your gates .…” (Devarim, 16:18) This is as it is written (Yeshayahu, 33:22), “God is our judge, God is our lawgiver, God is our king, He will redeem us.” “God is our judge,” this is what God illuminates man’s intellect to understand which path would most benefit him to follow. Even though at the beginning his heart is not drawn after God’s will, anyhow God shines His light into him and he will understand in his intellect, and this is “God is our judge.” “God is our lawgiver”¹⁹ in Hebrew, is etymologically connected to “carve,” chokek. means that God carves the desire into the heart of man. Then he begins to ask for advice on how to conduct himself according to the Torah, for he understands that there is no other path before him, even seeing that in this world no path would benefit him save the way of the Torah. “God is our king” means that God conducts the will of man according to His will, may it be blessed, even without man realizing it. When one first enters into the Torah it seems to him that he does so in order to attain an understanding of the sublime. Then afterwards he realizes that without the Torah he may not even reconcile the most simple matters. “He will redeem us,” means that in the end God will show man that all the ways He dealt with him were only for his good. He shows him that man did not remove himself from God’s will even when he acted without thinking, for God will immediately rule over all the powers that are not in the control of man, like sight and hearing. On this it is said (Bamidbar, 23:22), “He has the power of the horned beast,” meaning, God alone will control the powers that are beyond the control of man.

footnotes: ¹⁹ “Law,” chok

“… give yourself .…” (Devarim, 16:18) “Give yourself” in the depth of the consciousness of man, according to what he shall understand based on his wisdom, to this he must go on and add a further dimension of understanding. For with God there is a depth far deeper than his understanding, as it says in the Gemara (Shabbat, 10a), “every judge who makes a judgment that is true to the deepest level of truth is made a partner with God in the work of creation.” There are judgments that are true but not on all levels of truth. For example, one who denies the crime and is deemed exempt (because of a lack of evidence, a lack of reliable witnesses, and the like), though it could be that though he denied everything he was in reality guilty, yet (to the limit of the judge’s knowledge) he was innocent. This is a true judgment, yet because he was guilty the judgment was not true on all levels. Here it must be understood that it is not in the natural ability of man to know this, and only one who has assistance from the Divine will not fall into a judgment that is not true in its deepest form. An example is the “cane of Rava.”²⁰, 25a. One had not paid another a debt, and the other asserted that he had paid it. They told him to swear on a Torah scroll, and before doing so, he said to his lender, “hold my cane,” inside of which he had hidden the amount owed. He then swore on the Torah that all the money he owed he had paid to his hand. Which, of course, only he could know was true. The lender was furious at the apparent false oath and broke the cane, the money spilling onto the floor. “At that moment the matter was revealed that the debt had been settled,” and this could not be known by man’s knowledge, but only with Divine assistance. Therefore it is forbidden to bring judgments to Gentile courts, because even though they may judge true judgments, they do not have the special Divine assistance to judge on the deepest level of truth. As we find in the Gemara of Rosh Hashana,²¹, 25a. Rabbi Yehoshua had calculated the new month, and came out on a different day than Raban Gamliel, so Raban Gamliel made him swear that he would visit him using his (Rabbi Yehoshua’s) calculation, on his Yom Kippur, with his staff and his money. Eventually Rabbi Yehoshua did so, and Raban Gamliel kissed him and called him “my student, my teacher.” that even though Raban Gamliel called him “my teacher in wisdom,” because the judgment was as Rabbi Yehoshua had said, still God had agreed with Rabban Gamliel, for he was the Nasi (leader) from the edict of God. In saying, “my student because you have accepted my word,” he meant that in the understanding of the heart he was the one who is aligned to the depth of the knowledge of God.

footnotes: ²⁰ Nedarim ²¹ Rosh Hashanah

“Judges and officers shall you place for yourselves in all your gates that Hashem your God gives to you, for your tribes, and you shall judge to people judgments or righteousness.” (Devarim, 16:18) “Your gates” means to make judges in general and in particular, in every state and every city, and in every person’s soul. “Your gates” are the seven gates in the soul by which a man receives goodness: the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils,²² and the mouth. A man must make a great reckoning for every gate through which he receives goodness, and in a place where man influences others he must make an even greater reckoning. “For your tribes” means the twelve powers in man with which he can influence others. Among them there are revealed powers, and among them are hidden powers. The two arms, the two legs, and the torso are the revealed powers. The liver, gallbladder, spleen, intestines, and two kidneys are the hidden powers. The liver, which gives way to anger, must incur judgment in order to be angry only if it is God’s will. The spleen, which laughs, must incur judgment in order not to deride, and so for all of them.

footnotes: ²² The nostrils, because man also receives through his nose in smelling the scent of something.

“Judges and officers …” These are the details of the law, as mentioned in Pirkei Avot. It is very difficult for one to fulfill them, for “one can only uphold the Torah if he has failed in it.” In order to understand with wisdom, the truth in justice must be clean regarding the four elements found in man. (The four statements at the beginning of this Parsha hint at the following four elements.) “Do not pervert justice,” this means that one must not possess any partiality. For this, one must be stripped of desire, which corresponds to the element of water, as mentioned in several places.²³ it is written that the greatest desire one experiences is the thirst from being deprived of water. Therefore water is a symbol of desire. “Do not favor,”²⁴ this is the element of earth, as we find in the Gemara (Sanhedrin, 17b), “he hid his face in the ground [out of fear],” meaning that he was heavy (like the earth), without the “lightness” of alacrity to say to the plaintiff, “stand on your feet!” “Do not accept a bribe” is the element of air, for it makes him comfortable, like the lungs, which bring the air down to cool the heart and give it rest. This is so even if he judges in truth, for as for lies it is said, “Do not pervert justice.” “Justice, Justice,” this is the element of fire, which destroys the other elements and does not let them spread and become powerful. “That you may live,” by means of this you will come to the source of life, “and you shall inherit the land,” meaning by means of the constriction (following all the above) you will merit increase.

footnotes: ²³ Elsewhere in the Mei HaShiloach ²⁴ Favoring one litigant over the other, or even making one stand and another sit.

“Do not plant anasheiraor any tree by the altar of Hashem your God.” (Devarim, 16:21) Even though the Torah obliges us to defer to the sage, as is explained above in the event of Rabbi Yehoshua and Raban Gamliel, this applies only in matters of Torah. With prayer, however, we may not defer to any outside appearance (any human trait, such as honor, power, wisdom and the like), for the altar is a place of prayer and avodah (Divine service). This is as the Gemara tells us, “it is forbidden for one to pray behind his Rav” (Berachot, 27b). It is forbidden to pray to any appearance (human trait), for example, praying for God’s salvation to the ends of being great in Torah like his Rav is forbidden. In prayer, one must understand that he is praying to God alone who is the source of salvation, that He may save him without boundary or limit, as explained on the verse “an ox or a sheep,” in Parshat Emor.

“Do not erect a stone monument.” (Devarim, 16:22) This means that a man must not be stubborn with anything, even in avodat Hashem (Divine service). This is the meaning of (what Rashi commented) that this is so even though it was a beloved way of avodah in the days of the Patriarchs. The Patriarchs possessed tekifut (unbridled strength) to the extent that they would lay down their lives for the smallest matter. At that time, the world was not aware of God’s Malchut (sovereignty), and thus it was necessary. Yet now, one only lays down his life for the preservation of the three cardinal sins (idolatry, sexual offenses, and murder). This also hints that one should not be stubborn regarding his peers, so as not to tell him that he must accept his opinion even if it seems that he is right, as is explained in Parshat Va’etchanan on the verse, “you shall surely guard.”

“Do not sacrifice an ox or sheep that is blemished …” (Devarim, 17:1) This verse warns concerning prayer, for prayer is connected to the sacrifices.²⁵, sacrifice in Hebrew, is close to the word karev, “come close,” is only indirectly connected etymology of the English word sacrifice. Through offering the karban, one comes close to God. A man should not pray to God when from a place of deficiency caused by folly and the like. “Ox” hints that one should not pray for the punishment of his neighbor so as not to deliver his judgment to Heaven, for an ox represents judgment as is known from the writings of the Ari’zal. “Sheep” hints that one should not despise his own life, as in the prayers of Yona and Eliyahu.

footnotes: ²⁵ Korban

“Be whole-hearted [upright] with Hashem your God.” (Devarim, 18:13) The Gemara says (Nedarim, 32a), “All who are whole-hearted with God, God will be whole-hearted with them.” This means, that if a man serves God and has no vanity because of this, only acting with simplicity, simply because he is a creature and because God created him, so it follows that he must serve Him.¹ Then God will be whole-hearted with him as well, and when He wants to bestow good upon him, he will not reduce from his tally of merits, but rather He will give as a father to his son.

footnotes: ¹ Note: “He is a creature” – to Divine Service that the person initiates beneath, from below to above. “God created him,” service that is aroused by inspiration sent from on High, from above to below. [Hagahot Peretz]

“You shall surely appoint over yourself a king … from among your brethren you shall place over yourself a king …” (Devarim, 17:15) “From among your brethren” means that he cares about all of Israel, wishing them goodwill. We find this with David haMelech, as it says (Tehilim, 78:70), “and He chose David His servant, and he took him from the sheepfolds [a place he used to protect his sheep].” When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw how he acted compassionately towards his sheep, He made him king over Israel.

“You shall surely appoint over yourself a king … you may not appoint a Gentile [as king] over yourself …” (Devarim, 17:15) This means (not to appoint) one who has anger within him, for the attribute of anger has no place in Israel.¹, is called “Edom [Red]” (Bereshit 36:8): “Red” represents judgment and anger throughout Kabalah. [Hagahot Peretz])

footnotes: ¹ For Eisav, who is in some sense the spiritual leader of all gentiles (Zohar

“When you go forth to war against your enemy, and you see the war horses and chariots and a people more powerful than you, do not fear them, for Hashem your God is with you, who raised you out of the land of Egypt.” (Devarim, 20:1) “Horse” represents one involved in a fierce controversy like Yaravam. “Chariots” means that even though you see the difficulty standing before you, it is necessary as a vehicle for the Shechina, the Divine Presence (to rest upon you). “A people more powerful than you,” like Rechavoam’s (insurrection) against the eleven tribes, concerning which David haMelech said (Tehilim, 27:3), “even if a host shall encamp against me, my heart will not fear.” Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, “do not fear them.” We find this theme in the incident of Achiya haShiloni anointing Yaravam as king. Achiya was from Shiloh, and from the tribe of Yosef. Of Yaravam it is written (Melachim 1, 11:26), efrati (“from Efrat,” as sign of being from Yehuda) and he was greatly adorned and warned concerning “do not commit adultery,” which was the inheritance of Yosef. We do not find this with Yehuda, for of Shlomo it is written (Melachim 1, 3:1), “And Shlomo pleaded with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he took Pharaoh’s daughter,” and of David haMelech it is written (Shmuel 1, 17:2), “son of an Efrati man.” For this reason, Achiya saw that it was correct to anoint him. Then afterwards, when he sinned with the two golden calves, and Achiya prayed over this mistake, God then showed him that this love was only for Aviya the son of Yaravam, and it contained something good. (See Melachim 1, 14:13, “yet still something good was found in the house of Yaravam.”) For this, from the time that he anointed Yaravam, until the time it said “and the child died,” when the word of God went forth, it does not call Achiya by the name of prophet or the Shiloni, but simply Achiya. However, in this section (Melachim 1: 14:18), it says, “according to the word of God through Achiya the prophet.” For God had established this. (It was as if Achiya was directed from on High to make this “mistake.” [Hagahot Peretz])

“When you come to the land … I will place a king over me like all the nations.…” (Devarim, 17:14) On this it is said in the holy Zohar (Vayikra, 12a), “(the other nations were each suited to an angel), and he asked, ‘where did he place Israel?’ and he answered, ‘God placed them in the firmament of the heavens.’ (They are only connected to God.)” This is saying that all the other nations give off an appearance of the good with which they serve, so they are granted ministering angels, and from this they experience fear. Israel, on the other hand, is completely without surface appearances. This is why it says “I will place over me a king,” where by means of him we will take on an appearance (of good).¹

footnotes: ¹ (And so – although we have a connection to Above that is too lofty to cause us to experience the fear necessary to keep ourselves in line, through having a King we too will be granted an earthly expression that warrants reverence and helps us to behave properly as a nation. [Hagahot Peretz]

“When you come to the land … I will place a king over me like all the nations…” (Devarim, 17:14) “King” is the sudden, brazen power (tekifut) of holiness ²⁶. and spreading forth. Israel asks to spread forth into all the desire of their heart, without any great need for boundaries and fences. This is why the king is supposed to be “from among your brethren,” meaning that (like the king) they should look at who is giving, and in doing this they are permitted to spread forth in all the delights of this world, yet all shall be in a state of Kedusha. (This is a succinct definition of tekifut, a central idea in the Mei HaShiloach.)

footnotes: ²⁶ See note 61, Sefer Shemot