Ziv: Parashat Shoftim

For man is a tree of the field

This week’s parasha begins with the words “You shall appoint judges and officials within all your gates that the Lord your God is giving you according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with a righteous judgment” (Deuteronomy 16:18). This statement reaches back to Moses’ confession at the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy when he asked (based on a suggestion made by Jethro, cf. Exodus 18:13-23) to appoint “judges and officials” to ease the burden of constantly having to judge the people. To the believer, judging one’s own inclinations and temptations daily is not easier than it was for Moses to judge the people. Indeed, the Rabbi of Lubavitch explains that the “gates” spoken of at the beginning of our portion are ultimately the gates of our own body - the five senses, by which the outside world enters the body, and by which the mind then “judges” what actions to take - whether good or bad.

Within the city gates, Moses reminds us, a murderer can find refuge, and all people can find refuge in the case of a siege. When Moses repeats the commandment to build cities of refuge in the land, he offers up a very specific scenario as an example for an unintentional murder: “[one] goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies” (Deuteronomy 19:5). One can think of many other examples of unintentional murder - why, therefore, did Moses give this particular example? First, we know that this scenario is an example of God “letting” this event happen, as was explained when the cities of refuge were first introduced to us in Exodus: “[the murderer] did not lie in wait for [the victim], but God let him fall into his hand” (Exodus 21:13). In addition, a hint is given to us in the next chapter when we learn that during the siege of a city “you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. For if man is a tree of the field, should he be besieged by you? Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siege works against the city that makes war with you, until it falls” (Deuteronomy 20:19–20). Here we again find a city, an axe, a tree being cut down and man being likened to a “tree of the field”. How is man a tree of the field? the Rabbi of Lubavitch explains that as the whole purpose of the tree is to produce good fruit, so the whole purpose of man is to grow fruit of wisdom in keeping with the will of God. By making the connection between the city of refuge and the besieged city, Moses exhorts Israel to avoid spilling innocent blood also in the case of war: every besieged city is also a city of refuge to men who produce good fruit, God can let them fall into your hands, but it is the role of Israel to seek them out and help them grow. Shabbat Shalom.