What—Me Worry? Parashah Shoftim 5784

What—Me Worry? Shoftim 5784

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So, are any of you worried?

Is anyone nervous?

Any reason?

The world!

The start of the year!

Work, life, health, money, relationships – there are many stressors.

I can get anxious, pretty anxious. 

Maybe it’s a Jewish thing passed down through the generations of anti-Semitism, trauma, and dislocation. 

But whatever it is, it definitely runs in my family. I come from a long line of worriers.

In fact, I still get a little nervous every time I stand up here. 

While everyone here is pretty kind – well, almost everyone, I still worry: will my jokes make anyone smile? And, more importantly, will my words resonate?

It can be stressful.

Before this becomes too meta, let me add that I even get nervous for others. 

When I watch a comedian—especially live—I get nervous for them and feel bad for them when their material doesn’t work. 

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* * *

This morning’s Torah reading: Parashat Shoftim, is replete with laws—some 41. They encompass a variety of themes: how to cope with an unsolved murder, the laws of warfare, and all kinds of judicial and military matters. It also raises the importance of not following a false prophet and the dangers of a king having too much power. 

Most importantly, the pursuit of justice; as the parashah famously states – tzedek, tzedek tirdof – justice, justice, you shall pursue.

Looking at all these laws, we can see a common thread: building a just and civil society– for all times, even during a war.

I imagine Moses, just before his death, preparing his people to enter the land of Israel. He is feeling many emotions. He is excited for them as they will finally enter the Promised Land, but he is also sad that he, himself, will not join them.

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But underneath all of these laws, I sense a deep anxiety. He is worried about what will happen to the people. 

Will they be able to succeed without him? 

He has led them out of slavery, through the Sea of Reeds when all seemed lost, and helped them get back on track after their missteps like building the Golden Calf, and now, what will happen without him?

Some of us might have similar feelings as we drop our kids off for their first day of school—or perhaps when we drop them off at college. 

Will they succeed?

Will they be OK?

* * *

Worries can easily morph into fear.

Worry, anxiety, and fear have been growing over the last few years, especially over this last year. 

We are concerned about our planet, its wars, the rise of dictators, the growth of fascist politics, renewed racism, growing anti-semitism, terrorism in Israel, the loss of innocents, particularly in the Gaza war, and on and on.

We have been particularly worried about our hostages, who have been incarcerated and mistreated for 337 days. 

Their lives have been in danger every day — subjected to unimaginable pain and abuse. 

In 1168, the great Jewish philosopher Maimonides explained the plight of captives: 

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“The redemption of captives receives priority over feeding and clothing the poor. 

“Indeed, there is no greater mitzvah than the redemption of captives, for not only is the captive included in the categories of the hungry, the thirsty, and the naked, but his very life is in jeopardy.”(Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Poor, 8:10)

* * *

After Shabbat last Saturday night, my son Ari called me from college and said: “Abba, Hersh is dead.”

Now, I have never met Hersh Goldberg-Polin, but I feel as if I have over the past year. This young man, 23, the age of my eldest child, traveled through many Jewish circles and had family and friends in our area. 

His parents, Rachel and Jon, to whom we offer our deepest condolences, have been outspoken in their efforts to get him and all the hostages freed. 

Hersh was a counselor on Gann Academy, our local pluralistic Jewish high school’s Israel trip in June of 2023, where he became friendly with some of our Emunah students.

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One, Arielle Lack Zell, wrote the following about Hersh: 

“On October 7th, Hersh Goldberg-Polin attended the NOVA music festival for peace in Israel with his friend Aner Shapira. 

“When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, Hersh and Aner hid in a bunker. The militants began throwing grenades into their bunker, and immediately, Hersh and Aner stepped into action, throwing them back out until Hersh’s left arm was blown off. Aner was killed, and Hersh was taken hostage. His last communication to his family was a text saying, “I love you; I’m sorry.”

“This past Saturday, Hersh’s family confirmed his death. On Monday, the autopsy report indicated that Hersh was shot in the head multiple times from close range less than 48 hours before IDF soldiers rescued his body.

“Hersh survived 11 months in captivity, suffering unimaginable conditions. All I can hope is that he is finally at peace.

“Hersh was one of the counselors on my high school senior trip to Israel in May of 2023. I am eternally grateful to have met him in one of his last few months of normalcy. Over the month we spent in Israel, I became closest to Hersh out of all the counselors. 

“It is not surprising that almost everyone in our grade felt the closest to him. I have never met someone other than Hersh who can so genuinely and deeply connect with absolutely anyone about anything, including art, soccer, politics, and much more.”

Our greatest fear was realized. May his memory be for a blessing.

And the anxiety persists.

* * *

Our prophets try to reassure us when we are anxious with words of hope, as we heard in this morning’s haftarah.

And as we find ourselves less than a month away from the High Holy Days and their deep process of introspection, as we become more and more aware of our vulnerability, the tradition invites us to add psalms to our prayers to gird ourselves for this process.

I want to offer one teaching that I found helpful. 

The great mystic and Rabbi, the Gerrer Rebbe, comments on the first words of our Torah reading: 

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The Torah states that we are to appoint shoftim and shotrim, judges and officers. The Gerrer Rebbe teaches that they are not merely actual people who bring justice and protect us but that these terms can also refer to internal forces.

He speaks of our internal “judges,” who can help us calm our thoughts, thinking of God and the Divine’s positive force in the world. 

And the shotrim, the officers, can be forces that can help us bring our bodies toward the good. That leads us to perform acts of kindness in the world. 

The Gerrer Rebbe seems aware that body and mind are connected. Calming one part can help with the other.

We can help train ourselves—body, soul, and mind—to liberate ourselves from compulsive behaviors like worrying, which often just leads to more worrying.

These internal forces are assisted by God’s presence that can influence our “judges” and “officers.” This can help us become aware of the positive energy that permeates all, that can release the stress that anxiety brings. 

* * *

So, as we move forward, aware of our anxieties and worries, big and small, let us remember that God’s presence, the Divine energy that flows through the universe, also flows in us, especially when we pause to allow it in. 

As we gather together over the next month, may that flow bring us all strength and help us overcome our anxieties.

And may all the hostages come home safely.