Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Shoftim (5786)

Good morning. Good shabas everybody. Oh, good. Today is el today is the day we began. Today is the day we began chauffeur. Oh my goodness. It is you know what's coming. Okay, tomorrow we have the privilege of reading paras. According to the paras contains 14 positive mitzvos and 27 restrictions. There's a lot in parasim. I'd like to focus on one verse that I think most of you will be somewhat surprised at that this is the pasok that's talking to me today. But I'm hope I can share a very exciting idea that comes there from to me the authenticity of Torah. What does that mean? The Torah tells us in the beginning of paraim that as part of the judicial process, It can only be done by the testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses. However, he shall not die by the testimony of a single mit mitz uh witness. Okay, good. I'd like to suggest three reasons for this that first of all understand that execution in Jewish life was not a common phenomena. The Mishna at the ends of the first peric of Macos teaches us once in seven years. Whoa. Because there are many technical things, many technical reasons why we did not give it. For example, the hassra, the warning has to be followed by the act of the perpetrator. The warning has to be immediately before the action. If he performed it a minute later, we can say he forgot or we can say and attribute it to other factors. So there are many many technicalities put in the way. So in actuality we did not have executions every montik and donor. However, the fact that the Torah uses the punishment of execution teaches us how serious Shabas is. teaches us how serious the avodora idolatry is and teaches us how serious gil a arayos are immorality. Okay, let's get to work. Why is it that the Torah says that the witnesses themselves to the particular transgression that the person is being executed for? The witnesses who warned him. The witnesses who come and testify, they are to be the ones who initiate and participate in the execution. This is found in parim chapter 17. The hands of the witnesses literally the hands of the witnesses shall be upon him first to put him to death and the hands of the entire people afterward. The Gmorrah in Sanra 45A describes that the procedure of stoning was done first by pushing off the person who's being executed from a high elevation. And if he died from that, fine. If not, that's the first witness. The second witness actually takes the stone and is the first one to drop the stone on the uh transgressor, the sinner. If he dies, okay? And if not, the rest of the people can participate in the execution. Why should the witnesses be a part of the execution? The Rambam and his perish to the Mishnayas in Sanhedrin suggests a very strong reason. We the Bezdon only heard the testimony of the witnesses and the Torah tells us to believe the testimony. Okay. Now what however the testim the witnesses themselves they saw it if they are not 100% completely sure absolutely positively sure they would not come and testify knowing that they are going to be part of the execution process. Unbelievable. Pinch yourself. This is Jewish law. How precious is life? Life is so precious that we will only convict if the witnesses themselves are willing to actually perform the execution. Whoa. That's number one. Number two, we find a principle in Jewish lawm. The one who begins a mitzvah, we tell that person or per sons to complete the mitzvah. And therefore the adim who are the ones that come to testify also are part of the completion of the mitzvah which is the actual execution. I'd like to however suggest a third reason for this which comes from the safer mil or roim which was written by a talmud of the milin. And he says very sharply that since they actually saw this terrible action, be it of idolatry, be it murder, shabis, immorality. There is a hashba, a negative blow to their nishama. You who watch this, it has an effect upon you. As the briskar says in his commentary on parasitim where the Torah says in chapter 29 16 I'm sorry you saw their abominations by seeing their terrible actions it has and makes an impression on you. Therefore, the Torah provides a means of an expunction of removing this from you. But you are participating in the actual execution. So you're going to say to yourself by having them do an act of violence. Watch this. The answer is yes. What does the Gammorus say in the first D of Heroim? If someone sees the s even not when she committed the adultery but when she is unfortunately executed. He is to abstain from wine because the very seeing of this has a negative effect on our purity of soul. So here as well, the witnesses who saw this, this is the Torah way of cleansing the negative effect on our Mishama. Now listen carefully. This is not only in the negative but is expressed beautifully in the positive. In Perk OS in chapter one Mishna 4 of OS the Mishna teaches us that your home should be used as a meeting place for the rabbis. Okay, there's an important meeting taking place. We need a home. Volunteer your home. The Baratanura seems to teach that even if you're not going to be there, all the more so if you're there, but even if you're not there, just having the rabbis in your home is going to make a positive impression is going to leave an positive positive mark on the home. Wow. and he compares it to someone who goes into a perfumery. Even if he doesn't buy anything, just his spending time in that environment, he's going to leave with a positive scent about him. Wow. Similarly, by having the rabbis in your home, if you're there, if you're not there, having this is bringing the perfumery into your home. We are today beginning the month of El. And notice that the Torah says, Now what does the word mean in the global sense? And you shall destroy the evil from your midst. We're talking about the community. And therefore from time to time when a terrible transgression transgression is committed, we need to have the capital punishment. But aside from in the broader sense, in the communal sense, I'd like to suggest from each individual, we have an obligation to destroy, to rid the evil from our midst. The first thing I'm going to tell you is to maruba lo toast. Don't try with one sweep. I'm going to make myself a better person. Doesn't work that way. Lol is clearly the preparation for yhadin for rashashana and yum kiper. The answer is that we have to do this slowly. carefully, methodically. Ah, then a person can truly utilize this month as a month of soularching. Soulsearching cannot and should not be done with one statement of Oshamu. But as this farm who began sleos this morning and the rest of us who might start please God the week before Roshashana and throughout the muva recognize and realize that the more we put in to this month of el to just to stop and pour boys and realize what a privilege Rajashana and Yumiper are. The more we realize that, the more we prepare for that, the better chances we have for that shava. Shabbat shalom to all.