Zev Porat

Friday, August 17, 2018

Messianic Lite: Shoftim, “Judges”

This weeks Torah portion covers Deuteronomy 16:18 to 21:.9 In these chapters, Moses shares God's social contract with the Israelites. "Justice, justice shall you pursue" is the portion's mantra.
 
The portion lays out the shared responsibilities of Israel's leaders: judges, priests, prophets, and kings. Until this moment, Moses has served the people as their supreme leader and prophet, but he will not be there to shepherd them through the formation of the new state. 

At this point in the Jewish story, the people are familiar with the office of judges, priests, and prophets. In their forty years in the desert, all three institutions have been a critical guide to the civil order of the camp. What is very unusual in this portion of Deuteronomy is the introduction of kingship.
 
Messianic Lite: Shoftim, "Judges"

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