Shofteem
(Judges):
Shofteem
is the Sedrah in which we are instructed as to the selection of the various
judges, and leaders of the Jewish People. The guidelines for how to judge
people, the importance of impartiality, fairness and righteousness are similarly
detailed and expounded upon. What is clearly stated but often overlooked in
favor of, perhaps, the more interesting parts and pieces of judging, such
as “an eye for an eye,” is the reason given for doing all the
work of establishing leaders and putting judges in place: “that you
may live and inherit the Land, which the Lord your G-d gives to you.”
That is, by following the ways of justice, we, the Jewish People, will be
allowed to live in the Land of Israel. What we learn as well is that should
we fail to follow the guidelines laid out for us in Shofetim, the opposite
would be our fate; i.e. we would not be worthy of nor allowed to live in the
Land; i.e. the Jewish People would be expelled from the Land of Israel.
The Haftorah, taken from the Book
of Isaiah, resonates with the message of the Sedrah because the Prophet tries
to encourage the People to trust the Lord and to be comforted in the knowledge
that by observing the Lord’s commandments they will again be qualified
to live in the Land of Israel from which they had been ejected for having
failed to follow the requirements established by the Lord.
In my water color painting,
Shofteem, I have tried to capture the flavor and magnitude of the Sedrah and
of its companion Haftorah. Those who study the Sedrah and the Haftorah will
see a number of the key aspects represented pictorially: The Land with three
cities of refuge visible in the distance, the grass, which is a sign of comfort
representing the end for any enemies of the Jewish People when the Jewish
People adheres to the rules of the Lord. Also, in the distance is the dwelling
of the King, who must be chosen from among the Jewish People; i.e. no foreigner
can serve as King over the Jewish People. The people standing before a court
of three judges has one person among them singled out be having been represented
in silhouette, as if he may be the one to the chosen one to be the King. However,
the silhouetted person may also be seen as a person who differentiates him
or herself by the evil he or she does, perhaps by worshiping idols of by following
the ways of other peoples, which are in direct counter distinction to the
ways of the Lord. Such individuals are to be removed from the midst of the
people. The relationship between the People of Israel and the Lord is emphasized
by the phrase “You are My People.”
Living in the Land of
Israel is the reward to which the Jewish People are and will be entitled for
as long as they stay the course outlined in Shofteem.
Drew Kopf
Elul 5, 5768
September 5, 2008
|
|
| Title:
Shofteem (Judges) |
| Medium:
Water Color on Paper |
| Size:
18" x 24" |
| Unframed |
| Created:
Elul 5, 5768 corresponding to September 5, 2008 |
| Signed:
Drew Kopf 5768 (base of tree trunk in the painting) |
| Gift
to Abby Lyn Pickus, niece of the artist, on the ocassion of her Bat Mitzvah,
Shabbat Shofteem, 5768. |
| |
