SEDRA SHOFTIM - 2010 “ Do you want to be a policeman ? ”

Sometimes in life we think how cool it would be to become someone else. Perhaps a Prime Minister, a famous person or even a policeman with the hat, uniform and gun.

Just think of all that power. You would be able to tell people what to do, what not to do and when and how to do it.

In any civilised, democratic society there must be a legal system and law enforcement agencies to monitor, police and judge the people.

Our Sedra this week recognises this as the people are told to appoint judges and officers in all their cities.

Just think of it, you could be appointed to one of those positions and assume a power you did not have before. How would you act? It is true that our Sedra will guide you as it cautions you to look at your behaviour when acting in a judicial position. However, deep down would your previously held prejudices come to the fore, would you be able to remain impartial?

In life generally as a private person we sometimes act with prejudice and rush to judge someone or something without knowing all the facts and circumstances. Perkei Avot reminds us to ‘L’chaf zechus’(1:6)- ‘Judge every man on the balance of merit’.

The question to be asked is whether we are careful enough in judging others fairly and how are we then to judge ourselves?

Rabbi Simcha Bunim remarked that in relation to the opening words of the Sedra, a person should judge himself first before he goes about making judgements on other people. Our Sages have told us (Bava Basra 60b) “ First correct yourself and only then correct others”.

The Ramchal in Messilat Yesharim remarks “ One who wishes to watch over himself must take two things into consideration. First, he must consider what constitutes the true good a person should choose and the true evil he should flee from. Second, he must consider his actions to discover whether they appertain to the category of good or evil.

Rabbi Zelig Pliskin comments further, “It is very easy to find fault with others. But this can easily lead to your becoming arrogant and retaining all of your faults. While we have an obligation to help others grow, keep reviewing your own behaviour to see what you can improve. The purpose of police is to make certain that the laws are enforced. Similarly, when you find one of your faults don’t just feel guilty about it, but take action to overcome it.”

Our home should be our ‘police station’ and we should appoint ourselves as officers in our gates. It is a proven fact that children learn the language they hear at home and bring to school the manners and behaviour they see at home. Our mouths and ears are our gates and we can choose to open or close them as we wish. In becoming a policeman in ‘your gates’ there are times when we have to close our eyes and our mouths to what we see. First and foremost we must police our own actions before we rush to judge others, we must exercise will power.

This week sees the heralding in of the month of Ellul. This month is a month of preparation before Rosh Hashanah. It is a month of introspection when we should look inside ourselves and our behaviour, during the year just finishing.

The Haftorah from Isaiah (51:12-52:12) contains four words which we find in the Lecho Dodi prayer in Kabbalos Shabbos, ‘Awake yourself, Awake yourself’ and ‘Wake up, Wake up’. This coming month of Ellul gives us an opportunity to wake up to the fact that no one is perfect , however if we recognise our faults and police our behaviour then we will have a great influence on our children and family.

In the old jewish joke of the proud grandmothers wheeling their newborn grandchildren, they each in turn point to their grandchild saying “this is the doctor”, the other one saying “this is the lawyer”. Maybe our parents, family and friends can say of us “there is the policeman”. We have the opportunity to become a role model in our homes and in our community by policing ourselves first. Only then will we justify the uniform we have been given to wear , the kippa, tzizit and tefillin reminding us of the Chief of all policeman- Hakodesh Borachu.

Wishing you all a peaceful Shabbat happy policing. TTFN

( Part of a regular Thursday shiur at Young Israel of North Netanya Synagogue)