Shoftim Drash v2

Shoftim Judges

This weeks Parashat is named Shoftim and means Judges.

At the very end of the Torah Portion in Deuteronomy 21:1-9 we have the description of what to do when a corpse is found in a field near a town. The verses describe a ritual that requires a lot of time and effort from the Elders and Judges of surrounding cities.

The great Sage Rashi, in regards to this verse, describes a troubling scenario in that an outsider had just left the town with out escourt and without provisions and had died. In other words the outsider could have been in need and was neglected. This is especially troubling since in a previous Parashat, Ekev, Deuteronomy 10:18 & 19 we read “He enacts justice for the orphan and widow, and loves the outsider, giving him food and clothing. 19Therefore love the outsider, for you were outsiders in the land of Egypt.”

I have been an outsider my entire life. I have never really fit in any where, not comfortably. I am hard to approach, I can be intimidating, and often times hard to understand. I appreciate everytime that someone has reached out to me even when it seems I have rejected that kindness.

One of the times it meant the most was when my wife and I first married. Like most young couples we struggled financially. At one point I worked 2 jobs doing computer work for a company by day and contracting for another company by night. In one of these occasions 16 years ago, I was called to setup a network at an older jewish couple’s home one evening. They where wealthy and had several Laptops, a desktop computer, security system, printer and other devices they wanted to all be networked together. I am not sure what they did but they had a lot of money from the looks of the home they lived in.

While I was working the older gentleman wanted to watch, ask questions and chat, which was not uncommon amoungst my customers. As we chatted he asked questions about my personal life and I told him about my wife and daughter. He asked about my education, which was a quick discussion as I have none. As I finished up and presented him with the invoice, I told him to mail the check to the address on the invoice or pay it online. As he escourted me to the door I shook his hand one last time and he handed me a stack of bills. I told him I could take this for him if he liked instead of a check or online payment but I needed to call the guy that setup the contract to let him know. He said no he would mail a check to the company I worked for, but that the money was for me. He said he remembered what it was like for he and his wife to start out. As I told him that was not nessaccery he just smiled and closed the door, settling firmly any dispute. When I got to the car and counted the money it was a significant amount more than the actual charge for the call.

I never saw the couple again. I think back on that call and how much it blessed my fledgling family and I have no doubt that this sweet couple absolutely lived as HeShem wants us to, when they showed love to an outsider.

We are told to love the outsider and the essence of this is to be vulnerable and to give of ourselves. There is never a time when we are closer to our creator than we love as he loves, even and especially when it is to the outsider.