Beth HaDerech; Messianic Jewish Congregation, Toronto, Canada

Parasha Overview: Shofetim (Videos)

Shoftim, Shof’tim, or Shofetim (שֹׁפְטִים — Hebrew for “judges,” the first word in the parshah) is the 48th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in August or September. The parsha provides a constitution — a basic societal structure — for the Israelites. The parshah sets out rules for magistrates, kings, Levites, prophets, cities of refuge, witnesses, war, and an unaccounted corpse. Note: On the Shabbat the Torah Reading is divided into 7 sections. Each section is called an Aliya [literally: Go up] since for each Aliya, one person “goes up” to make a bracha [blessing] on the Torah Reading. Here are this week`s aliyot: 1st and 2nd Aliyot: Moshe details the most important characteristics of a Judge: the ability to remain objective and [...]