Just a few of the highlights (for me) of this parasha:

• Has one of the most quoted lines in modern day social justice spaces: tzedek tzedek tirdof — “justice, justice, shall you pursue” (Deut. 16:20)
• Lays out (a) guidelines for establishing a judicial system, (b) rules for appointing kings, (c) guidelines for priests and levi’im.
• Defines the role of prophets.
• Contains laws around specific concerns, such as the need to create cities of refuge, and taking collective responsibility for unsolved murders.
• Encourages capital punishment and mob violence (Deut. 17: 5-7)
• Argues that we have a responsibility to protect the environment (Deut. 20:19-20) 

What are some of the highlights for you?

Some of the questions floating around in my head this week:

What can we learn from the instruction to create cities of refuge as we work to support immigrants needing protection from ICE? Can we infer that we have a responsibility to do so?

Can the injunction to take collective responsibility for unsolved murders help us understand demands for reparations for black descendants of chattel slavery in our country? Do we have a responsibility to support these demands?

How should we behave when our (secular) elected leaders and appointed judges take actions and enact policies that contradict the ways that the Torah teaches us to live? Is it kosher to break unjust laws? Is it kosher to respect unjust laws?

August 30, 2025 – 6 Elul 5785

Flaurie S. Imberman