This class was&nbsp;presented on Tuesday, Parshas Shoftim, 3 Elul, 5782, August 30, 2022, at 18 Forshay, Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY.

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king saul

king

jewish leader

leadership

shmuel hanavi

lost donkeys

King Shaul, the Farm-Boy, and the Young Women of Ramah

Women's Shoftim Class

Searching for the Donkeys: Five Qualities of Jewish Leadership

This women&#39;s class was presented Tuesday Parshas Shoftim, 3 Elul, 5778, August 14, 2018, at Ohr Chauim Shul, Monsey, NY.

There is a strange law in Judaism. If a court judging a case of capital punishment votes unanimously to convict the defendant, the defendant is acquitted! Only if there is at least one judge who attempts to argue on the defendants behalf, will the conviction stand, following the majority.

This seems bizarre: Where the evidence of guilt appears indisputable, Jewish law frees the suspect! Yet a case with weaker evidence, and thus containing a split among the justices, results in conviction! Is this not an irrational outcome of the law?!

The Torah, as usual, does not fit into our man-made, prefabricated political platforms, but rather has its own unique and refreshing approach. This class presents two fascinating insights. One presented by a 16th century Turkish scholar; the other by a 19th century Polish scholar. Fascinatingly, Dostoyevsky&rsquo;s world famous novel Crime and Punishment sheds light on the Jewish version of Crime and Punishment.

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If the Entire Court Says Guilty, He's Innocent. Really? 

Crime and Punishment

"If a matter eludes you in judgment, between blood and blood, between judgment and judgment, or between lesion and lesion, words of dispute in your cities, then you shall rise and go up to the place the Lord, your G-d, chooses,&rdquo; states the Torah in the portion of Shoftim.a
The greatest Kabbalist in Jewish history, Rabbi Isaac Luria (16th century), interprets this verse to be addressing the historical enigma of the disproportionate suffering of the Jewish people; suffering which seems to be in complete contrast to the systems of justice G-d Himself established in the Torah! He explains that this is all caused by the quarrels, strife, and dissension among Jews themselves.
This class explores the tragedy of strife and explains the extraordinary blessing when there is unity and love.
The Midrash makes a powerful contrast between two biblical generations of Jews, one pagan and the other monotheistic. The generation living during the reign of the evil King Achav was full of pagan idol worshippers. Yet, these sinful Jews were victorious in their wars against their enemies. Why? Because of their mutual accord and respect; they learned to like each other and get along.
On the other hand, the generation of Jews living during the reign of King David was very religious and observant, clinging ferociously to the Jewish faith in a single universal G-d. Yet they died in war. Why? The sages say, because they despised and informed upon each other.
The ultimate test for the integrity and spirituality of a human being in Judaism is not in one&rsquo;s scholarship, faith, or religious observance, but in our capacity to love the stranger, to transcend the ego, and to escape the traps of divisiveness and hate.

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shoftim

jewish unity

strife

machlokes

fighting

family fighting

hatred

How Fighting Destroys Families, Communities and Nations

Class Parshas Shoftim

The Tragedy of Strife

At a recent class, one of the students asked Rabbi YY Jacobson if Judaism beleives in following Rabbis and Rebbes blindly. Here is his response.

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rabbis

emunas tzaddikim

faith in rebbes

daas torah

rebbes

Does Torah Believe in Following Rabbis Blindly?

Hahkafah/Chassidus

What is Daas Torah? Can a "Gadol" Lie Once in 20 Years? 

A Talmudic story about Rabbi Gamliel and Rabbi Yehoshua on a boat conveys the essence of leadership from a Jewish perspective.
King Rechavam was the son of perhaps the most popular king in Jewish history, King Solomon, yet the majority of the nation rebelled against him leading to the fragmentation of the kingdom, and the establishment of a rival kingdom.
In this class we will analyze the events leading up to this fateful split, and discover from the words of Rechavam his tragic mistake in his understanding of Jewish leadership, and conversely, what constitutes ideal Jewish leadership and kingship.
Who is the greater servant &ndash; the king or his subject? This is the great struggle of every person in a position of leadership.

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yeravam

shlomo hamelech

shechem

servant

rechovim

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prayers

powerless

malbim

humble

bais hamikdosh

power

Who is the Greater Servant – the King or His Subject? A Meditation on the Essence of Leadership

The Most Powerful Person, the Most Powerless Person

First Anecdote:

A man goes out with a woman on their first date. For the first three hours, he talks only about himself, his history, accomplishments and interests. Finally, he turns to her and says: "Enough of me speaking about myself; let me hear what you have to say about me."

Second Anecdote:

The rabbi was hospitalized recovering from a heart attack when the president of the congregation visited him. He said: "Rabbi, I have good news and bad news."

"First the good news," the rabbi said.

"On behalf of the board of directors, I am here to wish you a speedy recovery."

"That’s wonderful," said the rabbi, "and what’s the bad news?"

"The vote was 7 to 6."

Despising Single Stones

This week's Torah portion, Shoftim, communicates the following interesting commandment<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>: "You shall not erect for yourself a pillar; this is something which the Lord your G-d despises."

The most basic biblical commentator, Rashi<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a>, explains this as a prohibition against erecting an altar of a single stone, even if the intent was to use this altar as a place for Divine worship, where offerings would be presented to G-d.

Though the Torah elsewhere<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a> allows the existence of altars made of stone in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and in the Tabernacle in the desert, Rashi explains that this is only true of altars comprised of many stones, not of a single stone<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref4')">[4]</a>.

But what's the logic?&nbsp;Does it make a difference whether you present an offering on an altar of one stone or of many stones?

Rashi explains that the difference is not intrinsic but historical. In the times of the Patriarchs, Rashi writes, our forefathers built single&nbsp;stone pillars for Divine service, and "it was beloved by G-d." However, once the Canaanites adopted this practice and began building single-stone altars for idolatrous offerings, including the horrific practices of ancient idolatry, G-d rejected them<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref5')">[5]</a>.

But why? Just because some tribes used the single stone for idolatry, can't we use it in a productive and meaningful way?&nbsp;The Pagans would also worship the sun, the moon, or water, but we still use them and enjoy them in a beneficial way.

Embracing Diversity

What this prohibition against the single-stone pillar may be teaching us is that though there is one G-d, the altars constructed by the human being to serve Him should not, and could not be of one stone, of one color, dimension, shape and quality.

In paganism, or modern atheism, a human being creates a god, or some higher power, in his or her own individual image. My mind and ego define what is essential, and what is of supreme importance. When god is a product of my image, that god is inevitably defined by the properties of that image. Since no two human images are identical, it follows that your god, the god of your image, cannot serve as my god as well. My god must be worshiped in my way, based on my perception of who he is and what he stands for. My altar must be constructed of one stone: my own.

Sure, I will tolerate those people and views that my "image" of my god can make peace with. But if you step out of line, I will hunt you down. I have no genuine room for your position.&nbsp;

The faith of Judaism, the idea of Monotheism, declares the oneness of G-d and the plurality of man. The transcendental G-d of Judaism transcends the natural universe but also any spiritual definition. G-d is undefined by any form, shape, or characteristic, physical or spiritual. We do not create Him in our image; He creates us in His image. Judaism thus challenges me to see G-d's image in the one who is not in my image, for every person knows and feels something about reality, about truth, about G-d that no one else does.

None of us knows all the truth and each of us knows some of it. Like a symphony composed of many notes, each of us constitutes an individual note in the divine symphony, and together we complete the music. If G-d wanted you and me to experience Him and serve Him in the same way, one of us would be superfluous.

True Religion Celebrates Diversity

Diversity within religion is not only a factor we must reluctantly accept; it is a cause for genuine celebration. It grants us the opportunity to encounter G-d since it is only in the face of the other that we can discover the part of G-d that we lack in our own face. The result of a relationship with a transcendental G-d is a growing appreciation of people's differences, not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and rewarding human and religious experience.

“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common, celebrate it every day,” a wise man once said. Diversity is the trace of an undefined G-d on the human species.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

One of the greatest challenges facing humanity today is the ingrained belief by many Muslims that those of us who do not embrace Islam as a faith and a lifestyle are infidels who need to be converted or killed.

On another level, and in a far more subtle and fine way, one of the challenges facing many communities today (a challenge that has pervaded the history of all religions from the beginning of time), is a sense of tribalism that found a nest among many devout Jews. My way of serving G-d is the only true way, and if you have a different path, you are on the "wrong team." I can't respect you.&nbsp;

Many of us feel that in the construction of the "altars," the structures in which we serve G-d, there is room for only a single stone, a single path, one flavor,&nbsp;and one style -- to the exclusion of anything else that does not fit our religious imagination or upbringing. Yet, paradoxically, it is precisely the paths of paganism, polytheism, or atheism,&nbsp;that invite&nbsp;a singular altar, made of one stone, while the monotheistic path of a singular G-d welcomes the diverse altar, made of many distinct stones.&nbsp;The structures constructed by man to serve G-d are, by definition, diverse and individualistic<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref6')">[6]</a>.

This does not mean that G-d condones every act done in His name. The G-d of the Bible created absolute universal standards of morality and ethics that bind us all. But these rules do not step from my ego and comfort zone, but rather from an absolute truth that includes and benefits every human being.

To the Jewish people, G-d presented an absolute system of Torah and mitzvos.

Yet within this framework, every human possesses his or her unique path to Truth. One of the great masters put it this way<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref7')">[7]</a>:&nbsp;"The concrete laws of Torah are the same for us all, but the spiritual experience of Torah, the feelings of love and awe, contain infinite pathways, one for each person, according to his (or her) individual identity."

We may compare it to the 88 keys of the piano that lend themselves to infinite combinations. The very same keys allow for so many different expressions. Authentic religion must welcome, not fear, diversity, and individualistic expression. When you truly cultivate a relationship with G-d, a G-d who is undefined by any image or color, you know that in the presence of other-ness, you can encounter a fragment of truth that you could never access within your own framework<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref8')">[8]</a>.&nbsp;

_____________

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a> Deuteronomy 16:22. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki lived in France and Germany during the 11th century. His classical commentary on the Bible and the Talmud turned him into one of the greatest and most cherished Torah figures in the history of Judaism. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a> Exodus 15:22. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn4')">[4]</a> This is the difference between the Hebrew expression "Matzavah" vs. "Mizbach." Matzavah is an altar made of a single stone while Mizbach is an altar built of many stones. That is why the tombstone erected on a grave is called in Hebrew a Matzavah, since it is made of a single large stone. The reason that tombstones in cemeteries are permitted is that they are not used as altars for offerings, but as monuments for the dead (see Midrash Hagodol to this verse. Cf. Abarbanel here). 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn5')">[5]</a> Rashi here from Sifrei section 146. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn6')">[6]</a> This may be the deeper reason why during the time of the Patriarchs the single-stone altar was welcome and used. For during the time of the Patriarchs, prior to the development of the Jews into a nation, each of the Patriarchs embodied a particular mode in serving G-d, which became the paradigm of service in that generation. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn7')">[7]</a> Tanya chapter 44. Cf. introduction to Tanya. 
<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn8')">[8]</a> This essay is based on Mei Haseloach, by the great Chassidic master&nbsp;Rabbi Yosef Mordechai Leiner of Izhbitz (1800-1854), vol. 1 to Shoftim 16:22. Cf. Likkutei Sichos vol. 18 Parshas Korach and the references noted there. See also Likkutei Maharan I, 34:4.

Have We Become Too Tribal? - True Religion Must Embrace Diversity

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pagnism

diversity

individuality

tribalism

And Why True Religion Celebrates It

Essay Shoftim 

Why Atheism Struggles with Genuine Diversity

The&nbsp;Rabbi and his Driver 
A renowned rabbi, a brilliant philosopher, was held in high regard by his driver, who listened in awe at every speech while his boss would easily answer questions about morality, ethics and philosophy.Then one day the driver approached the rabbi and asked if he was willing to switch roles for the evening's lecture. The rabbi&nbsp;agreed and, for a while, the driver handled himself remarkably well. When it came time for questions from the guests, a&nbsp;man in the back asked, "Is the epistemological view of the universe still valid in an existentialist world?""That is an extremely simple question," he responded. "So simple, in fact, that even my driver could answer that, which is exactly what he will do."

The Detached Teacher 
The teacher was always so involved in the text he was teaching that he never looked up at his students.

He would call on a student for translation and&nbsp;explanation, and -- without realizing it -- he often chose the same student day after day.

Out of respect, the students wouldn't point this out to him.

After being called on four days in a row, a student named Goldberg asked advice from his friends.

The next day when the rabbi said "Goldberg, translate and explain," Goldberg replied, "Goldberg is absent today."

"All right," said the rabbi. "You translate and explain."

The Final Lesson 
There is an intriguing Midrashic tradition (1), that Jacob's final lesson with his beloved son Joseph just hours before he was kidnapped and sold into slavery dealt with a law concerning an unsolved murder case in this week’s portion, Shoftim.We are all familiar with the narrative. Joseph, who was 17 years of old at the time, was asked by his father to visit his brothers, who were shepherding the family flock near the city of Shechem.&nbsp;When the lad arrived in Shechem, his brothers kidnapped him and cast him into a pit; then they sold him into slavery to Egyptian merchants.Joseph&nbsp;ended up working for an Egyptian dignitary, then spent 12 years in an Egyptian dungeon and&nbsp;finally became viceroy of that country (2).Twenty-two years after Joseph was torn away from his father, the Bible relates (3), Jacob received word that he was alive, but he could not believe it.&nbsp;The Midrash relates (1) that since Joseph suspected that this might happen, he gave the emissaries a sign to demonstrate to his father the authenticity of the message: "Tell my father," Joseph suggested, "that when I left him 22 years ago we had just completed studying the laws of the calf that was brought as an atonement for an unsolved murder."This, the&nbsp;the Midrash explains, is the meaning in the biblical verse that reads, "They told him [Jacob], 'Joseph is still alive and he is the ruler over all Egypt'; but his heart rejected it, for he could not believe them. However, when they related to him [to Jacob] all the words that Joseph had spoken to them, and he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him [from Israel to Egypt], then the spirit of Jacob was revived (3)."The Hebrew term used for wagons ("agalos") can also be translated as calves. "When Jacob 'saw' the calves that Joseph sent," i.e., when he realized that this Egyptian leader knew the content of the last Torah lesson that Jacob taught Joseph, Jacob realized that this man was indeed his lost son Joseph.An Unresolved Murder 
What exactly is the nature of this law that Jacob taught Joseph? It is discussed in the book of Deuteronomy in this week’s portion and it goes like this: 
&nbsp; 
"When a corpse is found fallen in the field in the land that G-d gives you&nbsp;to possess," The Torah instructs (4), "and it is not known who the murderer is, your elders and judges must go out and measure the distance to the closest city," where we assume the victim was last before his murder. The Talmud explains that a delegation of five members of the Jewish Supreme Court in Jerusalem (known as the Great Sanhedrin) would come to the field where the victim was discovered and make the measurements to the closest city (5).&nbsp;Following this, the elders of that city situated closest to the corpse, were obliged to go out and bring a heifer as an atonement for the slain man's blood (4). The elders of the city would then declare, "Our hands have not spilled this blood and our eyes have not witnessed it (6)."&nbsp;Then the priests who accompanied the elders in the ritual would beseech G-d, saying, "Forgive your people ... do not allow the guilt for innocent blood to remain with your people Israel (7)."&nbsp;The Torah concludes by saying that "The blood shall thus be atoned for. You shall thus rid yourself of the guilt of innocent blood in your midst, since you will have done that which is morally right in G-d's eyes (7*)."&nbsp;Yet the interesting question is, was it merely a coincidence that the last piece of wisdom Joseph received from his saintly father prior to their 22-year separation focused on the Jewish response to an innocent man slain the field? Or was there something deeper about this final exchange between father and son (8)?A National Crisis 
To answer this question,&nbsp;we must examine the purpose of the enigmatic ritual that followed the discovery of a slain victim in the field -- where members of the Supreme Court, the most exalted and distinguished body in the Jewish state, were required to come down and make measurements; the elders of the city were obligated to offer a calf as an atonement and the priests needed to pray for forgiveness.&nbsp;Biblical commentators explain that the ritual achieved&nbsp;a number of major benefits (9):&nbsp;1) The ritual served as a means to publicize the event. The publicity would increased the chances of apprehending the murderer and bring him to justice. It also would send a warning to all future potential murderers that they would not get away with an isolated murder of an innocent man.&nbsp;2) The Torah viewed each member of the nearby city and even each member of the entire nation indirectly responsible for the murder. As the priests proclaimed during the ritual (7*), "Forgive your people; do not allow the guilt for innocent blood to remain with your people Israel.""Would it occur to anybody that the elders of the court are murderers," asks the Talmud (10)?"&nbsp; What they meant was that "perhaps we did not notice him leaving and we sent him off without food and without escort." Clearly, if we would have looked after this man, he might not have been slain. If he was given shelter, food and company, he might have escaped his horrible fate. What was he doing out in no-man's land alone?&nbsp;Why did nobody look after him?For this the entire community of Israel, beginning with the members of the Supreme Court, needed to ask of themselves tough questions. They were required to make resolutions for the future. The ritual served as a tool for repentance and atonement.The Outcasts 
Each Mitzvah and law in the Torah contains, in addition to its literal interpretation, a psychological and spiritual dimension as well (11).What is the meaning of "a corpse fallen in the field"&nbsp;on a psychological level?The Torah describes&nbsp;the great struggler&nbsp;Esau (Jacob's twin brother) as "a man of the field (12)." In the teachings of Kabbalah (13), a field -- as opposed to a city -- often symbolizes an environment that has no protective fence, a location that is open and vulnerable&nbsp;to&nbsp;destructive forces of immorality, abuse and addiction.Every community produces a certain number of what we like to call "dropouts" who at some point during their life, particularly during adolescence, abandon the shielded "city" and enter into the unguarded "field" to experiment with all that is available out there. Many of them lose their souls in the process and end up in the abyss, emotionally slain in the killing fields of addiction, despair and moral indifference.The Torah teaches us that each of these souls who ended up in the "field" and encountered a form of emotional death -- death of innocence, of hope, of dignity and of meaning -- 
is the concern and responsibility of each and every member of the nation of Israel, including the spiritual giants of the Supreme Court in Jerusalem!When a fellow human being wanders out to the scary fields of hopelessness, every individual of the community, particularly its spiritual teachers and leaders, must shake the heavens. Each of us must ask ourselves the question, "Perhaps we did not notice him leaving and we sent him off without food and without escort." Did this teenager need somebody to talk to about his frustrations and doubts but could not find anybody? Was this young boy or girl craving for some love, encouragement, inspiration, to no avail? 
&nbsp; 
Each of us must ask ourselves the question,&nbsp;"Are we not responsible in some small way for this youngster's mental and psychological deterioration?"&nbsp;Principals, educators and community leaders&nbsp;often talk about statistics. "Statistics show," they inform us,&nbsp;"that a certain percent of high school kids end up..."&nbsp;When the future of a particular child is put in question, we have&nbsp;the ready answer: "What do you expect? He or she is part of the statistic." 
&nbsp; 
I do not mean to be harsh, but we must remember that it was Joseph Stalin who said, "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." When we begin viewing people as statistics, we know that our society&nbsp;is eroding&nbsp;from within. Human lives are not means; they are ends in-and-of themselves. The value and sanctity of&nbsp;an individual&nbsp;destiny is infinite, absolute and eternal.

It is time for all of us, parents and leaders of all communities, to open our eyes to the struggles of so many of our young, most precious souls, to be attentive to their needs, rather than getting frustrated that they are not living up to our delusional expectations of them. Do not shut your eyes and heart to mental illness, to addiction, to depression, to the results of molestation and abuse of all sorts, to all types of agony these youngsters are suffering from.

More than anything, do not make them feel like outcasts, losers, disappointments. Believe in them, so that they can believe in themselves. See them as fragments of G-d, as particles of holiness, as rays of infinity. Make them feel welcome, embraced, and loved.

The Nuremberg Trials 
In "Judgment at Nuremberg," American judge Dan&nbsp;Haywood sentences Ernst Janning, an important legal figure in Germany even before the rise of Hitler, to life in prison for condemning an innocent Jewish doctor to death in 1935. Janing pleads to Haywood that he was unaware of the magnitude of the Nazi horror and that he would have never assisted Hitler had he known what the monster was scheming."Those people, those millions of people," Janing&nbsp;begged for his freedom,&nbsp;"I never knew it would come to that. You must believe it."To which Judge Haywood replied: "It came to that the first time you sentenced a man to death you knew to be innocent."The moment a single life loses its absolute value, a thousand lives, even a million lives, are ultimately not of value; they are merely more chocking numbers.This is the essential message behind the mitzvah of turning the murder of a homeless man found in an isolated field into a national event. The Torah is attempting to teach us that If hell does not break loose with the undeserving death of a single individual, we are well on our way downward to absolute moral decomposition; we have successfully forfeited the most important staple of humaneness --&nbsp;viewing each and every life as a reflection of G-d.

You Matter! 
Above all, this loaded ritual around a human being slain in the field provides a message for those children or adults who find themselves out in the "field" of confusion and depression.The message is that from G-d's perspective, your individual life and destiny contains endless value and significance. If you "die," G-d expects everybody to experience the pain, to take part&nbsp;in&nbsp;the path of introspection.&nbsp;Your journey, your struggle, your future is of the greatest importance to G-d, to the world, to history. Know that every deed counts, that each word has infinite power. Fashion each day of your life as if it were a piece of art.Now we will understand why providence had Jacob teach this lesson to Joseph hours before he was cast into a new hellish reality.&nbsp;For this was the message that rescued a vulnerable Joseph from falling into the abyss, after being brutally torn from a sheltered and sacred "city" and cast into the most depraved "field" on earth. The last lesson that Joseph heard from his father imbued within him the unshakable conviction that his life, each moment of it, was eternally significant; that his choices&nbsp;had divine&nbsp;significance.&nbsp;Twenty-two years later, when Jacob heard that Joseph did not forget that final lesson, a father's soul was brought back to life. Jacob recognized that despite all the pain and abuse that Joseph endured, his son did not lose the inner spark that gives each of our lives endless&nbsp;nobility and meaning (14).(This essay is based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in August 1981 (15))

1) Midrash Rabah Vayigash 94:3; Tanchumah Vayigash section 11; Rashi to Genesis 45:27. 2) Genesis 37:12-41:45.&nbsp; 
3) Genesis 45:26-27.&nbsp; 
4) Deuteronomy 21:1-2.&nbsp; 
5) Soteh 44b. Quoted in Rashi to Deuteronomy ibid.&nbsp; 
6) The heifer was decapitated. There is a divergent Midrashic tradition that the heifer was merely struck on the back of its neck so that it would run away and find the house of the murderer (Midrash Agadah; Bechaya).&nbsp; 
7) Deuteronomy 21:3-8.&nbsp; 
7*) Ibid. verses 8-9.&nbsp; 
8) Another point in question: From the Midrash it seems that Jacob's spirit was revived primarily because of the information he received that Joseph remembered their final lesson so vividly. Yet this seems amiss: Was the news that Joseph was alive insufficient enough to restore Jacob's life and joy? (See Likkutei Sichos vol. 30 p. 222).&nbsp; 
&nbsp;9)&nbsp;See Rambam, Guide to the Perplexed 3:40, quoted in Ramban and Bechaya to Deuteronomy 21:1. Cf. Sefer HaChenuch Mitzvah 530 and Abarbenel on the Parsah. See also Kesef Mishnah to Hilchos Rotzach 10:6.&nbsp;Bechaya to Deuteronomy 21:1.&nbsp;Ramban ibid. Cf. Likkutei Sichos vol. 24 pp. 126-8 and in footnote # 59 and references noted there. 
10) Soteh 45b. Quoted in Rashi ibid. 21:7.&nbsp; 
11) See Rambam end of Hilchos Temurah. 
12) Genesis 25:27. 
13) Or Hatorah to Genesis ibid. (p. 142b); Likkutei Torah Reah p. 32b; references noted in Likkutei Sichos vol. 30 p. 223 footnote no. 17. 
14) Jacob obviously was unaware of the true significance of this lesson. He was acting super-consciously, as an agent of Divine providence (See Likkutei Sichos ibid. footnote no. 24). 
15) Likkutei Sichos vol. 24 pp. 126-131. See also Likkutei Sichos vol. 30 pp. 222-224.

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vayigash

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lost souls

eglah arufah

Jacob's Last Lecture

Lost Souls

Giving it back to G-d

<span style="font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">This class, in Likkutei Sichos vol. 34 Shoftim, was given in Evergreen Estates, in the summer of 2014-5774. It explores the Halachik distinction between one's body and one's money. Why is it that I can obligate myself to pay money based on my admission, but not to receive a bodily punishment based on my confession? Why is it that we have to make blessing before we eat, but not before we receive money? When does G-d maintain His ownership over the universe, and when does He &ldquo;transfer&rdquo; it to man?

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human body

money

likkutei sichos shoftim

The Distinction in Halacha Between Our Ownership over Our Bodies Vs. Our Finances

My Money Vs. My Body: Likkutei Sichos Shoftim

My Money Vs. My Body: Likkutei Sichos Shoftim

The Distinction in Halacha Between Our Ownership over Our Bodies Vs. Our Finances

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