This week’s Divrei Simcha is written in Memory of Mr. Barry Gibber, a great friend. Rav Dovid Moskovitz from Boston once told me an amazing insight at the beginning of this week’s parsha. Our Chazal, the great Sages from the past, tell us that everything in Sefer Devarim (the book of Deutoronomy) is in a certain order and are connected to the section before and after it. Since this is true, the beginning of the parsha makes no sense. It begins my mentioning that B’nei Yisroel (the children of Israel) should set-up Shoftim, judges. After finishing this section, it mentions that a tree should not be planted next to the Mishkan (alter). Next, the parsha talks about not having a blemish on an animal when it is brought as a korban (offering). What is the connection between these three things?

The answer is that the second and third things explain how to find the right type of judges.

Why do we have a commandment about not planting trees next to the Mishkan? If you travel around Europe and even in America, you will find that near many churches there are beautiful gardens. They are there to make the building look nice. People like to look at beautiful sights and will be attracted to it. But what happens inside is completely different. Their prayers are full of nothingness and have no power.
Trees are not to be planted next to the Mishkan so we focus on the Mishkan itself, not on beautiful things that surround it and make it look good. When we focus on beauty, we don’t focus on what we are actually supposed to focus on.

When we choose a judge, we must do the same. Don’t just look at their external features. We need to look deeper and see what is inside this leader we are choosing.

A very similar idea is with the blemished animal. If an animal has a small cataract in their eye, they are not allowed to be brought. This does not mean the animal needs to be beautiful though. The animal can be a flat, ugly cow that looks like it was run over by car, but as long as it does not have a cataract in its eye or another small blemish, it is kosher. Another animal might be the most beautiful being in the world. It won the Ms. Cow competition year after year, but in its eye is one little scratch, then it is not allowed to be brought on the alter.

The same with our judges. You can find someone that looks perfect. They’ve even passed the test that was spoken in the last paragraph and this judge’s internal features are great. But there is one tiny flaw that he has. He gets angry easily or loses his patience quickly or something similar. The other choice is someone who is very ugly and hunch-backed. He is a very kind person and does not have any major flaws (of course you won’t find anybody that is perfect, but at least someone that his flaws are very minor). Who do you choose?

This week’s parsha tells us the key.

Don’t focus on external beauty… look deeper and you will see where the true beauty is.

Good Shabbos!

-yes

Any questions or comments can be sent to [email protected]
By Rabbi Yaacov Seltzer
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(305) 652-0186