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Moses
instructs the people of Israel to appoint judges and law-enforcement
officers in every city; "Justice, justice shall you pursue," he commands
them, and you must administer it without corruption or favoritism. Crimes
must be meticulously investigated and evidence thoroughly examined -- a
minimum of two credible witnesses is required for conviction and
punishment.
In
every generation, says Moses, there will be those entrusted with the task of
interpreting and applying the laws of the Torah. "According to the law that
they will teach you, and the judgement they will instruct you, you shall do;
you shall not turn away from the thing that they say to you, to the right
nor to the left."
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Shoftim
also includes the prohibitions against idolatry and sorcery; laws governing
the appointment and behavior of a king; and guidelines for the creation of
"cities of refuge" for the inadvertent murderer. Also set forth are many of
the rules of war: the exemption from battle for one who has just married,
built a home, planted a vineyard or is "afraid and soft-hearted"; the
requirement to offer terms of peace before attacking a city; the prohibition
against wanton destruction of something of value, exemplified by the law
that forbids to cut down a fruit tree when laying siege (in this context the
Torah makes the famous statement "For man is a tree of the field").
The
Parshah concludes with the law of Eglah Arufah - the special procedure to be
followed when a person is killed by an unknown murderer and his body is
found in a field - which underscores the responsibility of the community and
its leaders not only for what they do but also for what they might have
prevented from being done.
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