By Zach "Peacock" Pekarsky

If you want it, you can find an online summary here. In short, this parsha examines and explains the way law functions in ancient Jewish society.

This parsha is stuffed full of ideas and phrases in which we often take great pride in the movement.

Here's a few:

[to the judges] You should not accept a gift, for a gift blinds the wise and perverts the righteous (Deut. 16:19)

Tzedek, tzedek tirdof--Justice, justice, you shall pursue it (Deut. 16:20)

The parsha also expresses the idea that a judge need not have all the answers, that if the are unsure they should consult the levites, other judges, etc...(Deut. 17:8-10)

Also, it says that once there is a king in Israel, he should "not multiply horses to himself" nor "multiply wives to himself", nor silver, nor gold "so that his heart will not be lifted above" the people. (Deut. 17:15-20)

This parsha details much of the social infrastructure of the original Jewish society and even many of the random laws are deeply imbued with values we find important. I could not list them all, nor do I want to write an email as long as the parsha itself, so I will leave you with 2 things.

1. I encourage everybody to actually read this whole parsha (Deut 16:18-21:9); I think it could be a very enriching experience.

2. I want to raise some questions to be grappled with. Amongst many sound ethical precepts in this parsha the death penalty is nearly ubiquitous. It shows up in near;y every context and is tough to handle. When reading the parsha, I found myself just substituting generic punishment in its place to examine the moral principles in the societal structure.

It is very easy to write off capital punishment in the Torah as just a relic of its era, as something we need not factor in when considering the moral framework of society given to us in the Torah. I think it is also important to consider the pervasive impacts of capital punishment on a society and on the way people conceive of their own roles within that society. I would argue that that pervasiveness of the death penalty in the Torah and ancient Jewish society is inherently problematic.

However, no matter how much I wish to condemn it (and other things from the Torah), it is still mine on soe level. I still have ownership over it, and therefore still grapple with it. I want to encourage each and every person to seek out the parts of Jewish traditon that make you squirm, the things that make you most uncomfortable and learn more about them.

I challenge each and every one of you to deepen your understanding of something you dislike about Judaism or Judaics. There is no prescribed end goal. Just try understand it, because on a basic level, this tradition is yours and you cannot responsibly reshape it without thoroughly understanding what came before.