As someone with quite an anti-authority bent, this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Shoftim, has always been one that I have struggled with. Parshat Shoftim lays the foundations for the future government of the Kingdom of Israel, establishing five different leadership roles. These roles include judges, law enforcers, kings, priests and prophets. The former anarchist in me definitely struggles with the first three, while others who, understandably, are fans of separation of church and state, are uncomfortable with the idea of priests and prophets in positions of national leadership.
Wanting to find something a little more easy to relate to for us moderns, I delved a little deeper into the text. That’s when I found that there is a very special number here: Five, the number of national leaders, and the number of parts of the soul, according to Jewish mystical traditions. Once the connection was made, it became clear to me that each of these leaders corresponds to one of the different layers making up a human being.
The parsha opens, “You shall set yourself judges and officers” (Deuteronomy 16:18). The preeminent medieval biblical scholar Rashi explains that when the text says “officers,” it is referring to those who enforce the laws and uphold the judges’ decisions. These two leaders correspond to the lower layers of the soul, nefesh and ruach. The nefesh of the soul is the completely physical aspect of humanity, giving us the ability to move and interact with the world. This is the law enforcer, interacting with the physical world and putting into action the decisions of the judges. The next layer of the soul is the ruach, that part of us that is ruled by emotion. The judges represent our ruach. For many of us, it is through our ruach that we make decisions about how we act.
While the next three national leaders and souls are presented individually, why is it that we find the symbols for nefesh and ruach listed together? The reason is that they are inseparable. Just as the decisions of a judge are meaningless without the someone to enforce them, without at least some control over our physical selves, the decisions we make cannot be carried out. What about the reverse—could we have the nefesh without the ruach, the law enforcers without the judges? I think recent events in Ferguson answer this. Without emotion to guide us, we are nothing but robots lacking any awareness or care for morality.
A person could stop there, functioning almost completely normally with just their nefesh and ruach. A society can exist with just judges and law enforcers. Yet there are higher levels, more efficient methods in which we can build ourselves and society. We have the “king,” what most think of as the top, or the executive. The layer of soul corresponding to the king is the neshama. For many, the neshama is the highest part of the soul that we can connect to, and is also the one that we could say is often valued the most in our world. Our neshama is our intellect, our ability to intellectually and rationally observe and understand our world. The king—our intellect— acts as a judge, but is also meant to have authority over us, to rule and protect. While we can function without being rational– just think of your exes, sometimes we need that rationality to stop us from letting our emotions carry us away.
The next two parts of the soul are more esoteric, and many of us struggle to connect to these deeper aspects of life. The first of these is chaya, corresponding to the priests. We can look at the role of the priest to help us understand the chaya. The priests are those through whom the People of Israel reach out to commune with God. The chaya is the part of us that is reaching upward, pursuing a greater cause than ourselves.
The final, highest part of the soul is yechida. Yechida is the part of the soul that is completely bound to God. With yechida, there is no reaching, both we and God are completely connected. These are the prophets, those chosen by God, who not only speak to God, but can hear God’s response, and translate it to the rest of the world. This is the inexplicable calling, the force within us that tells us that we must follow a certain path.
On a personal level, Parshat Shofetim also begs us to heed certain warnings.
With judges and law enforcers, impartiality is the key. The judge may not be swayed by bribes, nor can she judge a person based upon preconceived notions, thus corrupting justice. We cannot let something that looks favorable sway our emotions and cause us to make the wrong decisions.
With kings, humility is the key. The king must avoid becoming like Pharaoh, pursuing horses and wives, and instead keep a Torah scroll with him as a constant reminder that he is a servant of God. We must avoid allowing pride in our own intelligence cause us to be stubborn and ignore the truth.
With priests, it’s dedication. Priest are not allotted any land or physical inheritance, and all their needs are provided for, allowing them to fully dedicate themselves to their divine service. When we are pursuing a higher cause, in order to succeed we must also give our full dedication.
Finally, prophets need honesty. A prophet may not say words that go against the Torah, lying and misleading themselves, and those who respect them. When we feel a higher calling, we must be honest with ourselves. Is this truly what I feel is right, or am I just saying this convincing myself for a personal reason?
With all of these, we must remember that each aspect has its own place, and each one relies upon the other. Just like governments, individuals, too require a system of checks and balances. A well-rounded, stable, and happy person is someone that can balance all the forces pulling them from within; at some points following their emotions, at others being driven by their intellect, always pursuing their higher calling.
David Gutbezahl is a recent graduate of Gratz College.
