Parashat Shoftim
Question
A Gutten Erev Shabbos!
The Question:
We know that the Beis Hamikdash is the place where the Kohanim perform the avodah and bring korbanos. However, in this week’s parsha, we find that the Beis Hamikdash is also a place of judgment. The Lishkas Hagazis, where the Great Sanhedrin sat, was located there, as it is written:
(8) If a matter of judgment is too difficult for you to decide, whether it concerns blood, disputes, or tzara’as, and there is disagreement in your cities, you should get up and go to the place that Hashem your G-d will choose.
(9) You should come to the Kohanim, the Levi’im, and the judge who will be serving at that time. You should ask them, and they will tell you the correct ruling.
The question is, Is there a connection between the world of justice and the world of korbanos, that the Torah emphasizes and commands that they should both be in the same place, the Beis HaMikdash? At first glance, they seem to be two completely separate worlds.
Answer
The source that the Sanhedrin must be located specifically in the Azarah, opposite the Mizbe’ach, is learned from the juxtaposition of the pesukim. At the end of Parshas Yisro, the Torah says, “You shall not ascend My Mizbe’ach on steps,” and immediately afterwards begins, “And these are the laws.”
Rashi explains:
“Why is the parsha of civil laws placed next to the parsha of the Mizbe’ach? To teach you that the Sanhedrin should be situated opposite the Mizbe’ach.”
From here we learn that the place of judgment for Klal Yisrael was located specifically inside the Beis Hamikdash, opposite the Mizbe’ach.
This brings us back to our original question: What is the connection between these two seemingly unrelated worlds, the world of korbanos and the world of judgment?
B’ezras Hashem, I found two very interesting approaches, that explain the connection between the world of civil law and the world of korbanos.
The Gur Aryeh, in Parshas Mishpatim, explains that the purpose of the Beis Hamikdash is to bring peace into the world, (as we see from the pasuk in this week’s parsha quoted above). Peace has two parts: peace between man and Hashem, and peace between one person and another. The korbanos brings peace between man and his Creator, while righteous judgment, brings peace between one person and another.
This is a quote from the Gur Aryeh:
“To teach you that the Sanhedrin should be placed beside the Mizbe’ach.
One may ask: Why, indeed, should the Sanhedrin be beside the Mizbe’ach? However, this is not difficult (to understand), because they are very much alike. The Mizbe’ach brings peace between Klal Yisrael and their Father in Heaven, because korbanos are offered upon it. A korban is called a ‘korban’ (meaning ‘to bring close’) because it brings a person closer to Hashem.
…Similarly, the civil laws bring peace into the world. Like we find in the Mechilta: Why were civil laws mentioned in the Torah before all the other mitzvos? Since when there is a dispute between two people, judgment is given, and peace is then restored between them.
We therefore see that the Mizbe’ach and judgment are connected, and together they bring peace into the world. Peace is needed between Klal Yisrael and their Father in Heaven, and peace is also needed between one person and another. Everything is therefore connected”.
The second approach is brought in the name of the Avnei Nezer, (Rav Alexander Zusha Friedman, in his sefer Ma’ayanah Shel Torah).
This is a quote from the Avnei Azel:
“Why is the parsha of civil laws placed next to the parsha of the Mizbe’ach? To teach you that the Sanhedrin should be situated opposite the Mizbe’ach.
Among all the nations of the world, the laws and relationships between people are not matters of religion. They are merely social or civil obligations intended to maintain order in society. Among us, the Jewish people, however, civil laws are also commandments from Hashem and possess the holiness of a mitzvah. Just as the korbanos constitute the service of Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash, so too the laws constitute the Jew’s service of Hashem in his daily life.”
On behalf of the entire staff of the Sheilot web site we wish you a Shabbos Shulem Umevorach.
