In Which We Talk about Cops & the Messiah
Tech Tribe Dispatch #72
💡 Think:
You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment.
- Deuteronomy 16:18, the start of this weeks Torah portion.
What is the purpose of policing? Is it an end unto itself, a distinct goal within the administration of law? Or is it just a means towards something else?
On one hand, the Torah clearly gives a place for law enforcement. As it says in Pirkei Avot “Pray for the integrity of the government; for were it not for the fear of its authority, a man would swallow his neighbor alive.”
But that doesn’t make it the tachlis, then end game, as they say in Yiddish. When speaking about the Messianic era, the prophet Isaiah makes a key change: “And I will restore your judges as at first and your counsellors as in the beginning.”
The judges are mentioned, but the enforcement has been changed for counsellors. What is more, the name of this week’s Torah portion is popularly known as Shoftim — mentioning only the judges (shoftim) and not the law enforcement (shotrim) mentioned in the verse.
Why?
Because ultimately, our connection to the Torah, to the law, to the words of the judges, is one that must extend from a higher place. The role of the enforcement is only to insure that justice can be available to all - to step-in only in the event that a higher connection and fealty fails to take hold. Thus, in the Messianic times, and in the build up to it we now find ourselves, we can transcend the need for the base enforcement of the shotrim - instead it will be solely through education and positivity - the counsellors of Isaiah.
Get your own Mezuzah! #MezuzahMe
🏃 DO:
🏠 Judaism is coming home this summer! Each week we’ll be focusing on another mitzvah that shows how we can connect, outside of the party or the shul.
🚪 Get your own Mezuzah!
🤝 Let’s talk shop: Tech Tribe have a series of sponsorship or dedication opportunities - including on an upcoming video release, as well as a physical space we’re creating for our community. Reply to this email for details about either one!
🎧 Listen:
📚 Read:
🥒 Now open for all readers of the Dispatch for a limited time: Our deep dive into briny soul of American Jewry in The Existential Kabbalah of Seth Rogen
✊Earlier this month, the world lost Norman Rosenbaum, the brother of slain victim of the Crown Heights riots, Yankel Rosenbaum. My look back at his life.
His Brother’s Keeper: Norman Rosenbaum, 63, Transformational Advocate for Justice
👾The creator of the pixel Russell Kirsch passed away in his Portland home at age 91
💭Some light reading: Am I just a Figment of Someone's Imagination?
🕯️ Chabad.org has worked to compile the names and short biographical sketches about the 1200 known victims of the Coronavirus in the Jewish community. The project is known as Each Person, A World
Like what you saw? Want more? Please feel free to forward this email far and wide!
Support Tech Tribe’s mission to build community and curate epic experiences for young Jews in tech and digital media!