Sefer Shofetim Chapter 5

This chapter contains the “song” or poem that Devorah and Baraq composed following the triumph over Yavin, King of Hatzor. Prophetic poetry is designed to be recited or chanted and places events into perspective in the context of some “bigger picture”. Usually, when we encounter Biblical poetry in the midst of stories, it is an indication that the narrative represents a major development or breakthrough of some kind in the unfolding of the Divine plan.

For obvious reasons, attempting to “summarize” a poem would eviscerate it and would not do justice to its beauty, nuance or power. It needs to be read and experienced to be appreciated. However, it behooves us to at least identify some of the key themes Devorah and Baraq speak about in their song.

A key element of Shirat Devorah is its depiction of how severe the persecutions were under the regime of Yavin. Normal everyday activities like traveling on open roads and drawing water from public wells was made difficult or impossible for the Jews. They would be attacked, have arrows shot at them, and otherwise be terrorized for simply going about their business. They were “demilitarized” by Yavin, to the point that the army under Baraq’s command didn’t even have spears or shields with which to engage in battle when the hour arrived. This underscores how dramatic the salvation was; even more, it highlights how miraculous the battle was from the standpoint of the Jewish people (and perhaps allows us to see why Baraq was so nervous about it.)

Another motif of the song is the emphasis on “hitnadvut”, voluntary involvement. Because there was no central political authority in Israel with the means to compel citizens to follow any program or course of action, participation in the rebellion was totally voluntary on their part. Some of the tribes, like Yissakhar, Zevulun, Binyamin, Menashe, Ephraim and Naftali, willingly and enthusiastically committed themselves to the effort.

Those who lived on the other side of the Yarden, however – Reuven, Gad and half of Menashe – as well as Dan and Asher were hesitant to take any risks on behalf of their people and therefore remained neutral until the conflict was settled. These tribes, either due to the location of their territory or the nature of their occupations, were more economically independent than the others and seemingly had little to gain and much to lose by getting involved.

The confederacy of tribes, like our far flung Jewish communities today, will only survive and thrive if we are concerned with the welfare of all Jews, even when their crises don’t impact us directly. Nobody can or will compel us to act; we must internalize a sense of responsibility for one another based on the transcendent values that unite us and not based upon practical calculations alone.

Shirat Devorah praises those who stood up of their own accord to support their nation and casts some aspersions on those who were resistant to doing so. The song contrasts the behavior of these tribes with that of many of the Kings of Canaan who, without any financial incentive, joined the battles against Israel; they volunteered for what they believed in, even if it was wrong! Why did some tribes not do the same for the sake of their own brethren?

The manifestation of the Divine presence in the history of Israel is another element of the song. Shirat Devorah makes references back to the Revelation at Sinai as well as to the miraculous assistance that attended the triumph against Yavin and Sisera, which many commentaries infer was facilitated by some kind of natural disaster that rendered their chariots immobile. Ultimately, Hashem is the King, and human despots, no matter how intimidating, are subject to His will and His will alone.

Finally, Shirat Devorah revisits the “feminine” or “motherly” motif of the story, describing the roles of Devorah (“a mother in Israel”) and Yael (“of the women in the tent she shall be blessed”, women in the tent meaning matriarchs, mothers) as well as the reaction of the mother of Siserah, another maternal character who had not been mentioned before but is now inserted into the narrative.

The mother of Sisera is in denial about the outcome of the battle and imagines her son raping and pillaging in Israel (what a comforting thought!!!???); of course, these are all illusions and as she comes to terms with the reality that he himself has been vanquished, she sobs. The song concludes with the prayer that just as the wicked designs of the enemies of Israel evaporated in this instance so should they evaporate in the future…Hashem has the power to make that happen as long as we are worthy of His providential care.

Sefer Shofetim Chapter 4

After the death of Ehud ben Gera, the Jewish people again sink to the depths of idolatry and assimilation. As a result, they find themselves subservient to and persecuted by Yavin, King of Hatzor and his general Sisera. The oppression suffered by the Jews at the hands of Yavin is particularly intense and extends for twenty years. Realizing that Yavin’s power is backed by highly intimidating and heavily armed military forces and that his regime cannot be resisted by human means, the Jewish people cry out to Hashem, Who sends them a distinguished leader – Devorah – to guide them.

First, we witness a spiritual reawakening and return to Torah, as the nation of Israel embrace Devorah as a Judge and listen carefully to her instructions. Then Hashem commands Devorah to direct Baraq ben Avinoam to mobilize the Jewish military in a rebellion against Yavin. Baraq is hesitant and refuses to go unless Devorah is willing to accompany him to battle. Although she warns him that he will not achieve glory in this conflict because a woman will be credited with the victory, she agrees to join the military forces as a representative of Hashem Who is the true source of success in battle.

The forces of Yavin, led by Sisera, are defeated soundly by the soldiers of Israel, despite the fact that the latter were neither well-armed nor well-prepared. Sisera abandons his chariot and runs on foot to the estate of a prominent ally of Yavin, Hever HaQeni. Ironically, Hever HaQeni was a descendant of the father-in-law of Moshe Rabbenu and had historically maintained close ties with the Jews; Sisera relied upon the assumption that the alliance of King Yavin with Hever was genuine and assumed he would be granted refuge at his home despite this. As we know, this turned out to be a faulty assumption; once the tides had turned against Yavin, Hever and Yael immediately sided with their natural allies, the Jewish people.

Yael, the wife of Hever HaQeni, receives him warmly and reassures him that she will keep his visit a secret. She provides him with a blanket to rest and some milk to quench his thirst. As soon as he dozes off, she takes a tent-spike and drives it through his skull, killing him. Not long after, Baraq arrives in pursuit of Sisera and is informed of what transpired. This marks a decisive turning point in the struggle and eventuates in the Jewish people regaining its political autonomy in the Land of Israel.

This narrative is rich in detail and drama and much commentary could be written about it. For the sake of brevity, I would like to highlight just two noteworthy aspects of the story.
First, it is remarkable that the undisputed leader of the Jewish people is a woman, Devorah. Moreover, another woman, Yael, plays a critical role in resolving the military conflict (typically a manly enterprise) when she assassinates Sisera.

On the other hand, the male characters in the story are rather weak. Baraq is afraid to go out to battle without Devorah, a spiritual mother-figure, present. Moreover, in his moment of weakness and humiliation, Sisera runs to another “mother-figure”, Yael, who provides him with a place to rest and a glass of milk, emblematic of her nurturing role. Two maternal personalities are contrasted here with two “mama’s boys”.

Second, this is the first time we see the roles of religious and political leader bifurcated. Devorah is the prophetess, the teacher, the religious visionary; Baraq, although he believes in Hashem and in the message of His representative, is essentially a military leader whose task is to implement the instructions of Devorah.

Moshe Rabbenu, Yehoshua, Otniel ben Qenaz and Ehud ben Gera all embodied both spiritual and political greatness – they combined and integrated the religious and the secular, the holy and the mundane, and provided an all-encompassing, holistic form of leadership to the Jewish people. During their career, the blend of Torah life and political-social life in Israel was smooth and seamless.

By contrast, the era of Baraq and Devorah is one of significant disintegration and fragmentation – it is a period of time in which there is no ONE LEADER fully capable of guiding the nation at every level and for every purpose. This loss of unification of the transcendent and the practical is indicative of increased disconnection between the Jewish people and the ideals and principles of Torah, and is a harbinger of even further decline that will be documented in future chapters of Sefer Shofetim.

Shofetim Chapter 3
This chapter opens with a list of the groups of indigenous Canaanites who were not driven out of the land by the Jewish people. Interestingly, here these populations are characterized as having been left there by Hashem so as to test the Jews, and “so that the generations of the Children of Israel will know – to teach them the art of war, which before they had not known…” Another reason given for their continued presence in the land is to test the Jewish people “if they will listen to the commandments of Hashem that he commanded their fathers through Moshe.”

The Jews began intermarrying with their non-Jewish neighbors and eventually started worshiping idolatrous gods – the Baalim and Asherot, which were the most popular deities in the region during that period. As predicted by the “cycle of Shofetim” described in the previous chapter, this led to the emergence and dominance of Kushan Rishatayim, King of Aram Naharayim, over Israel. He subjugated them for eight years, until they “cried out to Hashem”, signifying a return to Torah and mitzvot; as a result, Otniel Ben Qenaz was inspired by Hashem to save them from oppression. He mobilized the Jewish military and defeated Kushan Rishatayim, thereby restoring Jewish independence. The situation was stable for forty years, until the death of Otniel ben Qenaz.

Following the death of their leader, Israel sank even more deeply into idolatry and found itself once again dominated by a foreign power – Eglon, King of Moav. After eighteen years of suffering, the Jews turned to Hashem for salvation and He provided them with another Shofet, Ehud ben Gera. After bringing Eglon a tribute from the Jewish people, Ehud returned to the palace and requested a private audience with the King. Eglon granted his wish and ordered his officers to leave the chamber immediately.

Upon being told that Ehud had a divine message to share with him, Eglon rose from his throne, and Ehud quickly thrust a double-edged spear into his belly (Ehud was left handed, and kept his sword on the right side of his body – a place that the security guards had apparently neglected to search when they allowed him entry!) Because Eglon was so corpulent, the entire sword, including the handle, was sucked into his belly, and his guts spilled everywhere. Ehud departed from the chamber and closed the door behind him, making his escape.

Meanwhile, the guards did not check on Eglon for some time, assuming that perhaps he was using the bathroom inside and could not be disturbed…When they finally investigated and found him dead, it was already too late to seize the perpetrator who was long gone. The ensuing battle culminated in political freedom, secure borders and independence for the Jews that would last another eighty years.

The chapter concludes with a brief vignette about Shamgar ben Anat, a Shofet about whom we are not told much. All we know is that he managed to slaughter six hundred Pelishtim single-handedly with little more than a cattle prod.

One question worth exploring in this chapter is the multiple messages we are given regarding who is responsible for the Canaanites remaining in the land. Previous chapters have indicated that this was the fault of the Jews, or even of Yehoshua, for not having removed them forcibly as they were commanded. Our chapter suggests that Hashem planned for them to stay, either in order to “teach the art of war” to the Jews or to test their obedience to the Torah. Which one of these explanations is correct?

Rashi, Radaq and others explain that the “teaching of war” here was actually a PUNISHMENT for the Jewish people. Prior battles had been one with divine assistance alone, no military training necessary. The fact that they now needed to prepare physically and tactically for war was a sign that they had lost the divine support that allowed previous generations to succeed without such preparations. According to this interpretation, earlier chapters that described the laxity of the Jews with respect to the conquest were in fact accurate; here, we read about the consequences of that laxity, the absence of divine providence and the challenges and temptations that interfere with Torah observance were of their own making!

I would like to tentatively suggest another possibility for your consideration. Perhaps the “learning of war” mentioned here is actually a blessing, not a curse. The transition into Israel had to be accompanied by greater self-reliance and a decreased dependence upon supernatural help. True, the Jews were obligated to remove the Canaanites and create a territory free of idolatrous influence that would undermine their adherence to the Torah. However, had Hashem enabled them to drive out all of these enemies in Yehoshua’s time, they may not have been compelled to develop the “inner strength” and military capabilities necessary for functioning as an independent nation-state on the international scene.

Hashem saw that the Jewish people had become reticent and resistant to pursuing the military campaigns in Israel. When Hashem had taken care of them in a miraculous fashion, all was well. But the more they had to rely upon their own sweat and tears to secure their borders, the more they lost their passion for the fight. The “test” was to see if the Jews would continue to wait for miracles in the establishment of their community or would gain the knowledge, wisdom and practicality needed to take care of and defend themselves.

From this perspective, all of the explanations for the continued presence of Canaanites in the land are also true. However, rather than seeing the mastery of the art of war as a punishment for not removing the Canaanites, this training could have actually been the GOAL of that experience. Ideally, they would have developed this competence during the initial military campaigns and conquest under the leadership of Yehoshua; since they did not, they were left with a complicated political landscape that demanded they continue to engage in war without supernatural assistance. Note that, in the language of the verse, there is no clear indication that learning the art of war was a bad thing, which provides some support for this explanation.

I see a precedent for this line of reasoning in the words of HaRambam, who comments that the reason the First Temple was destroyed was that, rather than focusing on mastering the art of war and learning how to defend themselves properly in battle, the Jews of that time turned to astrology, superstition, mysticism and other supernatural means of protection when their existence in the land was threatened. This lack of wisdom and failure to act intelligently led to their exile to Babylonia.

The interpretation of HaRambam teaches us that it is possible to view the possession of military skill as a blessing and not a curse. In fact, it is the ultimate example of divine providence – Hashem’s gracious act of giving us intelligence that we can use to protect and advance our interests every moment of every day, even in the absence of miracles. Only when the Jewish people mature out of a framework of magical thinking and dependence on the supernatural and can live as a wise and understanding nation in the world are they truly worthy of representing Hashem in His chosen land.

Sefer Shofetim Chapter 1

The Book of Shofetim, or Judges, picks up after the death of Yehoshua. According to tradition, it was written by the Prophet Shemuel. As per the instructions Yehoshua delivered before his death, the tribes continued their efforts to conquer territory in the land of Israel and to expand and secure their borders. The chapter provides several highlights of these incursions.

For example, the tribe of Yehuda captured Adoni Bezeq, a ruthless dictator who punished the kings whom he vanquished by cutting off their thumbs and big toes and forcing them to scavenge for scraps under his table. The Jews cut off his thumbs and big toes, and he himself acknowledged the Divine justice at play in this punishment before dying in Jerusalem, which the tribe of Judah captured and set aflame.

The chapter also describes the conquest of Devir, Qiryat Sefer and Hevron, which were already discussed in Sefer Yehoshua because of their relevance to the division of territory and are repeated here for the sake of chronology (they actually took place after the death of Yehoshua). Included is the story of Kalev, Otniel ben Qenaz and Akhsa the daughter of Kalev, first recounted in Sefer Yehoshua and recapped here almost word for word. We also read about the tribes of Yosef and their conquest of Bet El.

Several of the tribes – Menashe, Ephraim, Zevulun, Asher, Dan and Naftali – stopped short of removing all of the Canaanites from their midst. Instead, pockets of gentiles were permitted to remain in Israel, provided they paid the requisite taxes to the Jews who ruled over them.

Unfortunately, this failure to cleanse the land of idolatry and to fully establish an exclusively Jewish community in Israel set the stage for future spiritual and political problems. The challenges created by this lack of follow-through will form much of the subject matter of the Book of Shofetim.

It is important to mention one key motif of the Book of Shofetim that differentiates it from the Torah and the Book of Yehoshua – the absence of a “central government”. The tribes act independently or based upon alliances with one another, but not as a collective, national body. Although the entire nation is still united by their observance of Torah, connection to the Mishkan and belief in Hashem, they are no longer politically united by any form of “Federal Government”.

At this point in history, the loose structure of tribal affiliation most resembled the American colonies under the “Articles of Confederation” – at that time, the states functioned as independent, sovereign nations with an agreement to work together but no power over one another. This was, of course, prior to the adoption of the constitution and the establishment of the United States as a single, cohesive entity. With this in mind, we can understand how the Book of Shofetim (written by the Prophet Shemuel who anoints the first King of Israel) is meant to trace the evolution of the community of Israel from this “Articles of Confederation” type arrangement with all of its associated difficulties to the unified monarchy that will finally be constituted in the Book of Shemuel.