This Shabbat we are reading Parashat Shoftim, which starts with the duty to set up a legal system that contains courts and police, both a ruling authority and an enforcing authority.

The Torah is asking to establish that system at every entrance of every city, in “every gate”.

Our Sages say that the word “your gates” has an allusion and the reference is to the opening “gates” in the human body:Eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.

We must be appointed to exercise and enforce discretion on every “gate” of the human body.

That is, what to see and what not to see, what to say and what not to say, what to hear and what not to hear, and so on in all the sense of the human body.

The book Netivot Shalom explains the reasoning why we must enforce authority on ourselves.

“It is impossible to dislodge evil with mere intelligence, that no matter how much one achieves greatness with his intelligence, it is not useful to dislodge evil, and there is no advice but to subdue evil in practice.”

He continues, “And this work is a constant work imposed on a Jew in all the situations he finds himself in, as it is said, “Judges and policemen will be given to you in all your gates’, in all your gates, wherever you are, in all your states of mind, both when the heart is open and when the heart is closed, always engage in the work of the morals”

The question is how can we reach these goals? And Rabbi Elimelech from Lizansk answers,

“How do you change habits? Doing the opposite of what we are doing for forty days, and thus we will make the new custom a habit.”

The main purpose of us in this world is to break our nature, therefore we will hasten ourselves to correct our character. Who is born with his nature of stubbornness will break the nature for forty days in a row to do exactly the opposite of what comes to his mind. Who is lazy by nature will accustom himself for forty days in a row to do everything to sleep early and to get up in the morning from his bed, wearing the clothes quickly and to wash his hands and to go quickly to the Synagogue.

For the habit of every thing is made a ruler, and indeed he whose nature is not constant in his learning will accustom himself likewise for forty days and learn more than his habit”.

Why exactly 40 days, when there are 40 days of power to change?

Because Moshe Rabenu went up to receive the Torah on Mount Sinai for 40 days.

The last time he went up was Rosh Hodesh Elul, and when he came down, it was Yom Kippur.

That is why we are blowing Shofar and waking up early to Selichot during the 40 days.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we’re starting and we’re waiting for you!

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Refael Cohen