Parashas Shoftim - Now's the time to acquire Torah!

This week's Dvar Torah has been sponsored for:
Aliya Neshama: Shafika Bat Chasiba
(If you would like to sponsor a Dvar Torah, feel free to email me: SharingTorah@gmail.com)
__________________________________________

There are special mitzvos for:

• Kohanim; working in the Beis Hamikdash, blessing Am Yisroel, who they are permitted and forbidden to marry...
• Avelilim; tearing one's garment and reciting a beracha upon hearing the news of a close relative's death, preparing for the dead body's burial, reciting kaddish, etc...
• Shochtim; not to slaughter an animal and it's offspring on the same day, cover the blood with earth, etc...
• Nazirim; they can not cut their hair, drink wine, eat fresh grapes, or come into contact with a dead corpse, etc...

There are also special mitzvos for Sanhedrin (beis din), Levi'im, Women, Men, a person stricken with leprosy, and the list goes on and on.

In Parashas Shoftim, the Torah gives us several halachos/mitzvos for a King; he must have a separate Sefer Torah for himself, he must not have too many wives, too many horses, or too much gold and silver.

The reasoning behind these halachas are:

• Kings shouldn't have too much gold or silver, because Hashem doesn't want kings to gratify their lust for money.[1]
• Kings shouldn't have too many horses because: a) it guards them against arrogance, which leads to turning away from Hashem [2]; b) most horses were bred in Egypt and Hashem didn't want anyone going to Egypt for horses in case they decided to settle there.[3]
• Kings shouldn't have too many wives, "lest his heart be turned away." Hashem didn't want a king to indulge in physical pleasures. Rashi mentions that a King shouldn't have more than eighteen wives. (I can't imagine having more than one!)
• Lastly, a King must have a separate Sefer Torah; he was obligated to have a second Sefer Torah written as well, which the Torah commands him to have with him at all times. One Sefer Torah was always traveling with him [in order that he learn wherever he was,] and the other was placed in his treasury.

It is also a mitzvah for every Jew to write a Sefer Torah for himself. Unfortunately, some of us don't have the means of purchasing one. There are ways to get across that though; for example, this year, I was zocheh of write my own Sefer Torah -- a friend donated one to Yeshiva and gave a lot of the guys a chance to write a letter in it. Partaking in writing even a single letter in a Sefer Torah automatically generates for the person a mitzvah as if he wrote a Sefer Torah. Sounds crazy right? Since each letter is essential to make a Sefer Torah kosher, had there been one letter missing, the whole Torah is deemed posul. By you writing that one letter, it's as if you completed the whole Torah.

We just began the month of Elul. It's a month where people are especially careful to repent and learn as much Torah as possible. Hashem gave us His wonderful Torah for us to learn, and it would be a shame to let it sit and 'collect dust.' If a person wasn't able to acquire himself a Sefer Torah by writing one, the least he can do is acquire it by learning it and knowing it well. Let's say a person lent you a Ferrari and said you can use it whenever you wanted, would you take it out for a drive or let it sit in your garage? Obviously you would jump at the opportunity and give it a hundred 'test drives.' You might even go to a Ferrari dealership and buy yourself one of those 'cool' Ferrari jackets.

The Torah is worth much more than a Ferrari - it's priceless. This Elul, let's make it the best Elul we've ever had and take advantage of the precious gift Hashem has given us. Let's try to acquire every word and every letter Hashem has written in the Torah. Now is our chance to own the whole Sefer Torah and fulfill the mitzvah Hashem has commanded us.

May we all be written in the book of life, health, parnassa, and happiness.

Have a wonderful Shabbos and a month of full repentance,
Nisso

[1] Chinuch תקטו
[2] Chinuch תרגו"י
[3] Rashi and Ramban