Judge, or Shofet, was a relatively new concept in Biblical times. Four thousand years ago,people had started moving into larger and larger groupings – from small bands, to clans, tochiefdoms, and now to states. This increasingly led to the need for independent arbiters to helpresolve conflicts between people who may or may not have family connections or any connection at all to one another.
Rest assured, that judges back in the day, did not wear black robes and sit on imposing chairs in austere rooms. Their permanent stone chairs were actually often placed right outside of city gates, as they greeted those who came in and out of their domain. Moses, we know from our Biblical account, was the first in this role, but as the needs of the job became overwhelming to his other duty of leading the people through the wilderness, others needed to be appointed to take his place. In this team of judges that is the subject of this week’s Torah portion, Shoftim (plural for judges).
Throughout most of life, I admit to have a fairly limited view of what a judge actually was and their importance to our society overall. I had grown up watching the many judges on the various television shows and watched them quickly address and dispose of the litany of accusers and defendants coming into their courtroom. That was until I arrived in Buffalo and met two of themost outstanding judges to have ever donned a robe. These two brave, strong, and incredibly wise and understanding individuals have now become my model of what it means to take on such a challenging task.
Recently retired Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin and her counterpart on the bench Judge Brenda Freedman are not only outstanding in their day job, but the kindness, nicest, most understanding people you will ever meet. I have shepharded both through life cycle events and various communal functions and have gotten to know both them and their equally amazing families.
I have also had to call them on occasion when someone has come to me in impossible situations, their kids potentially being taken away and their life in dire straits. Without hesitation, they have called back and given me exactly what I needed to calm the situation and help bring calm and comfort to a suffering soul. For this, I will always be grateful and for both oftheir sense of humor and overall humanity. I thank them on behalf of all of us for showing us what it truly means to exemplify this vital societal role.