Parashat Shoftim: Guarding the Gates of Our Lives

In Parashat Shoftim, the Torah states: “You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates that the Lord your God gives you.”

The Netivot Shalom cites the teaching of Rabbi Chaim Vital, as quoted in Nachal Kedumim on this verse, and notes that this idea appears in additional sources as well. Rabbi Chaim Vital, the foremost disciple of the Arizal, explains that every person possesses several “gates”: the gate of sight, the gate of hearing, the gate of smell, the gate of speech, and the gate of touch.

A person must act as a judge over all aspects of his life, carefully supervising how each of these faculties is used and establishing boundaries around every one of his gates. This is why the verse is phrased in the singular, even though it is a general commandment addressed to the entire Jewish people. It is also a personal instruction to every Jew, calling upon each individual to guard the various gates of the body.

Guarding What We See, Hear, and Say

A Jew is required to guard all these gates and direct them toward the service of God through “judges and officers.” Every glance must be evaluated according to the will of God. What is appropriate to see, and what should not be seen? There are things that it is a mitzvah to see, things that are forbidden to see, and things that are permissible to see.

The same applies to hearing. There are things that it is a mitzvah to hear, things that are forbidden to hear, and things that are permissible to hear. A person must therefore remain aware of what he allows himself to listen to. The same principle applies to speech. There is speech that fulfills a mitzvah, speech that is forbidden, and speech that is permissible.

Every Gate Can Lead to Good

The Holy One, blessed be He, is good and bestows goodness. He created the human being in order to bestow goodness upon him, and everything that occurs in a person’s life can ultimately lead him toward good. All of a person’s gates have the potential to lead him toward goodness, yet those very same gates can also lead him in the opposite direction.

This, explains the Netivot Shalom, is the deeper meaning of the Torah’s command: “You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates that the Lord your God gives you.” Every one of these gates can bring a person toward good, but if used incorrectly, it can also lead him toward what is harmful.

Redirecting Our Desires Toward Holiness

As taught in the name of the Baal Shem Tov, when a person experiences love or desire for something forbidden, no evil has descended upon him from Heaven. In truth, he has received a gift from Heaven: the capacity for love. His task is to redirect that capacity toward its proper purpose, toward love of God, love of Torah, and love of the Jewish people.

In other words, every faculty and “gate” within a person can serve a positive purpose when used correctly. The meaning of “You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates” is therefore that a person must evaluate and supervise all of his gates, directing them toward good. In doing so, he brings awareness of the Lord his God into every aspect of his life.

Living With the Awareness That God Sees Us

The Netivot Shalom further explains that the words “that the Lord your God gives you” can be understood in light of the Rambam’s teaching in The Guide for the Perplexed. The Rambam explains that when a person reflects upon the fact that the great King, the Holy One, blessed be He, sees all of his actions, this awareness brings him to reverence and humility before God.

The verse can therefore be understood as saying: “You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates that the Lord your God gives you.” A person should live with the awareness that the Lord his God is watching over his actions. Every action should be performed with the consciousness that the Holy One, blessed be He, hears and sees everything that he does.