Parshas Shoftim Shabbos Times Erev Shabbos Shabbos Day Candle Lighting 5:32pm Latest time for Shema 9:39am Shkiya 5:49pm Shabbos Ends 6:32pm Avos Ubonim at Home Avos Ubonim 7:30-8:15pm Join us on Zoom at 8:15pm for this week's RAFFLE Short Vort on the Parsha At the end of this week's Parsha the Torah tells us about the mitzva of Eglah Arufa. When a murder takes place between two cities, the elders of the closer city come to the murder site and perform the mitzva of Eglah Arufa. They say "Yadeinu Lo Shafchu Es HaDam", our hands did not spill this blood. The Gemara in Sotah explains that of course we are not accusing the elders and righteous members of the city of murder, but if they let someone leave the city without food and proper escort they are responsible for the murder. Why? The Gilyon Pninim brings from the Alter of Kelm that when a person is dejected he has less value for his life. This man who was not treated properly upon departure was less enthusiastic about life and quite possibly did not struggle with his murderer to save himself. Therefore his blood is on the hands of those who neglected him. In a radical twist he brings from Rav Yaakov Neiman zt"l in Darkei Mussar the following important lesson on chinuch. Rav Neiman says that it is not the victim that they are saying they did not let leave without food and escort, but rather the murderer. This person may have needed some attention. Only when he was treated like a non-entity was he able to stand up in such an audacious manner and callously snuff out the life of another human being. The Elders are called to declare that they treated every human with respect and no murderer was created by their lack of caring for anyone. Often when a child acts up, it is a cry for attention. One reaction is to scream to stop the terrible behaviour. A more effective response is to deal with the underlying cause. Our parsha is teaching us what tragic results can result if we don't pay attention to the needs of those around us.