IT’S WORSE THAN ANY CRIME
The proximity of the laws about judges to the laws of “asheira” (a tree worshipped as a god) in Parshat Shoftim prompts Reish Lakish (Sanhedrin 7b) to comment that if there is a judge who misbehaves it is like an “asheira” in the midst of the Jewish nation.
Rabbi Dunner questions this startling comparison, and goes on to suggest an explanation, using a story about diamond smugglers to illustrate his point.
(For the SoundCloud audio, scroll down) There are some forms of ancient pagan worship described by classical rabbinic sources that are so bizarre you could be forgiven for assuming they... Read More