Yiftah

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1. The Right Man at the Wrong Time

   Haftarot: Hukat

   Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

   Yiftah of Gilad is described between the era of saviors and the era of leadership. Yiftah could become a savior, having won the war for Israel, but he desired to be a leader - which is beyond his reach. He demonstrates this desire by taking a frivolous oath. Instead of finding a way to nullify the oath and spare his daughter, he stubbornly decides to see it through. This lack of willingness to compromise is inappropriate for a leader in times of peace.

2. Refuting the Claim of the Ammonites

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   Long gone and forgotten were the Otniels of illustrious lineage and the Devoras of prophetic inspiration.  Now the people only deserved to be guided by a man of problematic pedigree who was himself gainfully employed in the infamous career of brigandage.Yiftah's "promising" introduction thus recalls a long line of other unsung Biblical heroes, people who rose from obscurity, infamy, or the performance of questionable acts to achieve renown. Like Yiftah, David is expelled from society and like Yiftah he gathers to him a group of people with questionable backgrounds.

   Yiftah's claim to the king of Ammon is explained in great geographical and historical detail.

3. Yiftach's Vow

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   A close read of the text and a textual link to Akeidat Yitzhak points to the conclusion that the intention of Yiftah's vow was in fact human sacrifice. In the larger context, what this episode corroborates is that Israel and its leaders, in this horrible culmination of the process throughout the era of the Judges have become indistinguishable from the Canaanite. Yiftah, a self-styled leader of Israel and a seeming servant of all that is just and holy, is at the same time a product of the terrible effects of corrosive Canaanite culture that seeks to guarantee victory upon the battlefield by vowing to immolate an innocent human being.

4. Yiftah's Legacy

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   Yiftah, like Gideon, faces harsh criticism from the tribe of Ephraim due to their lack of inclusion in the battle against Ammon. However, as opposed to Gideon, Yiftah's reaction is violent and destructive. His rash and reckless words were his undoing, condemning both his kinsman to the slaughter as well as his own daughter to death.

   The chapter concludes with the mention of three minor judges who seem to hail from the north of the country. The town of Beit Lehem mentioned in the context of Ivtzan might be in the territory of Zevulun. However, Hazal identify Beit Lehem with the town in the territory of Yehuda and Ivtzan with Boaz from Megillat Ruth, giving us a glimmer of hope in this otherwise dark and tragic era.

5. Minor Figures, Major Transformations - the Subtle Revolution in Sefer Shoftim

   Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ד | |

   The leaders at the beginning of the book of Shoftim seem to be successful and exemplary, but as the book goes on, the leaders seem to be increasingly problematic. And why are there only two leaders- - both of whom do both great and reprehensible things- discussed in the second half of the book? To respond to these questions, we turn to Haza”l who provide interesting directions as we consider the context of the times, the structure and the chronology of the book. 

6. Shoftim 11-12

   Matan Al Haperek

   Matan Al HaPerek - Neta Shapira

   In these Perakim we meet Yiftach, a figure whose leadership begins with high hopes but ends with both personal and communal tragedy. 

7. Yiftah and Shemuel: The Power of Speech

   Dr. Yael Ziegler | Hour and 3 minutes

   The Tanakh often presents us with similar characters who at their core have similar kinds of personalities, but their spiritual lives wind up taking very different directions. The Tanakh, in presenting these kinds of characters, and Chazal, in picking up on these “mirror characters” are offering a distinction between a person’s fate and their destiny. The deciding factor is not the fate that they are born with, but the destiny that they choose. This lecture explores the similarities and differences between the figures of Yiftach and Shmuel.