Where are the Police? Judges and police officers are the basis for a civilized nation. The law and its implementation are what ensure a just society. Thus, the opening statement of this week's portion is the commandment to establish a justice system: You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment. (Deuteronomy 16:18) Like every part of the Torah, this commandment has a spiritual and psychological meaning within every person's life. Judges who adjudicate and determine the law represent the human mind when it is in a state of clarity, enlightenment, and objectivity. The mind directs the person to make the right choice, just as the judge clarifies the law. Yet, occasionally, intellectual knowledge is insufficient to overcome the negative drives within a person. At these moments, a person must rely on his "police officers" to overcome his negative cravings and instincts, forcing himself, by the sheer power of commitment and willpower, to reject the negative while embracing positive actions. Conversely, "police officers", willpower and commitment alone are insufficient. For inner transformation results not from willpower alone, but rather from intellectual knowledge and awareness. Three times every weekday we pray for the restoration of the Jewish judiciary: "Restore our judges as at first and our counselors as in the beginning”. This blessing paraphrases the prophet Isaiah: "And I will restore your judges as at first and your counselors as in the beginning; afterwards you shall be called City of Righteousness, Faithful City. (Isaiah 1:26)" While Moses, in this week's portion, refers to "judges and police officers", Isaiah, prophesying about the future redemption, speaks of judges and counselors. Because in the Messianic era, people will not need to be coerced to implement justice, nor will they have to push against inner negativity in order to live a wholesome life. For in the future, we will have an innate desire to follow and internalize the will of G-d as embodied by the just commandments of the Torah. Adapted from the teachings of the Rebbe, Shabbat Shoftim 1991