Practice Parashat Shoftim with TropeTrainer
Follow along with Hebrew text, trope cantillation marks, and audio at your own pace.
Parashat Shoftim - פָּרָשַׁת שׁוֹפְטִים
Shoftim (“Judges”) discusses guidelines of leadership, opening with a command to appoint judges and continuing to detail laws of kings, priests, and prophets. It also describes laws relating to cities of refuge for accidental killers, false witnesses, warfare, and the rite performed in a case of unsolved murder.
Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9
Parashat Shoftim is the 48th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. Next read on August 15th, 2026 / 2 Elul 5786
- Annual Reading
Read Annually
1:
16:18 - 17:13· 18 p’sukim
2:
17:14 - 17:20· 7 p’sukim
3:
18:1 - 18:5· 5 p’sukim
4:
18:6 - 18:13· 8 p’sukim
5:
18:14 - 19:13· 22 p’sukim
6:
19:14 - 20:9· 17 p’sukim
7:
20:10 - 21:9· 20 p’sukim
Maftir:
21:7 - 21:9· 3 p’sukim
Haftarah:
Isaiah 51:12 - 52:12· 24 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 1
August 15th, 2026
1:
16:18 - 16:20· 3 p’sukim
2:
16:21 - 17:7· 9 p’sukim
3:
17:8 - 17:10· 3 p’sukim
4:
17:11 - 17:13· 3 p’sukim
5:
17:14 - 17:17· 4 p’sukim
6:
17:18 - 17:20· 3 p’sukim
7:
18:1 - 18:5· 5 p’sukim
Maftir:
18:3 - 18:5· 3 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah Part 1:
Isaiah 51:12 - 51:23· 12 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah Part 2:
Isaiah 51:22 - 51:22· 1 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 2
September 4th, 2027
1:
18:6 - 18:8· 3 p’sukim
2:
18:9 - 18:13· 5 p’sukim
3:
18:14 - 18:17· 4 p’sukim
4:
18:18 - 18:22· 5 p’sukim
5:
19:1 - 19:7· 7 p’sukim
6:
19:8 - 19:10· 3 p’sukim
7:
19:11 - 19:13· 3 p’sukim
Maftir:
19:11 - 19:13· 3 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah:
Isaiah 52:1 - 52:12· 12 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 3
August 26th, 2028
1:
19:14 - 19:21· 8 p’sukim
2:
20:1 - 20:4· 4 p’sukim
3:
20:5 - 20:9· 5 p’sukim
4:
20:10 - 20:14· 5 p’sukim
5:
20:15 - 20:20· 6 p’sukim
6:
21:1 - 21:6· 6 p’sukim
7:
21:7 - 21:9· 3 p’sukim
Maftir:
21:7 - 21:9· 3 p’sukim
Alternate Haftarah:
Isaiah 44:24 - 45:7· 12 p’sukim
About Parashat Parashat Shoftim
Beyond the laws it lists, Shoftim is the Torah's blueprint for a just society, structuring legitimate power across four offices: judges, kings, priests, and prophets. Its through-line is restraint of authority and communal accountability: even a king is limited (he may not amass horses, wives, or wealth and must write his own Torah scroll), and the whole community shares responsibility for justice. The portion's charge, "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Deut. 16:20), gives the parsha its enduring reputation as the Torah's clearest statement on the rule of law. Read during the month of Elul, it also resonates with the season of self-examination before the High Holy Days.
The Haftarah
In most communities the Haftarah for Shoftim is Isaiah 51:12-52:12, opening "Anochi, Anochi Hu menachemchem" ("I, indeed I, am He who comforts you"). It is the fourth of the seven Haftarot of Consolation (Sheva d'Nechemta) read on the Shabbatot between Tisha b'Av and Rosh Hashanah, so its selection is largely calendar-driven, focused on comforting Israel with promises of redemption and Jerusalem's rebuilding. The thematic link most often drawn is the motif of the judge: where the parsha appoints human judges for earthly justice, the haftarah proclaims God as the one true and ultimate Judge and Comforter who asks, "What ails you that you fear man who must die?" The sources reviewed found no major Ashkenazi/Sephardi divergence in the verse range, but local custom can vary.
Notable passages and verses
Shoftim contains one of the Torah's most quoted verses, "Tzedek, tzedek tirdof" - "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Deut. 16:20), widely adopted as a motto by Jewish justice and advocacy organizations. It is also the source for several foundational legal principles: the requirement of two or three witnesses to establish a matter (19:15), the punishment of conspiring false witnesses (edim zomemim), and the test for distinguishing a true prophet from a false one. The wartime law of bal tashchit (20:19-20), which forbids cutting down fruit trees during a siege, became a broad rabbinic principle against wasteful destruction. The portion closes with the striking eglah arufah rite (the broken-necked heifer), in which the elders of the town nearest an unsolved murder publicly declare their innocence.
Frequently asked questions
What is Parashat Shoftim about?
Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9) is the Torah's framework for just governance as Israel prepares to enter the Land. It opens with the command to appoint judges and officers in every city and sets out the responsibilities and limits of four offices of leadership: judges, kings, priests, and prophets. It then details laws of fairness and restraint, including cities of refuge, the requirement of multiple witnesses, the punishment of false witnesses, rules of warfare, and the eglah arufah rite for an unsolved murder. With TropeTrainer you can hear and practice this reading with its trope (cantillation).
What is the haftarah for Shoftim?
In most communities the haftarah for Shoftim is Isaiah 51:12-52:12, beginning "Anochi, Anochi Hu menachemchem" ("I, indeed I, am He who comforts you"). It is the fourth of the seven Haftarot of Consolation read between Tisha b'Av and Rosh Hashanah, comforting Israel with promises of redemption. Local custom can vary, so confirm the reading with your congregation. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice this haftarah with its trope.
What are the main themes of Shoftim?
The central themes are justice, accountable leadership, and communal responsibility. The portion limits the power of every office, even the king, and famously charges, "Justice, justice shall you pursue" (Deut. 16:20). Related themes include fair judicial procedure, restraint in warfare (such as the ban on destroying fruit trees), and shared accountability for justice, as expressed in the eglah arufah ritual. You can hear and practice the chanting of this portion with trope in TropeTrainer.
Why is Shoftim significant during the month of Elul?
Shoftim is read during Elul, the period of repentance and self-examination leading up to the High Holy Days, and always falls within the seven-week consolation period after Tisha b'Av. Its focus on justice, honest judgment, and accountability resonates with this season of introspection before Rosh Hashanah, when tradition pictures God as Judge. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice this reading with its trope so you can prepare to chant it.
Where to go next
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See the complete list of weekly parashot with links to every reading and detail page.
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