"You shall place judges and officers at all your gates..." - This week's Torah portion.
This verse, say our sages, can also be understood as a personal instruction. The human body is like a city that needs guarding. Our bodies have seven "gates," seven portals to the outside world: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth. It is incumbent upon us to place internal "judges" to choose what should be admitted and "officers" to enforce the the judges' decisions.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yitzi Schmukler