Rashi’s interpretation of the term, namely, those who have the authority to enforce the law, looms large in its modern usage – everyone is afraid of the mishtara!
There is, however, another meaning that is embedded in the word. Writing about law and violence in an essay called “A Critique of Violence,” Walter Benjamin, the 20th century Jewish-German philosopher and literary critic, discusses both law-making and law-preserving types of violence. The first of these categories establishes law and the second ensures that the law is maintained. While the second type is clearly seen in Rashi’s interpretation of the word, shoter still maintains a strong connection to the creation of law, as can be seen in the similarity between the word for document, sh’tar, which of course has the power to establish law, and the word for this law enforcer. That is not a coincidence, for shoter is connected to the Arabic word for writing, as scholar James Strong correctly points out.
May we all have more need for documents and less for enforcement.
