Parshas Mishpatim: It’s Not My Fault

Teaching teenagers can be an exciting and insight -inducing experience. It is so easy to listen to them, scratch one’s head, and wonder if you did such things at their age. But, alas, as they say, “Hindsight is 20/20” and “if I knew then what I know now.”  Wow, if only I could have had my current wisdom as a young adult…and there is still so much of the world that perplexes me. But back to high school students - teenagers, as a sweeping generalization, still embrace the childhood gut-reaction of avoiding fault. A talking student will quickly advocate for herself  by declaring that everyone was talking, and a student with a wrong answer will not hesitate to determine exactly how the teacher led her astray. (And tempted as I might be, I won’t elaborate on due dates and personal responsibility).

You may be wondering what this has to do with Parshas Mishpatim. The fact of the matter is, though, that interacting with teenagers all day provides a profound perspective on humanity as a whole and the Jewish nation in particular. Hashem is “our Father,” and I doubt very much that we count as adult kids. 

Being totally honest with ourselves, most adults are equally eager to avoid accepting responsibility for our actions. Sometimes it’s something serious, but even for tiny things - like needing to turn around when you’ve gone the wrong direction and so you look at your watch and pretend you forgot you had to be somewhere in the other direction. What, when you get right down to it, is there anything wrong with having just gone in the wrong direction? Nah - human beings do not like to be wrong, to have others think we are wrong, or to really take full responsibility.

In Parshas Mishpatim, which is law after law after law, however, Hashem demands us to recognize our culpability. “If a man takes his animals into someone else’s field or vineyard, and he lets them trample or graze in this other person’s field or vineyard, he must make restitution with the best of his field or the best of his vineyard” (22:4).  No, you can’t blame it on the animals. You can’t claim it was the wind. You can’t say it’s the nature of the world for animals to trample and graze. You have to take responsibility. You put them there. You let them go there. 

This doesn’t mean the Torah doesn’t recognize the power of nature or the fact that not all things are in our control (I mean, beyond that idea that everything is only in Hashem’s control…). If an ox gores once, the owner isn’t held responsible - the animal is. It is assumed that there is something problematic with its nature, since the Torah even prohibits the animal’s meat from being sold. An ox who gores repetitively, however, is a different story. If someone knew that there animal had the potential to be dangerous and destructive, he should have kept that ox behind thicks walls… Beyond the fact that it probably should have been put down the first time it gored. 

The reminder that each human being has the blessing of bechira, of free will, is everywhere in these laws.

Mishpatim are often commented on as being the structure of any civil society. It is said, sometimes, that any civilization would come up with similar rules in order to function. Perhaps yes, perhaps no. But no law in the Torah is that simple because Hashem wants the Jewish people to be the best that they can be as human beings both corporeal and celestial. We take our laws of ancient times and we transform them into applications for today and for every age.

“If a fire breaks out and spreads through thorns, so that it consumes stacked or standing grain or a field, the one who kindled the fire must make restitution” (22:5). Here is an ancient law that resonates in every generation. Don’t go into a dry forest and play with matches! The destruction that could follow will be your fault!

Teenagers often think that they are invincible. Sometimes, the Jewish nation falls into that trap too. Hashem, however, always knows our potential for greatness, and the lies we tall ourselves are perfectly clear to him. 

Parshas Mishpatim – Ahava, Yirah, and the Giving of the Luchos

 It is both tempting and daunting to use this Dvar Torah to capture some significant message in this momentously difficult time for the Jewish people. We are a nation in shock, filled with sorrow and rage and, in truth, overwhelmed at the incomprehensible brutality we have witnessed. And the pasuk that most stood out in this week’s parsha was the warning against an ox that has gored before. An ox that gores the first time is returned to its pasture. An ox that has gored before cannot be trusted. Perhaps we need learn from this basic truth… violent nature does not just disappear, does not just shift. Know with whom we are dealing.

 

This week’s parsha is Parshas Mishpatim. It is interesting to note that tradition divides Jewish law into three categories: Chukim, the laws the reason for which are unclear to us like kashrus and shatnes; Edos, the laws commemorating significant moments such as the holidays; and Mishpatim, which are generally understood to be the laws of civilization – laws that any rational society would naturally adhere to… (like don’t kill and don’t kidnap, but there I go again, so I shall begin again.)

 

This week’s parsha is Parashas Mishpatim, and it is interesting to note that one could read its final chapter, Perek 24, in the same manner in which one reads the second chapter of Bereishis. It feels like a repetition, but is, instead, a different perspective. The first description of the creation of the world uses only the name Elokim, which indicates the mida of Din/Justice. The second iteration includes the name Hashem, expressing that the divine attribute of Rachamim/Compassion was added into the creation.

 

Shemos 24 returns to the account of the receiving of the Torah on Har Sinai but with a much more restrained tone. It tells the details of the preparation of Moshe and Aaron and the elders. However, since the Torah never wastes words, one wonders why Perek 24:1-18 is here. Why wasn’t all of this included in Parshas Yisro?  

 

There is an important and common discussion in Jewish texts about Ahavas Hashem (Love of Gd) and Yiras Hashem (Reverence for Gd – often translated as fear). Serving Hashem out of love is the ultimate goal, and it sounds easy. After all, we humans naturally love. We love our parents, our children, our siblings, our friends, our spouses… Of course, we also love hockey (if you’re my son), chocolate, coffee, cake, dogs, etc. Okay it’s a common comment on our overuse of the word love, but that overuse is an excellent description of just why we are taught that to get to true Ahavas Hashem, we must first truly achieve Yiras Hashem. If one really thinks about how tradition discusses love – which is, in many ways, the ultimate giving to someone else without losing oneself – one realizes that it isn’t such a simple emotion, especially when it comes to Hashem.

 

This is not to say that we do not feel Ahavas Hashem, chas v’shalom, but it is a difficult emotion to sustain.

 

Yirah, on the other hand, lends itself to a constant acknowledgement that our actions have consequences. The most common translation of Yiras Hashem is fear of Gd. Fear, however, is connected to the negative, to maintaining mitzvos so that one is not negatively affected. Yirah, as reverence implies. is a deep respect and recognition that Hashem is there as the ultimate Melech whose rule is beyond our comprehension. One can follow rules and respect authority with or without love as an acknowledgement of greater wisdom. Through this wisdom, we hope, of course, to get to Ahavas.

 

There is another interesting aspect of the human concept of love, and that is our natural propensity to wish to demonstrate it in broad, bold gestures (or, for the more introverted, in significantly meaningful moments).

 

And this brings us back to the topic at hand, the giving of the first luchos part one and part two. Har Sinai was an ideal. Bnei Yisrael had true clarity about Hashem, the world, themselves, the importance of Torah…. Everything at Har Sinai was big. It was bold. And perhaps this overwhelming expression of love was why, ultimately, the people sought out another moment of incredible connection with the cheit haegel because they couldn’t maintain that level of Ahavas Hashem but had not yet comprehended the role of Yiras Hashem to get there.

 

The second iteration of the days leading up to the giving of the Torah are about the straight-forward actions of the days of preparation. The text itself is much more restrained, which make it interesting to note that when we celebrate receiving the Torah on Shavuos, we elaborate of the pasukim of Yisro – the mountain blooming, the thunder and lightening, the greatness of the event – and in that context we often reference the term “Naaseh v’Nishma, We will do and we will listen.” This statement, however, is not written in parshas Yisro, but rather here at the end of Parshas Mishpatim. In Parshas Yisro, the people declare “All that Hashem has spoken we will do” (19:8) – absolute devotion, unconditional giving.

 

In Shemos 24, after the parsha lists many practical halachos that, it is understood, were given over to the people before Moshe ascended the mountain, we find the words Naaseh v’Nishma (24:7).  Naaseh vNishma is a statement of Yiras Hashem, of doing and listening and processing Hashem’s will. It isn’t jumping into an unsustainable.

 

Rashi notes that the world was meant to be created with Din alone, but Hashem realized that it was unsustainable, so He added Rachamim to the creation. Similarly, the ideal connection to Hashem is pure Ahava. That, however, may not be attainable for most people, and so we have a different path – a path of reverence in which we experience love and fear and a host of emotions in our understanding the full and complete nature of Hashem.

 

It often seems as if the world is full of contradictions. Din or Rachamim? Ahava or Yirah? The praising of obvious evil… The Torah makes it clear that the world, and our role in the world, will always be complex, and that He will always provide us with a path forward.

 

Parshas Mishpatim: You, Yous, and the Foundation of Being Better People

 I have often wondered why the English language, unlike so many other languages, no longer has a proper distinction between second person singular and second person plural. No matter how many people an individual is speaking to, one or many, they are all addressed as you. Because of this lacking, when one reads the parsha in English, one might easily miss subtle nuances in the text, such as that which happens in Shemos 22:22-23: “If you (s) do mistreat them [the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, all mentioned in 22:20-21], I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me, and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you (pl) to the sword, and your (pl) wives will become widows and your (pl) children orphans.”

There is something fascinating about finding these grammatical flags within the verses of the Torah. In a text in which we believe that every word has meaning and significance, even the basic grammatical participals, the transition from addressing you to you all has a purpose.

The Torah’s injunctions not to mistreat the stranger, the orphan, or the widow is an idea that gets repeated over and over throughout the Torah. These three specifications lay the foundation for building a community that cares. These three specifications are the people most easily lost, taken advantage of, or disdained in the shuffle of society and day-to-day living because most often they have no one specifically looking out for them.

One would not think that it would be necessary to codify kindness to people, especially to those in more needy situations. But God made man and God made Torah and God most certainly understands that there is, in many of us, a very natural tendency to make hierarchies. We take care of those closest to ourselves first, and then those with whom we are familiar, and then those who are other. It takes more conscious effort to be open to people in other circumstances or to empathize beyond one’s personal interest with those in exceptional circumstances.

One interesting aspect of parshas Mishpatim is that in the basic interpersonal laws that it lays down, there is a recognition of some of humankind’s natural, negative character traits. Take hatred for example. While sinas chinam, baseless hatred, is forbidden, the Torah accepts the fact that two people might become enemies. Thus it is written in the Torah: “When you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him” (23:4).

Hatred, selfishness, perversions, and violence are all possibilities of inclinations within the human condition, and parshas Mishpatim touches on many of what we might think of as uncrossable lines. It also tells us, as one can interpret from verse 23:4 (helping your enemy), that Hashem knows and expects us to be able to overcome those inclinations. You don’t like someone because they did something to you, because they said something, or because they have an opposing philosophy to life, the Torah does not say that one has to like them. But it does tell us that you have to stop and help them raise up the animal, you do have to still see that they are a person.

In Shemos 22:22-23, Hashem mandates the protection of the stranger, the widow and the orphan, because while selfishness may natural, it is not a good trait. But it is also a character trait that can be mitigated by the society around us. If those around us are generous, we have a tendency to give more of ourselves. If those around us are emotionally hard or lacking in compassion, we tend to be the same. And this, perhaps, is a lesson that can be learned from Verse 22:22-23’s shift from second person singular to second person plural. One person may be performing the act of mistreating the widow or taking advantage of an orphan or wronging a stranger, but when this happens there is an onus upon the whole community for not having come together to protect them, to look out for them. Kindness, as it is often said, begins at home; but home is also where we learn the traits of kindness that we must take into the greater world.

Mishpatim: Online Rules from the Torah (Mishpatim #2)

The word mishpatim comes from the same root as the word for judge and judging. Perhaps this is one of the main messages of this week’s parsha, that all people need to view the world in the same way as a judge must look at a court case, with the goal of always pursuing justice.

This week’s dvar Torah will focus on the initial verses of chapter 23 (the third chapter of Mishpatim). These verses are interesting because most commentaries appear to presume that these laws are specific for behaviour in a court: "You must not bear false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness. You shall neither side with the majority to do wrong - you shall not perverse testimony in dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the majority - nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute" (23:1 - 3). Not once, however, is there a reference to judges or court officials, and while all these rules most certainly apply to officers of the law, the fact is that these commandments are directed at individuals.

We live in a world in which most of us are removed from being part of the legal system. Indeed, many of us have probably had few interactions with civil courts (one hopes) or with beis din. But we live today in a society in which people are highly influenced by the judgements of others. And since we have so much access to each others’ lives, there has never been a more important time to apply the basic civilizing rules of Mishpatim to our lives. Let’s look closer:

23:1) Parents around the world are receiving constant reminders of the danger of cyberbullying to our children, and withou question, it happens to adults as well. Tearing other people down by destroying their character is obviously not a new thing, no more so than bullying, but our highly connected world has amplified the damage that can be done and thus we must always have in mind the commandment “You must not bear false rumors (or even true rumors, really); you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness.”

23:2) For the last several decades, we have seen a growing division among people. Those of different political viewpoints seem determined to believe the worst about those who differ from them. Whether you lean left or right, it has become far too easy to get swayed into demonizing the other side. Perhaps more significant is how easy it has become for each side to ignore the behavior of its own leaders, choosing to believe that one’s support needs to be all or nothing. Here we can see the significance of the the posuk: "You shall not side with the majority to do wrong.” We all tend to surround ourselves with like-minded people. Being in a so-called echo chamber makes it easy to just agree with the majority opinion, even when one’s gut is telling them that that opinion is wrong. The verse continues: “And you shall not give perverse testimony in dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the majority." The online world is full of clickbait articles, extreme opinions, and funny but difficult to doubt memes that subtly subvert the truth. A quote taken out of context or a news article from an unreliable source can be as damaging as a false testimony, since by sharing these items we are subtly saying that this is a thought with which we are in agreement.

23:4) Just as the Torah warns against siding with the majority to do wrong, it also says "nor shall you show deference to a poor man in his dispute." While this may seem obvious to some, and perhaps subtly unfair to others, this is one of the true beauties of the Torah. This statement is a recognition that it is part of human nature to want to help someone who appears to be in need - meaning both a person who is literally poor or someone viewed as an underdog. One might ask how this could be considered wrong. The answer, however, is in understanding that common culture may determine that someone or some group is the underdog, but just because that appears to be a majority view does not mean it is an accurate view. And even when there is a real underdog, the injustice of society cannot be repaired by unbalanced judgement or action. Society still has rules, and both sides must be judged fairly. The imbalance of mob mentality and the act of deferring to the underdog in a dispute can be seen throughout the current North American culture.

One example in which we can see how opinion is affected by false rumors and malicious testimony and has nevertheless become accepted because of the power of majority viewpoint is support for the BDS (BOycott, Divestment, Sanctions - an anti-Israel group) movement. People think, based on one sided information, that by supporting the Boycott Israel movement they are balancing the situation of the Palestinians in comparison to the Israelis, but, in fact, many of the companies affected by the BDS movement are companies that employ and supply all of the communities in the area. By deferring to the underdog, by assuming one is giving to the Palestinians by boycotting Israel, they have set up a new imbalance that will only lead to more conflict.

From the very inception of the Jewish people, Hashem made it clear that maintaining a just and civil society is not just a good thing to do, but our responsibility and our obligation. He also made it clear that this is not always a simple and natural societal path. Luckily, He also gave us the Torah to serve as a constant guidebook.

Being Servants of Hashem (Mishpatim)

The parsha of Mishpatim contains an assortment of sections laying out basic laws for the society being established by the Torah: “These are the rules you shall set before them [Bnei Yisrael]” (Exodus 21:1). This week’s Dvar Torah is also an assortment, one of small thoughts not necessarily attached one to another, nor supported by sources, since the week flew by without enough time for me to read through the commentaries.

Mishpatim 1 – Immediately following the introductory verse, the parsha records the rule of the Hebrew slave. “When you acquire a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; in the seventh year he shall go free, without payment…If he came single, he shall leave single; if he had a wife, his wife shall leave with him” (21:2-3)…And if a slave wants to stay with his master, his ear is pierced on the doorpost of his master’s house (ibid. 6).

If these are the rules to be set before the people, why start with the rules of a Hebrew slave. It is commonly noted that the meaning of piercing the slave’s ear by the doorpost of the house is because the mezuzah is placed on the doorpost and the slave is being chastised for preferring the rule of man to the rule of God. Could there be something else to learn from the placement of these verses?

A common discourse at Passover time is the discussion of what it means to be free. Bnei Yisrael were taken from the slavery of Egypt but were immediately brought to Sinai to be Avdei Hashem, servants of the Divine. So where was the freedom?

By introducing the laws of the Hebrew slave as the first of the mishpatim, perhaps Hashem was telling the people that one must not think negatively of having a Master, of having the laws of the Torah directing their life. Bnei Yisrael as a whole have gladly chosen to serve Hashem not for a limited time, but forever.

Mishpatim II – On January 30, one of the large, Canadian telephone companies had a share-the-message campaign to raise money for mental health. One of the underlying messages was that mental health issues are very often misunderstood and misinterpreted, which only make them harder on the afflicted individual.

What is the connection of mental health awareness and Parshat Mishpatim? In this week’s parsha there is an interesting mitzvah: “When you see the donkey of your enemy lying under its burden and would refrain from raising it, you must nevertheless raise it with him” (23:5).

Many parsha talks have been written on how this verse carries through time even to the modern age. For instance, if your unfriendly neighbor’s car is broken down at the side of the road, you should pull over and offer assistance. The verse has the beautiful, underlying message that one should push oneself particularly to help a person with whom one is not on good terms – that giving to one’s enemy helps breech the gap.

There is an often-used metaphor that the donkey, the chamor, represents the material. Human beings are God’s unique creation combining the physical/material and the spiritual. The physical is the goof, the human body. It is “burdened” with carrying the neshama, the spiritual element of man. When a person sees that his enemy’s “chamor” is struggling with its burden – when he notices his enemy afflicted in the soul – one should find a way to reach out and help them.

Mishpatim III – “You shall not accept a false report do not place your hand with a wicked person to be a false witness. You shall not follow the majority for evil, and you shall not respond concerning a lawsuit to follow many to pervert [justice].” (23:1-2).

While most commentators begin their commentary on these verses by stating that they relate to judges, the fact that it does not state so at the beginning leaves room to ponder the broader meaning. In 21^st century North America, with politics having run off the to a land of insanity and the media no longer a reliable source of news, it often feels as if mob mentality is the fashion of the day.

Because of social media, it is so easy to share a news story or a commentary, but very often people don’t take the time to research the truth behind the headlines – they simply click “share.”

More significantly, the very strong “identity politics” that are being broadcast are making it harder and harder for Jews to connect to the Torah as absolute truth. If everybody else says X is ok, isn’t it? But the Torah sets very straight rules of what is and is not okay for society, and it is our job to remain servants to Hashem and not be swayed by false reports and societal peer pressure.

For last year's post: https://cthedawn.blogspot.com/2019/02/being-servants-of-hashem-mishpatim.html