Dear Friends;
I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;
” Parsha in a Nutshell ”
The Jewish People receive a series of civil laws concerning social justice. Topics include: Proper treatment of Jewish slaves/servants; a husband’s obligations to his wife; penalties for hitting people and for cursing parents; rules governing the conduct of judges and leaders; financial responsibilities for damaging people or their property; payments for theft; for not returning an object that one accepted responsibility to safeguard; the right to self-defense of a person being robbed.
Other topics include: Prohibitions against seduction; witchcraft, relationship with animals and sacrifices to idols. The Torah warns us to treat the convert, widow and orphan with dignity, and to avoid lying. Lending money to get interest is forbidden and the rights over collateral are limited. Payment of obligations to the Temple should not be delayed, and the Jewish People must be holy, even concerning food. The Torah teaches the proper conduct for judges in court proceedings. The commandments of Shabbat and the Sabbatical year are outlined. Three times a year — Pesach, Shavuot and Succot — we are to come to the Temple. The Torah concludes this listing of laws with a law of kashrut — not to mix milk and meat.
The people of Israel promise to do and listen to everything that G-d says. Moshe ascends the mountain to remain there for 40 days in order to receive the two Tablets of the Covenant.
” Dvar Torah ”
The main topic of discussion in this week’s Parsha is the “Jewish Civil laws”, the laws between man and his fellow. Parashat Mishpatim immediately follows Parashat Yitro, where the highlight of the Parsha was the Ten Commandments, when the Benei Israel reached their highest level of spirituality, and they had their closest encounter with the Almighty! The sequence of these two Parashiot bothers the Chachamim and raises the following questions. Why did the Benei Israel have to learn the civil laws immediately after they reached their spiritual peak? Why does the Torah connect spirituality with earthly matters? Shouldn’t the sequence after the Ten Commandments be about building the “Mishkan”, the Temple for G-d, where the people can continue with their spiritual bliss, rather than to teach the nation about the civil laws?
The Chachamim give the following explanation: Unlike the western society where they make a separation between “Church and State”, Judaism does exactly the opposite. In Judaism, “Religion” is our “State”!! The Torah is telling us that you cannot reach holiness without acting just and compassionate towards your fellow human beings. Spirituality or holiness should not be limited to Temples or places of worship only, but rather, the ultimate closeness to G-d can only be achieved when you would bring holiness to your courtrooms, boardrooms and even to your bedrooms! Unlike the gentile nations, where they measure their level of holiness by only looking at the relationship between man and G-d, Judaism looks at the relationship between man and man to find holiness. That’s why the civil laws are given immediately after the revelation at Sinai, since to be holy we need to learn how to treat our brother justly first!
So, out of more than 50 civil laws given to us in this week’s parsha, which one do you think was the first law that the Torah introduce to us? The parsha starts with discussing the laws of “Eved Ivri” [Hebrew slave, or obligated servant].
A very strange choice of a law if you may ask me?! The Jews just spent the last 210 years as slaves. Judaism started when the Almighty felt compassionate towards the Hebrew slaves and decided that it is time to FREE his people. Why would the Torah even introduce the idea of taking slaves again? Shouldn’t the first laws start with teaching about compassion for other human beings and equality among people? Out of all the laws dictated to a newly liberated people, shouldn’t the concepts of masters and servants be discouraged to them? Why are those laws given first?
Well, first we need to understand how does a Jew become a slave? One way is if someone steals and cannot afford the restitution that the Torah mandates, then the Bet Din sells the thief to reimburse the victim of the theft. So now, a new question arises; Why do we even need to learn about the laws concerning the rights of a slave who in turn was a thief anyway?!
Rabbi Frand gives a beautiful answer to this question. He says the following. The Torah is teaching us how one must treat another human being. Which human being does the Torah choose to illustrate this point first? The thief! The mere word brings up the image of a despicable character. This person, who in other societies is thrown into jail to rot away, is not to be so treated in a Jewish society. He, too, is a human being whose respect we must maintain. Although the Torah punishes a thief by taking away his freedom, but it does not take away his pride and honor!
Our Sages tell us that when one acquires a Jewish slave, it is as if he has acquired a master for himself. For starters, his maximum period of indenture is six years. It is forbidden to give him demeaning labor such as putting shoes on his master. His master must share whatever food he has with his slave. If the master eats white bread, he may not give his slave dark bread. If he drinks wine he may not give his slave water. If he sleeps on a soft bed he may not give his slave straw on which to sleep. And if the master only has one pillow, the slave gets the pillow. So, if we need to go so much out of our ways to preserve the thief’s dignity and pride, then how much more we should treat someone with respect who is not a thief, but rather, is our peer, our equal, and our friend!!
Yes my friends, the Torah is teaching us a great lesson. Our civil laws start by teaching us to have respect for our fellow human beings. Whether it’s the President, a Minister, a Rabbi, a doctor, a businessman, a housewife, a maid, a beggar in the street or even a thief, they ALL need to be respected! Because we have all been made in the image of G-d, and anyone who has the image of G-d needs to be respected! We should never look down on other people and see ourselves as superior. The Torah is telling us that we are allowed to have employees, maids and servants, but we have to make sure to treat them with respect, dignity and honor!
Remember that to be respected, is not something you can buy, but rather, it’s something you have to earn. And the best way to earn your respect is by respecting others first!!
Shabbat Shalom & Regards;
Martin