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Dvar Torah On Parashah "Mishpatim"
Given by Irv Cohen on February 25, 2006 (27 Shevat 5766
)
On this the 52nd anniversary of my Bar Mitzvah, I want to note that while I have retained my membership in Congregation KTI in Port Chester, New York where I grew up, Barbara and I have now been members of Tikvat Israel for more than thirty years. As we look back on our years of involvment we are thankful for the spiritual support of Rabbi Gorin which has been a foundation of much of our work over the past three decades in the jewish community. The membership and lay leadership of Tikvat Israel has met many challenges over the years and we are proud to call this community our spiritual home.
Background Of Events
This week's Torah portion deals with the laws set before the people by Moses and continues the narrative of the Ten Commandments in Yitro, which we read last week. On one level, Mishpatim deals extensively with the "laws", yet on another level, I believe it provides us with key insights to our own individual growth.
If we were this morning to limit our discussion to only the bare legal terminology of the parshah, we would be ignoring the importance of the inter-connection between the giving of the Torah and the Covenant between God and the jewish people.
Role Of The Covenant
For Mishpatim builds on the Covenant between God and the Jewish people as set out in Yitro at chapter 19, verse 5. In today's parlance one can view the Covenant as a mission statement for the relationship to be established between God and the jewish people. Yes!! A mission statement for all to see, and for generations to ponder its true meaning. For, in Yitro God declares:
"Now, if you will listen to me, and keep my Covenant, you will be a precious treasure to me among all the peoples..."
Some two-dozen fateful words.
- Words for generations to strive to live by;
- Words for generations to debate their true meaning in man's journey through the cosmos requirements of the Covenant
"Now, if you will listen to me, and keep my Covenant..."
This is an "action" part of the statement and has two key requirements:
- one flowing from God to the jewish people; and
- the other from the jewish people to God.
"If you will listen to me..."
what does this refer to? Listen to what
Relationship Of Law To The Covenant
As we learn in today's portion, the laws now being ordained by God and why is this clear? Does not the Covenant stop with the giving of the Ten Commandments? I think the answer is -- no!! For, I would suggest the laws set forth in Mishpatim are tied into, and are an integral part of, the revelation. They are bound together as an integral whole. If you will -- the law is not some postscript to the Ten Commandments. As the very first letter of today's parshah tells us "ןאלה" (vialeh)
"and these are the laws..."
The beginning of the portion instructs us that the laws in Mishpatim are a continuum directly related both as to timing and content to the giving of the Ten Commandments. They are not some addendum tacked on, but are part and parcel of the revelation at mt. Sinai.
Commitment Of The Jewish People
Turning next, we have the phrase...
"and keep my Covenant"
Here is the commitment of the jewish people to God. It is through this commitment that we -- the Jewish people -- become collectively responsible for the observance of the laws of the Torah. For, it is through the observance of the laws and mitzvot in the Torah that we are reminded of God's presence and our relationship with our creator.
"Now, if you will listen to me, and keep my Covenant...."
Words that are two inter-related parts ... bound one to the other and, as such, each has an important role.
And how is it the people respond to this challenge? At Mishpatim, chapter 24, verse 7 we read:
"we will do and we hear everything that God has said."
We will "do" and then we "hear" -- the doing is placed before hearing.
Consequence Of Accepting The Covenant
This order of the acceptance of the Covenant suggests that the doing of mitzvot should come from the heart and the soul. For in doing mitzvot from the heart, one can set in motion a whole series of actions by others who observe the goodness of your heart. For, as we know, visual action leaves more of an impression than a verbal report about the same event. It is also in the actual doing that we develop a basis of understanding God's guidance.
Importance Of The Order Of The Laws
So, as we see, Mishpatim is building on the events of Yitro and provides further divine guidance as Moses -- in the words of the Torah -- sets the law out to the people. Like a feast to be placed on a table Moses is told to "...set before..." the people the laws.
Before we move on, look to see what is not said. See what it is Moses is not told to do. For Moses is not told to "order the people" with respect to the laws. The Torah language suggests that while these are divinely inspired laws, Moses is to set them out this phrase set before also conjures up the thought there is an order to the laws hence, there is a suggestion of a reason for the sequence in which they are "...set before them..."
Turning to the various laws you can see the laws are very rational, and for the most part could have been the result of a human effort. However, it is important to the Covenant that Moses "..Set...." Them out, as the presence of Moses will provide emphasis the laws are divinely ordained and are to have religious as well as civil authority. For only Moses among the Jewish people,
- who was their leader before a powerful Pharaoh; and
- who so recently showed them the way out of bondage,
would have the credibility.
Basis For Order In Which The Laws Are Described
Now, for a moment let us take a look at the organization of the laws. In a macro sense, they regulate the relationship
- of man to God, and
- the relationship of man to man, and
- then the relationship of man to his community.
But at the beginning there does seem to be a disconnect as the very first laws presented are those governing the treatment of jewish slaves.
At first I found this very troubling, since it worked havoc with my perception of the organization of the laws. The commentary I read did not provide satisfying answers as to why this specific set of laws is presented first. For the jewish people not so long ago were themselves slaves in egypt and are not far removed from their own slavery experience. Perhaps a reminder of their experience of bondage was necessary for them to fully understand the importance of a community built on justice.
As slaves in egypt they lived in and were subject to an autocratic regime
- a regime without any laws for them
- their "law" was arbitrary and capricious and was subject to being changed from moment to moment.
To this very day, at our Passover Seder we recall how the burdens of the JeFwish slaves were increased by Pharaoh and how Pharaoh attempted to weaken the social fabric of those hebrews in the midst of the egyptians. The murder of newborn babies was even made lawful. The law -- as it were -- changed from moment to moment and was unpredictable.
So, I suggest, by first introducing the laws on slavery we are being reminded of what it was like to live in a lawless society. Hence we have here a twin reminder of both:
- the chaos of a life without God's laws; and
- our ultimate redemption from bondage in egypt.
Laws as a plan for society's development.
We then move on to the more traditional laws, laws which to this very day are the foundations of our western society. And in this organization of the laws in Mishpatim we can see a well thought out plan for the social development of man into a community bound together by law.
- First we have the criminal law, where the community is moved out of the barbaric state - where the law as an institution is necessary to deal with man's violent behavior;
- then the law moves on to dealing with the non-violent, non-malicious conflicts -- conflicts arising out of disagreements, rather than irresponsible conduct that is overly anti-social to the community; and
- finally, we move to those laws which are necessary for a strife free society.
A society in which the role of the law is to establish boundaries of acceptable harmonious conduct and provides a process for reducing and eliminating conflict. As such, it is a reminder that a civil society is one with both rights and obligations. Something that, at times, seems to be sorely missing in 21st century American society.
Reminder Of Bondage In Egypt
In the laws dealing with strangers in our midst we are again harkened back to the historical backdrop of years of bondage and suffering without the benefit of laws to protect us. We are again reminded
"...You were strangers in the land of egypt...."
Time and time again in the Torah, and our liturgy, we are reminded of the searing collective experience of bondage and of a life without laws. We are reminded of the importance of God in redeeming us from that bondage, further re-enforcing the divine nature of the mitzvot.
Mishpatim's Relationship To Self Development
I want to finish this morning's discussion with the thought that the sequence of the stages of behavior addressed by the laws in the Mishpatim, also provides a path for our individual human development. For:
- by observing God's mitzvot, we proceed from dealing with negative forces in our lives and violent emotions that are destructive to the quality of our lives and destructive of our relationships with our families and our community.
- And like violent anti-social behavior controlled by the criminal laws, these are among the most difficult negative forces for us to control
- only once we overcome these negative forces and violent emotions, are we then able to enjoy some peace with our family and our community
- only when at peace with our community and family are we then truly able to deal with the more subtle and internal destructive forces and behavior preventing us from understanding ourselves and our spiritual needs.
Finally-- as we develop this understanding and bring the negative forces in our lives under control, only then are we are fully at peace with ourselves and able to establish a life that is fueled by our own free will. In doing so, we can then permit our inner strengths
- to marshal our own resources;
- to marshal our intellect; and
- to channel our ambition and initiative so as to bring a peaceful wholeness into our lives.
Mitzvot As A Passageway
Hence we clearly see
- that acts of loving kindness,
- acts that help repair the world,
are a passageway for us to achieve this peacefulness and to improve the quality of our lives; and bring some peace to the lives of those we reach out and touch. For in doing so, we are then establishing a spiritual partnership with our creator -- a partnership that will impart meaning and constructive movement to our lives.
Yes, the Torah in Mishpatim has much to teach us and much to show us -- and is a call to action for each of us.
Shabbat Shalom
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