February 1, 2008

Parshat Hashavua: Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18)

This Parashah, also known as Sefer Ha-Brit/ Book of the Covenant, follows immediately upon the centerpiece of the Revelation on Mt. Sinai, namely the Decalogue of Ten Commandments that we read last week.

This designation comes from near the end of our Parashah (24:7) where we read that Moses "took the (Sefer Ha-Brit) record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken, we will faithfully do.'" This Jewish Publication Society translation obscures a famous rabbinic teaching, because the literal translation of the text is "we will do and we will obey", rather than simply "we will faithfully do".

Rabbi Kushner, in the commentary to our verse in our humash, Etz Hayyim, writes, "The sages were impressed by the eagerness with which the Israelites accepted the burdens of being God's people and following God's laws. To say ‘I will do' even before one understands is to say, ‘I have faith that God will lead me in the proper path.' According to a Talmudic legend, the angels were so impressed with this show of faith that they came down from heaven and placed two crowns on the head of each Israelite, one for doing (na-aseh) and one for obeying, or seeking to understand (v'nishma). The Israelites could have responded, as most would today, ‘We will seek to understand and, if we are persuaded, we will agree to do them.' Instead having met God in Egypt, at the sea, and at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites trusted that God's demands would be reasonable and in their best interest. Just as we accept medicine from our physician on trust, without understanding what it is or how it works, and commit ourselves to marriage, to parenthood, and to career as acts of faith before we fully understand what they entail, so too the Israelites accepted God's will. There are many things in life that we cannot appreciate before we have lived them and come to appreciate their value. We must do them first (na-aseh) and only afterward realize why (nishma).

The Parashah itself constitutes a generalized list of rules of what it takes to form a just society. It begins interestingly enough with limitations on slavery. A slave is potentially the most vulnerable human being, subject to the whims of their owners. So the Torah begins by establishing that even slaves have rights that must not be violated. Our text also deals with other potentially powerless elements of society: the poor, women, the stranger, even humane treatment of enemies. Capital punishment is prescribed for the most grievous crimes: premeditated murder, violating parents and kidnapping. The Torah is interested in providing for just compensation for injuries, proper punishment for theft and various issues regarding property. Justice is a central concern as is the integrity of the judicial system. All this happened atop Mt. Sinai where Moses remained "forty days and forty nights".

Shabbat Shalom

Candle lighting: Friday, February 01,2008 5:59pm