Mishpatim משפטים

Mishpatim משפטים

This week's Torah portion, Mishpatim, laws, represents a stark departure from the kind of Torah we have been reading for the past 17 weeks. We enjoyed the awesome spectacle of the creation of the world, wandered with our forefathers and foremothers, stuck it through with Joseph from bondage to the pinnacle of power, witnessed God's miracles and our people's redemption from Pharaoh in Egypt, and last week took part in divine revelation.

We've been on a wild ride experiencing God's power, but the time of reckoning is upon us. Now that we are free of Pharaoh, God has prepared a series of laws for us to follow from now until eternity. I don't say this to imply that receiving the laws is a negative thing - perhaps the defining characteristic of Judaism is the focus on lawful action, and not belief alone - but our childhood of mostly passive participation is over. The onus has shifted onto us to uphold our end of the covenant, and as we read this week:

וְאַנְשֵׁי קֹדֶשׁ תִּהְיוּן לִי

"you will become holy people unto me (God).

This week's parsha wastes no time, the first sentence reads:

- וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם

And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them. Them, in this case, means us, the Jewish people. These laws are not for anyone else, unlike some of the Ten Commandments.

Rashi explains that when the Torah uses ואלה, (and these), it is to separate what comes next with what came before. Hence, the following laws are also from Sinai and are divinely revealed. Rashi says we should place the court of law, the Sanhedrin, next to our holiest place, the Bet HaMikdash. In other words, the following laws are not to be taken lightly.

However, as we begin to read the following משפטים, the 21st century Jew is perhaps given pause. We read about slavery, the death penalty for cursing, an eye for eye, and more. What is the connection between being a holy person unto God, and following laws that seem barbaric, cruel, and dehumanizing?

The answer is that torah, and halachah, Jewish law, is a living document. Our people have a long history of reading, analyzing and interpretating these laws not just at their most basic level, but diving to the core of what is really being said. For thousands of years now, and especially in our time, there are deep arguments about the correct interpretation of these laws and their application to daily life. I will briefly discuss 2 sets of laws found in our portion, with an eye towards showing how these laws can be either problematic and dangerous, or enlightened and inspiring, depending on how we read the text.

The first ten laws in Mishpatim deal with the particulars of slavery, it's abolishment is nowhere on the agenda. This would seem to say that the Bible is pro-slavery. If God wanted to outlaw slavery, God could have with one simple decree. By creating laws around slavery, God give a legal background for it's perpetuation. True, the biblical version makes the system more humane, but slavery is definitely legal in the bible.

On the other hand, slavery seems to fly in the face of other biblical precepts. In Genesis, we read the each human being is created in the image of God. How can one man rule over another? The Israelites just experienced firsthand the bitterness and injustice of slavery in Egypt, and now it is being recreated? We read in Leviticus 25:55 that we are to be slaves only to God, and not to men - so how could slavery be ok?

During the American Civil War, almost all of the thought leaders on both sides were deeply religious men. The theological underpinnings of the conflict focused on whether the Bible supported slavery or its abolition. Even back then, the "battle over hearts and minds" was very much in effect, and both sides could make solid biblical points. Abraham Lincoln said it best at his second inaugural speech:

“Both read the same Bible and pray to the same G‑d, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just G‑d’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged.”

Bruce Feller's book America's Prophet goes into this fascinating topic at great length, but for now, let's leave it like this: One can make a sound biblical case either way.

Another potentially controversial law is stated in Chapter 22, Verse 27:

אֱ־לֹהִים לֹא תְקַלֵּל וְנָשִׂיא בְעַמְּךָ לֹא תָאֹר

You shall not curse a judge, neither shall you curse a prince, or ruler, among your people.

Note the first word of the pasuk - א-לוהים . We usually translate this word as "God," but in this context our sages take it to mean the judges, who are interperting God's laws.

From this vantage point, it's easy to understand that by cursing a judge, who is representing God's laws, you are indirectly cursing God, clearly a violation. This point of view can be taken pretty far:

I have a friend who studied at a few Haredi Yeshivot for ladies, and lived in their community for a number of years, both in New York and Jerusalem. She explained to me that members of the community, and especially young people, frequently go to their rabbis for advice on any topic imaginable, and that the decision of a community's rabbi is unappealable - they basically have the authority of God. You are forbidden to ask a second Rabbi the same question you posed to the first Rabbi - "God" doesn't change his mind or permit disagreement.

Another interaction I had illustrates a similar point: I sat in the office very-hard line Orthodox Rabbi as he explained to me the details of a public debate he had with a Conservative Rabbi. In the end it came down to the following: He pointed to a duffel bag on the floor, loaded down with papers. The rabbi said that using those papers he can trace the teachings of his Rabbi all the way back to Mt. Sinai and divine revelation. Can the Conservative Rabbi do that? To him, that was the end of the argument.

On the other hand, there is the opinion that to "curse" is different than to criticize. To libel, call names and demonize is clearly wrong - but in a democracy, we have the right, nay, the responsibility, to constructively criticize our leaders if we disagree with them. It is the job of the people to make sure justice and the rule of law is dispensed properly.

There is lots of biblical precedent for this type of criticism. In last week's Parsha, Moses's Father-in-Law Yitro, an idol worshipper no less, tells Moses he is acting improperly, and that he will wear both himself and the people out. Moses accepts his advice and changes the way cases are judged.

We also have the prophet Natan's famous rebuke of King David, after David had Bathsheba's husband killed so he could commit adultery with her. (2nd Samuel 11-12) Natan has the gall to approach the king directly, and gets David to confess.

Finally, we have the ultimate example - Abraham arguing with God God's self before the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah.

"Will you destroy the righteous along with the wicked? ... Far be it from You to do a thing such as this, to put to death the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous should be like the wicked. Far be it from You! Will the Judge of the entire earth not perform justice?" (Genesis 18: 23 and 25)

It doesn't get more chutzpadik than that!

Clearly, this law can be interperated in at least two different ways. The way I see it, one view punishes any kind of dissent and stifles intellectual investigation, while the other view opens the door to accountability, better governance, and the empowerment of the individual neshama. You can probably gather from my presentation which point of view I support, but the point is that a biblical argument can be made to support either one!

This is vitally important to us today because the Jewish people, and the world in general, stands at a crossroads. The forces of intolerance and religious extremism are making inroads all over the world - from to Iran to Nigeria, Egypt to Malaysia, Jerusalem to New York, and B'nei Brak to small town USA.

There are those who will fight extremism with appeals to Western ideals and modern philosophy, and we can certainly participate. However, it is our job, as Jews, to make our voices heard through the words of Torah. Not the Torah of exclusivity and power over others, rather the Torah of light and love, empowerment and connectedness with other human beings and God.

We cannot afford to let the powers of extremism take sole possession over the Holy Books, we must fight to take them back and make our voices heard. To truly have a say in this debate, we must know our roots. To study, read, learn, interpret and most of all - take action. If we believe ourselves to be the chosen people, then let us choose to take on this holy mission to bring the light of God into this world and make it a better place.

I wish all of us the opportunity to study some Torah, have an impassioned discussion, and find the courage to, as Gandhi said "be the change you want to see in the world," .