Torah portion:  Mishpatim; Exodus 21:1-24:18

One of my closest rabbinic friends was a lawyer for many years before becoming a rabbi. 

You might think that lawyers and rabbis are vastly different professions, but as my friend often points out, our legal system is actually based quite heavily on the Judaic emphasis on laws.  That is why his favorite Torah portion is this week’s portion, Mishpatim.  Mishpatim literally means laws, and the portion is filled with the civil laws governing the ancient Israelites.  The laws cover everything from slavery (yes, it is permitted in the Torah, but only with strict limits and rules—every slave must be allowed their freedom after six years) to punishment for kidnapping and murder to taking care of lost property. 

These laws are detailed, wide-ranging, and in many cases, follow common sense.  For example, if you dig a pit and do not cover it, you are held liable if a person—or a person’s property—is hurt by falling into a pit.  You can see how this would apply today in our legal system.  However, there is one significant difference between the legal system in America, and the legal system of the Torah.  Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk teaches that while all people have civil laws, the difference is that for us, when following the Torah’s civil laws, we “praise God through these laws.”  Acting ethically is not just the right thing to do; it is the holy thing to do.  Perhaps this is why, throughout Jewish history, we have always held so strongly to our ethics.  They are not just the right way to live, the right way to be; they are the way we praise God in our every day actions.  This is yet another gift the Torah gives to us—by doing what is right, we bring a spark of holiness into the world.  A precious gift, indeed.

I hope your Shabbat and week to come is filled with many opportunities to do the right—and holy—thing.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Annie