Hello and Shabbat Shalom! Here, again, is Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa, based in Mason City. Glad you are here. Before we get into this week's Parsha; mark your calendars. President Steckman has set aside March 10 and 11 as our next service and Midrash. Both will take place at the shul. So looking forward to seeing you and our Midrash continues to grow with more people coming to discuss faith issues. It's a great, no pressure event. Let's move on to this week's Parsha.
Parsha Mishpatim
The word mishatim means laws or ordnances as we read in the first sentence: "And these are the laws/ordnances that you shall place before them." (Ex. 21:1). Parsha Mishpatim (Ex. 21:1 - 24:18) contains the most mitzvot (commandments) than any other Parsha. In this rather short section there are 23 positive commandments (You shall...") and 30 negative commandments ("You shall not...).
Included are laws regarding: the Hebrew manservant and maidservant, manslaughter, murder, injuring a parent, kidnapping, cursing a parent, personal injury, penalty for killing a slave, personal damages, injury to slaves, categories of damages and compensatory restitution, culpability for personal property damage, seduction, occult practices, idolatry, and oppression of widows, children, and orphans.
Whew!
But Wait! There's More!
The portion continues with the laws of: lending money, not cursing judges or leaders, tithes, first-born sons, justice, returning strayed animals, assisting the unloading of an animal fallen under its load, Sabbatical year, Shabbat, and the Three Festivals (Pesach, Shavuot, and Succot)
A word or two about lending money that you may find interesting. In this week’s Torah reading we find the verse which Maimonides bases the obligation to lend money to those in need: “If you will lend money […] do not pressure him to repay (if you know he doesn’t have the means)” (Ex. 22:24). The Hebrew word that the Torah uses is “im,” which generally means “if.”
However, our rabbis have determined that while the Torah uses the language of “if,” the Torah really means “when.” In other words, it is an obligation to lend to those in need.
The Lesson
Since the Torah wrote “im – if,” the implication is that lending money is not an obligation. Yet our tradition mandates that one must lend money to someone in need, and that it is very much an obligation. So this begs the question: If the Torah intended it to be an obligation, then why is it written as if it were merely optional?
Anyone who is familiar with Jewish traditional practices knows that when it comes to the performance of mitzvot – positive commandments – there is generally a blessing that is said prior to the performance of the said mitzvah. For example, before eating matzah on Passover, or blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, or lighting the Hanukah candles, there is always a blessing to recite.
Yet, strangely enough, one category of mitzvot does not have any blessings made prior to their performance: that of interpersonal kindness. So, even though we are bound to honor our parents, we do not make a blessing prior to complying with that Torah mandated obligation. So too, we have a Torah mandated obligation to give charity, but we do not make a blessing prior to giving.
The reason for this is that these commandments are there to build relationships between people. If we were required to make a blessing whenever we helped someone or did something for our parents, we would be missing the point. We are supposed to do it because we want to do something for them not because G-d commanded it. Worse yet, we would be objectifying them as merely a means to fulfill a commandment.
This is why the Torah writes “if” when the actual intention is that lending money to someone in need is obligatory. The Torah is teaching us how we should treat the borrower. We shouldn’t treat the borrower as if it is merely an obligation, and that’s the only reason why we are helping them. Rather, we need to take the attitude that it’s optional and that we WANT to help them. The Torah writes it this way so that we are sensitive to the emotional wellbeing of the borrower.
Finally
Mishpatim concludes with the promise from the Almighty to lead us into the land of Israel, safeguard our journey, ensure the demise of our enemies, and guarantee our safety in the land – if we uphold the Torah and do the mitzvot.
In other words the mitzvot are there to help guide us on our life journey and we are truly blessed when we take that path.
Thank you for reading and Shabbat Shalom!
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