Being Better: Mishpatim.23

 Being Better: Mishpatim

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

February 15, 2023

Mishpatim (“Laws,” Exodus 21:1—24:18), this week’s Torah portion, contains more commandments (fifty-three in total) than almost any other portion in the Torah. This list of civil laws presents a pretty dismal view of life 3000 years ago. Never-ending wars, slavery, sexual abuse, thievery and murder are only some of the highlights of civilization back then. In hindsight, we can disagree with some of the laws (and penalties), but it’s important to remember that the primitive conditions under which people lived required some primitive solutions. 

Slavery is a perfect example. Wars were often fought for that exact purpose: Slavery was profitable business, and until the Industrial Revolution, slavery not only supplied essential (and cheap) labor, but often was also an economic necessity. As such, the Torah does not forbid slavery but instead attempts to regulate it, defining the length of servitude and the proper way to treat slaves.

Some of the laws in Mishpatim became archaic and were voided almost as soon as they were written down: “He who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death… And he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death” (Ex. 21:15, 17). 

The commandments that prohibit oppressing the stranger, the widow or the orphan, are succinct and to the point. Others, however, were broadened beyond the specific cases they were originally meant to cover. The case of the “goring ox,” the ongoing and persistent danger presented by an animal not restrained by its owner, is one of the most widely discussed topics in Jewish law texts.

Compassion is a common motif throughout this portion. We must show understanding for the plight of the poor and defenseless, and compassion for animals (including those that belong to an enemy). The famous commandment that is fundamental to kashrut—the Jewish dietary laws— “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (Ex. 23:19) is understood in this light.

All-too-human tendencies are also discussed in this portion: Bribery “blinds clear vision and distorts the words of the righteous.” Our tendency to go along with the majority—right or wrong—is yet another example of how justice can be perverted. Prejudice and bigotry stand in the way of truth and justice, often forming the basis for laws that masquerade as righteousness, yet are neither right nor legitimate.

It's easy to dismiss this portion as arcane, yet studying it not only hones our sense of right and wrong, it reminds us of what it means to be a human being—prompting us to be caring, loving, compassionate and just, especially in a world that sadly lacks these very qualities.

Mishpatim isn’t only about laws and consequences: It’s a training manual for making us better people.

© 2023 by Boaz D. Heilman