Mishpatim
The People’s Court. The Blame Game. Divorce Court. Arrest and Trial. Texas Court. Swift Justice. These are but a few of the current TV shows that offer us a glimpse at one corner of the US justice system, featuring real plaintiffs and defendants as well as a bailiff and of course, a judge. At any time during the day, you can turn on the TV and feel like you are in the courtroom, and in some cases, you can weigh in with your opinion as to what the outcome should be.
Conflict is inevitable in a society, especially when there are differing personalities and values. Consider the city of Memphis, Tennessee, with a population of approximately 650,000 (a similar number to the Children of Israel who left Egypt). Memphis is considered a “Smart City.” That term is used to describe how many cities around the world are using technology and digital information to enable everything from sustainable infrastructure to free access to the internet in public spaces. While there are many examples of how technology can be used to improve the lives of citizens, there is much more to being smart than just implementing new technology. To be truly smart, a city must continuously work to create a sustainable ecosystem where data and technology are used to improve the relationship between citizens and government, enable social innovation, improve the quality of life across communities, and deliver efficient and effective services to citizens.
Imagine if Moses had been able to set up a “smart community” for the Children of Israel. We read last week about the burden of leadership that Moses endured which prompted his father-in-law Yitro to suggest that he establish a corp of leaders to judge some of the lesser cases brought to him. Delegation of authority allowed Moses to spend quality time with his family and to maximize his time in litigation between those at odds with one another in the desert community. And then, BOOM, the Chosen People are the recipients of Ten Pronouncements that serve as a foundation for a relationship imbued in holiness … with God and with each other.
And now we read a Parashat Mishpatim, which includes a lengthy list of judgments, laws, ordinances, and rules. Did you by any chance notice that I just started a sentence with the word “and?” “And now we read …” That’s exactly how this week’s Torah portion starts – with the word “and.” Just as I connected last week’s Torah summary with this week’s reading, so are the pronouncements known as the Ten Commandments linked with this week’s extended list of rules and laws.
According to Rabbi Reuven Greenvald, “For ancient and medieval commentators, as well as some modern scholars, the detailed list of laws in this parahsa is a continuation of the giving of the Ten Commandments, bringing to a close the covenant ceremony that started at the Sinai Event. The word “and” emphasizes that connection – a connection that becomes clearer when after three chapters including Exodus 21-23 of seemingly disconnect laws, the narrative text picks up again at the foot of Mount Sinai. In this line of interpretation, we are to understand the Ten Commandments as general principles that inform the specific laws that follow.”
The desert community is certainly not a “smart city,” and does not deliver efficient and effective services to its citizens. With a compass relying on a cloud by day and a fire by night, the fledgling Israelite nation has been thrust into developmental puberty without the benefit of leadership to guide them towards becoming a mature nation. On the contrary – Moses had been the helicopter parent, not providing a framework for communal behavior. Now, seeing the amount of conflict developing between clans that sought to destroy the infrastructure of the society, it was time to “lay down the law.”
Three times within Parashat Mishpatim, reference is made to the fact that the Israelites should remember that they were slaves in the Land of Egypt. While in slavery, the rules were quite clear. Do what the task master says and you won’t get hurt. Now that they are out of the chains of servitude, who will set the boundaries? As we will see in a few weeks, the Children of Israel begin to test the limits. Chaos ensues. So it’s time to rein in the flock.
The list of laws outlined in this week’s parasha includes dealing with the Hebrew slave, damages, an eye for an eye, the goring ox, money lending, false testimony, the Sabbatical year and more. We first hear of the prohibition of cooking a kid in its mother’s milk, and we are introduced to the three pilgrimage festivals. Yes, it is time to groom this community to be a “smart city,” one that will, in time, be ready to achieve maturity and improve the relationship among themselves and with God.
It appears at times as if we are still on that journey begun by our ancestors thousands of years ago. We still live with conflict from outside forces that would seek to destroy our communal fabric. We struggle within for the moral development required to live with kedusha / holiness as our guide. We have the rules, the statutes, the ordinances. But we dare to challenge the authority for our own immediate gratification. It is what makes us human, after all. May we use the guidance offered by Torah to renew our commitment to all that God has given, so that our chosenness is one of blessing, and so that we can proudly say, as did the Children of Israel: “All that God has spoken we shall do and we shall listen – na’aseh v’nishmah.”
