The entire country has been engrossed in litigation this past week as we follow the impeachment trials. Many questions of Constitutional Law have been raised: Can a former President be impeached if he is no longer in office? What defines “incitement of violence”? Where does the law draw the line between incitement of violence and strong encouragement to support a political position? Is incitement considered a criminal act?
Interpretation of law and its application is nothing new to Judaism. We are familiar with many generations of halachic authorities who devoted their lives to interpreting the Torah’s laws. We know about a Bais Din that will analyze every case carefully and examine exactly how to apply the law. There is, however, a vast difference between Torah law and civil law that is hinted to in the beginning of this week’s parsha.
This week’s parsha, Mishpatim, is the first parsha of the Torah dedicated almost entirely to Torah law, pasuk after pasuk we are introduced to new mitzvos and their many detailed halachos encrypted in the dense and Divine language of the Torah. Mishpatim refers to a specific area of halacha, civil law. The very first Rashi in this week’s parsha explains that the opening word of the parsha “v’eileh” (when spelled with a vav) is meant to connect this parsha to the end of the previous. This is to teach us that just as last week’s parsha ended with the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai so too all the mishpatim of this week’s parsha were given on Har Sinai.
Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter Z”l, the late Gerrer Rebbe and author of Chidushei HaRim, asks why this allusion is necessary, do we not already know that all the mitzvos are from Har Sinai? Furthermore, why is this allusion placed specifically here; there are many other sections of the Torah where mitzvos are listed? Chidushei HaRim answers that mishpatim are unique. Mishpatim are civil laws, matters of monetary consequence-how much must a thief pay for restitution, how damages are assessed, when someone is deemed negligent, etc. This area of halacha lends itself to a common mistake, that we may begin to believe that these laws are not Hashem’s laws from Har Sinai, rather they are man’s laws. Therefore, the Torah must express specifically here that these laws were also given by Hashem at Har Sinai.
There is another source in the first pasuk of this week’s parsha that also points to this concept. Moshe is told, “These are the ordinances that you shall place before them.” Rashi comments on the language “place before them” which is rather unusual when discussing disseminating Torah law. Rashi explains that this language was used to indicate to Moshe that he must continue reviewing the laws of the Torah with the Jewish people again and again until they are placed before them clearly as a set table. I once heard a beautiful insight into why the example of the set table is used. What do we put on our table? Food. Just as we are careful to never put any non-kosher food on our table so too me must be careful in the area of mishpatim. If ever we are faced with a scenario of money that is owed to someone else, we should look at it like its treif, this is treif money! It’s not kosher, I won’t touch it!
There seems to be a certain disconnect that occurs between the monetary laws of the Torah and all other laws. When faced with a question of “Do I owe him money?”, we usually do not view this as a question of “What does Hashem’s Torah require of me?” All to often, we decide on our own whether we owe the money or not. The temptation to rationalize is very great, “I know I scratched his car, but he shouldn’t have parked that way.” Ultimately, this stems from our ability to view these laws differently than the rest of the Torah, “These aren’t Hashem’s mitzvos they are civil law.”
May Hashem help us to overcome this challenge and recognize clearly that every single halacha of the Torah was equally given by Hashem at Har Sinai. May we respond to the temptation to cut corners and not be 100% honest with the same disdain if we were to find a pork roast on our table. Torah law is not civil law, civil law is created by man and interpreted by man. Torah law is the word of G-d, our job is not to determine what is most logical to us, but rather what was meant by G-d. May we approach all areas of life with the same focus on the direction of the Torah and may we truly become the people of G-d.