Sources from essay by Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz in The Mussar Torah Commentary
(ז) וַיִּקַּח֙ סֵ֣פֶר הַבְּרִ֔ית וַיִּקְרָ֖א בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה נַעֲשֶׂ֥ה וְנִשְׁמָֽע׃
(7) Then he took the record of the covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said, “All that יהוה has spoken we will do and we will obey!”
The cost of living is high, our moral responsibilities are great, the demands on our time are substantial, the spiritual challenges are heavy, and relationships are complex. However, we strive for happiness and peace within that race. It seems like we can choose either complexity and anxiety or simplicity and happiness. But, must that be so? Can we choose a path of actualizing our unique potential and living with joy and inner calm? Indeed, can we find balance in the disarray of modern living?
-Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
The Torah portion of Mishpatim is as inspiring as it is overwhelming and anxiety provoking. It is a parashah packed with ethical responsibilities and societal demands that establish order, as well as ways to handle those who transgress that order. The scope of the parashah encompasses all sorts of human ills and remedies, including murder, property damage, theft, self-defense, loans, judicial process, and more. And while Mishpatim deals with concrete societal problems, it also raises a deep and disturbing question: Why is it so hard to live an ethical life? Why does the Torah add to our already hard and anxiety-provoking reality?
-Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Years ago, Alan Morinis and Avi Fertig of the Mussar Institute shared, in a program where I was learning, that the word for worry, d'agah (דְּאָגָה) has four of the first five letters of the alef-bet. The one missing is bet (ב), which represents bitachon. One who is lacking trust will end up with worry.
-Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
(1) If the thief is seized while tunneling and beaten to death, there is no bloodguilt in that case.
(20) You shall not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (21) You [communal leaders] shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. (22) If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me, (23) and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans.
(1) You must not carry false rumors; you shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness: (2) You shall neither side with the mighty to do wrong—you shall not give perverse testimony in a dispute so as to pervert it in favor of the mighty— (3) nor shall you show deference to a poor person in a dispute.
When a great person involves themself too much with details, whether by studying them or by anxiety about them, they are diminished and their stature lessened; they must return and repent with love, with greatness of soul, and bind that contents of their spiritual life with great and sublime ideas. Certainly, they must not slight any detail, and always expand force and holiness in their deeds as well.
-Rabbi Avraham Isaac HaCohen Kook
In Parashat Mishpatim, we read that "when Moses had ascended the mountain, the cloud covered the mountain" (Exodus 24:15). The Kotzker Rebbe shares that it is easy for the masses to stand afar and tremble at the sight, but Moses entered the dark cloud knowing that the deepest spiritual treasures are found not in seemingly perfect certainties, but rather in humble places that are often quite blurry and uncertain. And so, we should prepare ourselves — our hearts and our souls—for a life on earth and in the midst of the clouds.
-Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz
Questions to Ask
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What does it feel like when you are living with m'nuchat hanefesh? What does it feel like when you are living with inner turmoil? How can you become more aware of what is happening in your inner world?
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In what ways would your life change if you were able to live with more m'nuchat hanefesh?
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What is a fast-paced experience in your life to which you could bring a slow-paced inner presence and stillness?
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Parashat Mishpatim concludes with the chagim (holidays). How can holidays (and the weekly Shabbat) become transformational experiences for you? How can holidays decrease stress and help you cultivate more m'nuchat hanefesh?