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MIshpatim ~ Behind the deeds

~ As we read, what kind of laws does Mishpatim deal with?

~ Look closely at the very beginning of our portion.

~ When were these words said? What happened in Yitro? In the arc of the story of Bnai Israel, where are we?

וְאֵ֙לֶּה֙ הַמִּשְׁפָּטִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר תָּשִׂ֖ים לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃
These are the rules that you shall set before them:

ואלה המשפטים. כָּל מָקוֹם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "אֵלֶּה" פָּסַל אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, "וְאֵלֶּה" מוֹסִיף עַל הָרִאשׁוֹנִים, מָה הָרִאשׁוֹנִים מִסִּינַי, אַף אֵלּוּ מִסִּינַי...

AND NOW THESE ARE THE JUDGMENTS — Wherever אלה, “these are”, is used it cuts off the preceding section from that which it introduces; where, however, ואלה “and these” is used it adds something to the former subject (a continuation of it). So also here: “And these are the judgments (these, also)”: What is the case with the former commandments (the עשרת הדברות)? They were given at Sinai! So these, too, were given at Sinai! (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:1:1 etc)

Rashi's first point: the Aseret Hadibrot are not the most important, as some would like to believe. They are important, but these, too, are important. Why? Why does all come from Sinai?

אשר תשים לפניהם. אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּבָּ"ה לְמֹשֶׁה: לֹא תַעֲלֶה עַל דַּעְתְּךָ לוֹמַר, אֶשְׁנֶה לָהֶם הַפֶּרֶק וְהַהֲלָכָה ב' אוֹ ג' פְּעָמִים, עַד שֶׁתְּהֵא סְדוּרָה בְּפִיהֶם כְּמִשְׁנָתָהּ, וְאֵינִי מַטְרִיחַ עַצְמִי לַהֲבִינָם טַעֲמֵי הַדָּבָר וּפֵרוּשׁוֹ, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם – כְּשֻׁלְחָן הֶעָרוּךְ וּמוּכָן לֶאֱכֹל לִפְנֵי הָאָדָם (שם):

WHICH YOU SHALL PUT BEFORE THEM — God said to Moses: It should not enter your mind to say, “I shall teach them a section of the Torah or a single Halacha twice or three times until it becomes current in their mouths exactly according to its wording (until they know the text by heart), but I shall not take the trouble to make them understand the reason of each thing and its significance”; therefore Scripture says, “which you shall set before them” — like a table fully laid before a person with everything ready for eating (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 21:1:1).

~ What is the midrash brought by Rashi teaching us? What is the worry, if we could say, of God in relation to Moshe?

~ Is this a reasonable worry?

אַרְבָּעָה אֲבוֹת נְזִיקִין, הַשּׁוֹר וְהַבּוֹר וְהַמַּבְעֶה וְהַהֶבְעֵר. לֹא הֲרֵי הַשּׁוֹר כַּהֲרֵי הַמַּבְעֶה, וְלֹא הֲרֵי הַמַּבְעֶה כַּהֲרֵי הַשּׁוֹר. וְלֹא זֶה וָזֶה, שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶן רוּחַ חַיִּים, כַּהֲרֵי הָאֵשׁ, שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ רוּחַ חַיִּים. וְלֹא זֶה וָזֶה, שֶׁדַּרְכָּן לֵילֵךְ וּלְהַזִּיק, כַּהֲרֵי הַבּוֹר, שֶׁאֵין דַּרְכּוֹ לֵילֵךְ וּלְהַזִּיק. הַצַּד הַשָּׁוֶה שֶׁבָּהֶן, שֶׁדַּרְכָּן לְהַזִּיק וּשְׁמִירָתָן עָלֶיךָ. וּכְשֶׁהִזִּיק, חָב הַמַּזִּיק לְשַׁלֵּם תַּשְׁלוּמֵי נֶזֶק בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ:
There are four primary causes of injury: the ox and the pit and the crop-destroying beast and fire. [The distinctive feature of] the ox is not like [that of] the crop-destroying beast, nor is [the distinctive feature of] either of these, which are alive, like [that of] fire, which is not alive; nor is [the distinctive feature of] any of these, whose way it is to go forth and do injury, like [that of] the pit, whose way it is not to go forth and do injury. What they have in common is that it is their way to do injury and that you are responsible for caring over them; and if one of them did injury whoever [is responsible] for the injury must make restitution [to the damaged party] with the best of his land.

~ Mishpatim is famous because of its person-to-person connections. It is the very beginning of the largest section of the Talmud, affectinately called the Bavas, which are "the Gates". They are Bava Kamma, the First Gate, Bava Metzia, the MIddle Gate and Bava Batra, the Last Gate. All that deals with what is called Tort Law, or Damages. It is a funny thing, but Damages is seen as very important - the way of the pious, by RAv Yehuda.

אמר רב יהודה האי מאן דבעי למהוי חסידא לקיים מילי דנזיקין רבא אמר מילי דאבות ואמרי לה מילי דברכות:
Rav Yehuda says: One who wants to be pious should observe the matters of tractate Nezikin, so as to avoid causing damage to others. Rava said he should observe the matters of tractate Avot. And some say he should observe the matters of tractate Berakhot.

Others disagree, of course, and , but take a few moments to contemplate that actions are our effect in the world, and what reality we create for others. Then of course, being careful not to cause damage becomes really important. The Bavas, by the way, also talk about shame and embarrassing others. So "tort law", in Judaism, also comprises how badly you make someone feel. This is why the Netivot Shalom, Rebbe Shalom Noach Berezovsky, affirms that the four damage-causing forces in the world are actually symbols of internal forces in a human being:

Shor, the OX, symbolizes our arrogance;

Bor, the PIT, symbolizes our feelings of hopelessness;

Maveh (crop-destroying), the TEETH, symbolizes our untamed physical desires;

Esh, the FIRE, symbolizes our inclination to do evil.

With each and every one of these, we create a worse reality for others. When we are not aware of our impulses and do not try to tame them; when we do not respond, but react; when we indulge in being low and try to bring everyone near us to feel as low as we are; when we feel we need to be bigger and better than anyone else - in all those moments we damage our relationships with other people, and with the world. Observing all these laws is the tip of the iceberg, however.

(כח) הַ֨נִּסְתָּרֹ֔ת לַיהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְהַנִּגְלֹ֞ת לָ֤ׄנׄוּׄ וּׄלְׄבָׄנֵׄ֙יׄנׄוּׄ֙ עַד־עוֹלָ֔ם לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת אֶת־כָּל־דִּבְרֵ֖י הַתּוֹרָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ (ס)
(28) Concealed acts concern the LORD our God; but with overt acts, it is for us and our children ever to apply all the provisions of this Teaching.

...וצריך שתדע, למשל כשאתה מדבר עם אדם אחד עם מי אתה מדבר, הלא עם נשמתו וחיותו והראיה שבצאת נפשו כי מת, ודאי לא מדבר עמו, כך כשאנו לומדים התורה הנגלית, צריך שנדע שאנו מדברים עם הנשמה והחיות של הנגלה שהוא הנסתר דהיינו מהותו יתברך, כי הוא יתברך נשמה לנשמות והוא יתברך החיות של כל העולמות. כמאמר רז״ל הן הן גופי תורה, שכל התורה שבכתב ושבע״פ וכל המצות הנגלות הן המה הגוף של התורה, ומוכרח להיות בהן החיות והפנימיות דהיינו הרזין דאורייתא שהוא מהותו יתברך כנ״ל, וצריך לייחד הגוף עם הנשמה. וזהו לעשות את כל דברי התורה הזאת, דהיינו שצריך לייחד הגוף עם הנשמה שהם הרזין דאורייתא. ... וכן במצוה צריכים אנחנו לעשות מעשה המצוה שהוא הנגלה, והנסתר דהיינו הסוד של המצוה הוא הנשמה והחיות שלה שהוא מהותו יתברך, ולכן כשעושה בלא כוונה הוא כגוף בלא נשמה, כי מעשה המצוה הוא הגוף, והכוונה שהוא הסוד הוא הנשמה והחיות של המצוה, וצריך לייחד הגוף עם הנשמה ... וזהו שכר מצוה מצוה שמתדבק בה׳ הוי״ה ב״ה, ואין לך שכר גדול מזה. ...

And you need to know that when you speak with a human being, with whomever you speak, you are speaking with that person's soul and life-force. And the proof of that is that when that person's soul leaves, obviously you won't speak with him/her anymore because they are dead. So too, when we study the Explicit Torah, we need to know that we are talking with the Soul and the Life-Force of the Explicit, which is Concealed, that is, the Holy One. The Holy One is the Soul of all souls, and the Life-Force of all the worlds. As our sages, z"l, say: they are the body of the Torah, because all the Written Torah and the Transmitted Torah, and all the explicit mitzvot they are the body of Torah, and inside them there needs to be a Force towards Life and an Inwardness, which are the secrets of Torah, which are the Essence of the Holy One, and we need to unify body and soul. This is "to do all the words of this Torah" - we need to make the soul and the body become one, and these are the secrets of Torah... and so too, when we do a mitzvah, we need to do the deed, which is the revealed part, and the hidden part, that is the secret of each mitzvah which is the Soul and the Life-Force behind it, which is the Essence of the Blessed One, and therefore, when one does a mitzvah without intention, it is like a body without a soul, since the deed of the mitzvah is the body, and the intention, which is the secret, is the soul and the life-force of the mitzvah, and we need to unify the body with the soul... and this is "the reward for a mitzvah is another mitzvah", which is to experience God's presence, and you don't really have a reward greater than that...

HOw many times have you seen people "going through the motions"?

How did that make you feel?

Because we all know: doing mitzvot doesn't mean anything unless you are conscious of what you are doing. It is the Me'or HaEynayim who brings the idea that just as you wouldn't want to talk to a zombie, who has just body and no soul, you mustn't contemplate doing a mitzvah without intention.

Mishpatim is full of positive commandments. We should observe them, but also infuse them with kavanah, intention, so that they won't be like zombies.

May this week be a week filled with good deeds, and may all our deeds have a soul and a body.

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