Mishpatim

Beyond the Letter of the Law

Adapted from Rabbi Shefa Gold

Parshat Mishpatim blesses us with the power of discernment, as we attempt to live our lives in balance with Divine justice and love. We are blessed with the holy task of being present, vigilant, and kind, that our actions might be in agreement with the vision of wholeness and connection that we received at Sinai.

We embark upon this holy task in the context of the value system of our particular culture, time and place. The Torah gives us an example of a people struggling to express a loving and exacting justice in their world. In order to follow the example of our ancestors, we must discern the principles of justice and apply them in our lives and in our world. For instance:

If you take a neighbor's garment as a pledge, you must restore it to him before nightfall because that's his only covering and where is he going to sleep? When he cries, to me I will hear, for I am gracious. (Shemot/Exodus 22:25-26)

In other words, kindness supersedes the rules of property. Empathy for the neighbor who might shiver through a cold night is what is really important. We are given the assignment of being God's ears as we listen for and respond to the cries that overrule norms of economic practice. Whenever we resort to the logic of "whatís mine is mine," God reminds us that "All the Earth is Mine."

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