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Sefer Shemos
Parashas Mishpatim
Shemos: Chapter 21, verse 1
AND THESE are the
judgments that you will put before them.
Rashi: "AND THESE" add to the
first words - just like the first words were from Sinai also these were
from Sinai.
Immediately after receiving the Torah at
Mount
Sinai, G-d told the Jewish people commandments relating to
servants, ownership, theft, borrowing, unintentional manslaughter, damages,
etc. One might have thought that after hearing the word of G-d in such a
fabulous way at Sinai, the Jews would be involved with spiritual matters in
order to retain the high level of prophesy that each of them had attained.
Instead of spiritual instruction, they were to study a large number of
particular situations and the laws specifically related to them. Some of
these situations, frankly, are quite rare and do not have wide applications
in our daily lives. Why are these laws to be learned first?
Perhaps an answer is that the ten
commandments are generally quite clear to those listening carefully. For
example, someone with idols should get rid of them; people should cease
taking G-d's name in vain; when Shabbos arrives all work should stop. However, the
tenth commandment - Do not covet - definitely requires explanation. How is
someone to stop himself from coveting if he does not know the laws of the
Torah? Perhaps money he thinks is his is not really his at all. Can a Jew
get away with only an apology after causing unintentional damage to
property? If he sees a lost object and decides not to find the owner - he
is demonstrating a lack of the basic knowledge required to be a G-d-fearing
Jew! Every person who heard the word of G-d at Sinai should have felt a
profound need to engage in deep study of the basic laws of the Torah. How
else could one know that the money they are holding is indeed their own or
not?
This explanation helps us understand the
words of Rashi that this parsha
is a continuation of parshas Yisro.
The commandment not to covet in last week's parsha
and the laws between man and his neighbor in this week's are very closely
related.
Rashi also
commented that Moshe was told to present these laws in a clear and orderly
way - as clearly organized as a table set for eating. Because the laws in
this weeks parsha are so
important to everyday life we should make every effort to be sure we know
them as well as possible.
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