Mishpatim – Peninim on the Torah

לא תהיה אחרי רבים לרעת ולא תענה על רב לנטת אחרי רבים להטת

Do not be a follower of the majority for evil; and do not respond to a grievance by yielding to the majority to pervert the law. (23:2)

Rashi explains that, when one sees wicked people perverting justice, he should not say to himself, “They are the majority. What will I gain by disagreeing with them?” On the contrary, one must do what is right – regardless of how many people do what is wrong – and regardless of the eventual repercussions. The question is obvious: What would possess a person to do something wrong, just because everybody else is doing it? We do not follow reshaim, wicked people. The fact that everybody is acting inappropriately does not make it right. Horav Meir Soloveitchik, zl, explains that a…

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וגר לא תונה ולא תלחצנו כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5785

You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger, for a you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (22:20)

Sensitivity to the helpless and abandoned is a given, a concept that we should all understand. Unfortunately, a tendency exists among insecure people, who contend with a negative image of themselves, to take advantage of those who are weak. Nonetheless, for the most part, the average person does not walk around with poor self-esteem. Why does the Torah underscore that we should not take advantage of the stranger, because we, too, were once strangers? The simple understanding is that we should know how it feels to be excluded, to be different. When we have personally experienced behavior which is uncomfortable…

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חמשה בקר ישלם תחת השור וארבע צאן תחת השה

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5785

He shall pay five cattle in place of the ox, and four sheep in place of the sheep. (21:37)

If one steals cattle or sheep and either sells or slaughters it, he pays not only the principle, but an added fine. If he steals, but neither sells nor slaughters the animal, he is fined keifel, double-principle plus one. The fines apply only to one who is a thief (an individual who conceals his act of theft). A gazlan, robber (an individual who steals brazenly without fear of people), pays no fine. Chazal (Bava Kamma 79B) record a dialogue that ensued between Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai and his students. They asked why such a variance exists in the reimbursement of…

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וכי יכה איש את עבדו או את אמתו בשבט ומת תחת ידו נקם ינקם

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5785

If a man shall strike his slave or his maidservant with the rod, and he shall die under his hand, He shall surely be avenged. (21:20)

The Torah addresses a very sad situation in which a Jewish master strikes his non-Jewish slave with such force that he kills him. The master is liable for the death penalty; Nakeim yinakeim, “He shall surely be avenged.” It is sad for a number of reasons. First, a Jew is to be executed for a violent act of murder. Second, is the fact that we can have among us a person of such low character that he can kill another human being – for whatever reason. This pasuk obviously does not apply to the normal ben Torah, observant Jew, whose…

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ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5785

And they should take for Me a portion, from every man whose heart motivates him (25:2)

How are we to understand the profound nature of v’yikchu Li– take for Me? Chazal (Sotah 13b) describe Moshe Rabbeinu’s “funeral” and the eulogy which Hashem rendered for him: Mi yakum li im mireim, mi yisyatzev li im poalei aven; “Who will rise up for Me against evildoers? Who will stand up for Me against those who commit iniquity?” (Tehillim 94:16) Now that Moshe was no longer on this earth, who would serve in his capacity? What about Yehoshua, Moshe’s trusted disciple, and the seventy Elders? Why could they not be counted on to step into Moshe’s role? Why could…

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אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5784

If you [dare to] cause him pain! For if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry. (22:22)

Horav Shimshon Pincus, zl, derives an important principle concerning tefillah and its efficacy. When a person is confronted with adversity of any kind, he runs from person to person, doctor to doctor, brachah to brachah. In addition, “he also” prays to Hashem. Regardless of the circumstances – financial, health, family – the observant Jew makes a point to cover all the bases – even praying to Hashem. After all, one must make hishtadlus, endeavor. When a poor person goes from house to house begging for alms and, included among the many houses that he visits is the wealthiest man in…

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אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5784

If you [dare to] cause him pain! For if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry. (22:22)

Causing pain to someone who is already suffering the pangs of loneliness is ethically and morally indefensible. It is such a heinous act that one is stymied to justify such behavior. As human beings, we possess the capacity for empathy and compassion. When we ignore the feelings of others and deliberately cause them pain, it contradicts the basic foundation of our humanity. In other words, such an aggriever is not a mentch, decent human being. Hashem says that He will listen to the cries of the afflicted. Clearly causing pain is reprehensible under all circumstances. It is especially cruel when…

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ונקרב בעל הבית אל האלקים אם לא שלח ידו במלאכת רעהו

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5784

(If the thief is not found) then the householder shall approach the court that he had not laid his hand on his fellow’s property. (22:7)

The householder here is not the baal habayis, owner, of the lost/stolen articles, but rather, the shomer, unpaid watchman/custodian who claims that he is not responsible for the item that is missing. It is not his fault. He must come to bais din, court (which is here termed elokim) and swear that he has not laid his hand on his fellow’s property. In a homiletic rendering of the pasuk, Horav Meir, zl, m’Premishlan, explains: One who seeks to come close to Elokim, Hashem, must first be completely innocent of any sins concerning his fellowman. The Torah places a strong emphasis…

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ואלא המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5784

And these are the ordinances that you shall place before them. (21:1)

Parashas Mishpatim is replete with laws concerning interpersonal, social interactions – some positive (how we should act); others negative (how we should not act and the repercussions for acting inappropriately). On the surface, nothing about these mitzvos/laws appears to make them endemic solely to the Jewish people. Any decent, humane society would be expected to maintain such laws. What makes them “Jewish”? Horav Moshe Eisemann, Shlita, cites the Malbim (commentary to Devarim 6:20), who alludes to this question. He posits that this question lies at the root of the ben chacham’s, wise son’s, question in the Haggadah. Rav Eisemann explains:…

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ואנשי קדש תהיון לי

Sruly Schnair In Mishpatim, 5783

People of holiness shall you be to Me. (22:30)

It is not enough for a Jew to be good and upright. While these are noble, enviable attributes for anyone else, we answer to a Higher Authority and a Higher calling. We must strive to attain kedushah, holiness. Our neshamos, souls, are pure, and it is incumbent upon us to do everything within our ability to sustain the soul’s pristine nature. It is due to this Heavenly mandate to achieve kedushah that the dynamic concerning what we may do, where we may go, what we may eat and how we should live comes into play. For a Jew, everything comes…

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לא תהיה אחרי רבים לרעת ולא תענה על רב לנטת אחרי רבים להטת

Do not be a follower of the majority for evil; and do not respond to a grievance by yielding to the majority to pervert the law. (23:2)

וגר לא תונה ולא תלחצנו כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים

You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger, for a you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (22:20)

חמשה בקר ישלם תחת השור וארבע צאן תחת השה

He shall pay five cattle in place of the ox, and four sheep in place of the sheep. (21:37)

וכי יכה איש את עבדו או את אמתו בשבט ומת תחת ידו נקם ינקם

If a man shall strike his slave or his maidservant with the rod, and he shall die under his hand, He shall surely be avenged. (21:20)

ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו

And they should take for Me a portion, from every man whose heart motivates him (25:2)

אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו

If you [dare to] cause him pain! For if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry. (22:22)

אם ענה תענה אתו כי אם צעק יצעק אלי שמע אשמע צעקתו

If you [dare to] cause him pain! For if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry. (22:22)

ונקרב בעל הבית אל האלקים אם לא שלח ידו במלאכת רעהו

(If the thief is not found) then the householder shall approach the court that he had not laid his hand on his fellow’s property. (22:7)

ואלא המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם

And these are the ordinances that you shall place before them. (21:1)

ואנשי קדש תהיון לי

People of holiness shall you be to Me. (22:30)

YEARS

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