Mishpatim – Peninim on the Torah

“For if they cry out to Me I will surely hear their cry.” (22:22)

The pasuk implies that Hashem responds to the cries of the oppressed. This statement is enigmatic. If the injustice suffered by the widow or orphan warrants Hashem’s intervention, why is Hashem’s response contingent upon the sufferer’s outcry? If punishment is deserved, then it should be dispensed without the outcry of the oppressed one. Horav Avigdor Miller, Shlita, suggests that this is a manifestation of Hashem’s benignity. The cry for help raises the oppressed one’s awareness of Hashem. The pain and anguish reflected by the outcry supplements the guilt of the oppressor and will increase the weight of his punishment. Indeed,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5755

“Any widow or orphan you shall not afflict. If you afflict them in any way, for if they cry out to Me I will surely hear their cry.” (22:21,22)

We may note the double usage of the verbs in this pasuk, a highly irregular style in Tanach. The Kotzker Rebbe z.l., notes that the affliction one causes a widow or an orphan is different from the affliction of other individuals. If one inflicts physical or emotional discomfort upon another person, in as much as the distress may even be severe, it is only a single incident with which the individual must deal. When one harms a widow or an orphan, however, the pain is complicated by the stirring of old memories of the pain of widowhood or the loss…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5755

“If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself.” (21:3)

Rashi derives from this pasuk that the dispensation which permits a master to give a shifcha Canaanis, non-Jewish maidservant, to the eved Ivri, Hebrew slave, does not apply if the eved had not been married prior to his servitude. What difference should it make if he had been married once before? Horav Moshe Shternbuch, Shlita, suggests that an eved who had been married to a Jewish woman is able to differentiate between married life with a Jewess and life with a non-Jewish maidservant. The warmth, discipline, and lasting happiness, the true love, respect and dignity which are manifest in a…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5755

“And these are the laws which you shall place before them.” (21:1)

Rashi notes the juxtaposition of the beginning of this parsha, dealing with the laws of judges and civil law, with the end of the previous parsha, which is devoted to the laws regarding the mizbei’ach, altar. He explains that the Torah teaches us that the Sanhedrin should be located adjacent to the Bais Ha’Mikdash. What is the spirit behind this law and what message does it communicate? Horav Mordechai Rogov z.l., suggests the following insight. The Sanhedrin, or the judges and Torah leaders of Am Yisrael, must be dedicated to uphold Torah law to the point of self-sacrifice. This concept…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Mishpatim, 5755

“And these are the laws which you shall place before them.” (21:1)

Rashi explains the idea of “placing the laws before them” as referring to Moshe’s and every teacher’s obligation to teach the laws over and over until the student is proficient in them. The material must be placed before the student like a table which is set and prepared for eating. The Talmud in Eruvin 54b relates the story of Rav Pr’eida who had a student whose weakness demanded that he be taught each law four hundred times! Only after this persistent review, would he comprehend the material. One day, after the “usual” review of four hundred times, Rav Pr’eida was…

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“For if they cry out to Me I will surely hear their cry.” (22:22)

“Any widow or orphan you shall not afflict. If you afflict them in any way, for if they cry out to Me I will surely hear their cry.” (22:21,22)

“If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself.” (21:3)

“And these are the laws which you shall place before them.” (21:1)

“And these are the laws which you shall place before them.” (21:1)

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