Parsha # 18: “Mishpatim/Rulings”
(Sh’mot / Exodus *21: to 24:18*)
Edition: 15b14
“How To Be ‘Chassid’”
Greetings Sojourners, Friends, Guests and Other Readers! Welcome!
Today, most drivers are familiar with the use of a “GPS” in their car (or even their phone). Just as with Radio in our parent’s generation, Television in our Generation, Computers in our children’s generation, and so on, the generation being born today will take the GPS (and a whole lot more) for granted in no time – guaranteed! In my generation we grew up with maps. If you wanted to know how to maneuver through difficult terrain, or find your way to a specific destination you pulled out a map. The very few, adventurous folk amongst us would stop and ask directions. Whether it’s a set of vocal directions, or a map, or a GPS, it’s a good thing to have ‘outside’ advice about getting to your target. One or the other will save a lot of time, trouble and marriages. In a strange, but not at all confusing way, the Law serves a similar purpose.
Let’s say a local resident is having a disagreement with his neighbour about a tree which is overhanging his lawn. Every autumn the tree sheds its leaves on the plaintiff’s lawn and he’s tired of raking up the defendant’s refuse so as to save his own lawn. Neighbour one demands that the tree be cut down. Neighbour two explains that his children have a swing in the tree which, for more than a decade, they have played on, enjoyed, and come to think of as a part of the family history. How do the neighbours come to an agreement. Wouldn’t it be terrific if there were a guideline to help them ‘along the way’ to a settlement…. Something like: “In the event of a dispute over the leaves of a tree falling on a neighbour’s property, in which the owner of the tree can not remove the tree, he shall compensate the plaintiff, on an annual basis, one half the cost of having a lawn care professional come and rake the entire lawn.” It seems so simple doesn’t it? Almost mundane, in fact.
Thus, by these standards, this week’s Parsha (at least the section we will consider in this cycle) seems almost mundane in comparison to some of the action-packed stories we have looked at up to now. But, in reality, it is anything but dreary – if we can look at the passage with searching eyes and an inquisitive mind. We have seen by the above examples how and why laws are important, and (although we skipped over the receiving of the Ten Words on Sinai’s heights from last week’s Parsha [NOTE: The record of the Law coming to Moshé is found in Chapter 20]) this is brought home with some impetus in the opening chapter of our present Parsha.
These additional laws, (or “rulings” which is the meaning of “Mishpatim”) deal with civil or “tort” areas of the law which begin in chapter 21. They are every bit as formative to the new nation being established as were those Ten Laws which form the basis of Yisra’el’s government, court system and religious authority and ritual. (NOTE: that the laws for the Tabernacle and worship practices will follow close on the heels of these rulings.) The Sinaitic Laws, and the epilogue of further ‘rulings’ (and others like them) form the beginning of what has come to be known as the “Judeo-Christian code of Law”. This code, in turn is not just in Israel, but it has come to be the very foundation of almost every stable, democratic government and legal system around the world.
But they are foundational, for another reason, to every believer that holds that Elohim, Adonaynu (God, our Lord) is their God. That’s because these civil and tort laws are “Expressions of God’s Greatness and in this way, they give us some insight into the personality and nature of God, Himself.
Today, most drivers are familiar with the use of a “GPS” in their car (or even their phone). Just as with Radio in our parent’s generation, Television in our Generation, Computers in our children’s generation, and so on, the generation being born today will take the GPS (and a whole lot more) for granted in no time – guaranteed! In my generation we grew up with maps. If you wanted to know how to maneuver through difficult terrain, or find your way to a specific destination you pulled out a map. The very few, adventurous folk amongst us would stop and ask directions. Whether it’s a set of vocal directions, or a map, or a GPS, it’s a good thing to have ‘outside’ advice about getting to your target. One or the other will save a lot of time, trouble and marriages. In a strange, but not at all confusing way, the Law serves a similar purpose.
Let’s say a local resident is having a disagreement with his neighbour about a tree which is overhanging his lawn. Every autumn the tree sheds its leaves on the plaintiff’s lawn and he’s tired of raking up the defendant’s refuse so as to save his own lawn. Neighbour one demands that the tree be cut down. Neighbour two explains that his children have a swing in the tree which, for more than a decade, they have played on, enjoyed, and come to think of as a part of the family history. How do the neighbours come to an agreement. Wouldn’t it be terrific if there were a guideline to help them ‘along the way’ to a settlement…. Something like: “In the event of a dispute over the leaves of a tree falling on a neighbour’s property, in which the owner of the tree can not remove the tree, he shall compensate the plaintiff, on an annual basis, one half the cost of having a lawn care professional come and rake the entire lawn.” It seems so simple doesn’t it? Almost mundane, in fact.
Thus, by these standards, this week’s Parsha (at least the section we will consider in this cycle) seems almost mundane in comparison to some of the action-packed stories we have looked at up to now. But, in reality, it is anything but dreary – if we can look at the passage with searching eyes and an inquisitive mind. We have seen by the above examples how and why laws are important, and (although we skipped over the receiving of the Ten Words on Sinai’s heights from last week’s Parsha [NOTE: The record of the Law coming to Moshé is found in Chapter 20]) this is brought home with some impetus in the opening chapter of our present Parsha.
These additional laws, (or “rulings” which is the meaning of “Mishpatim”) deal with civil or “tort” areas of the law which begin in chapter 21. They are every bit as formative to the new nation being established as were those Ten Laws which form the basis of Yisra’el’s government, court system and religious authority and ritual. (NOTE: that the laws for the Tabernacle and worship practices will follow close on the heels of these rulings.) The Sinaitic Laws, and the epilogue of further ‘rulings’ (and others like them) form the beginning of what has come to be known as the “Judeo-Christian code of Law”. This code, in turn is not just in Israel, but it has come to be the very foundation of almost every stable, democratic government and legal system around the world.
But they are foundational, for another reason, to every believer that holds that Elohim, Adonaynu (God, our Lord) is their God. That’s because these civil and tort laws are “Expressions of God’s Greatness and in this way, they give us some insight into the personality and nature of God, Himself.
Once again, we need to come to these laws without human prejudices. As with the Parsha Bo (Exodus 10:1 to 13:16) we must come to our passage this week free from the frame of mind which some may have deep down in their hearts, that Elohim is a “hard and cruel”, mean, old, power-hungry, male reprobate; and the Ten Commandments and the other laws of Yisra’el are demeaning and designed to crush and punish only. If you can’t get beyond that state of mind please stop reading now and go watch TV or read a nice book. If you can however, at least have an open mind about God and His commands, and might be willing to grow in Spirit and in Truth, then carry on, because I think you will be pleasantly surprised by new insights into God’s Laws for us.
Do you remember when your mother told you not to touch the element of the stove because it was hot and you would get burned? Do you remember when your father told you to make sure the guard was in place before you turned on the table saw, and that you should never push the wood past the spinning blade with your fingers? When I was told these things, I just knew instinctively that the advice was for my own good. In a similar way, the Laws which God gives us, no matter how strange they may seem to us in this century, are meant for the good of B’nei Yisra’el.
Look at the first Law mentioned in our passage, for example: “If you buy a Jewish ‘bondsman’, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh he shall go free, for no charge.” The first thing to notice here is that we are speaking of a Jewish person. Secondly, the term used (in the SEASC at least) is ‘bondsman’. In most English Bibles this is translated as both “slave”(NRSV and NIV) and “servant” (CJB). I personally suspect however that this may not be the most complete understanding of the word. The proper understanding of ‘bondsman’ (according to how I read the commentary in the SEASC) seems to indicate ‘a person who due to dire circumstances in his life, and because he has no other recourse, has sold himself into slavery, until he can repay his debt, or work off what is owed.
There is no doubt that slavery and servanthood were prevalent at the time of the Exodus, and in fact well beyond that period. The Hebrew people have just been redeemed from their bondage in Egypt. There were slaves at the time of Y’shua’s earthly sojourn. Slavery was a fact of life. Furthermore, neither Elohim, nor Y’shua, showed concern that slavery existed. (This doesn’t mean they supported it, but rather that its abolition was not their ‘prime directive’. Elohim, for instance, did not redeem the Hebrew people from their bondage because slavery was against His plan – rather He rescued them, as He promised He would, because it was time to create a new nation which would be the means of His displaying His power to all the world, and that the Light of His redeeming grace would be witnessed by the whole world throughout all time.
Do you remember when your mother told you not to touch the element of the stove because it was hot and you would get burned? Do you remember when your father told you to make sure the guard was in place before you turned on the table saw, and that you should never push the wood past the spinning blade with your fingers? When I was told these things, I just knew instinctively that the advice was for my own good. In a similar way, the Laws which God gives us, no matter how strange they may seem to us in this century, are meant for the good of B’nei Yisra’el.
Look at the first Law mentioned in our passage, for example: “If you buy a Jewish ‘bondsman’, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh he shall go free, for no charge.” The first thing to notice here is that we are speaking of a Jewish person. Secondly, the term used (in the SEASC at least) is ‘bondsman’. In most English Bibles this is translated as both “slave”(NRSV and NIV) and “servant” (CJB). I personally suspect however that this may not be the most complete understanding of the word. The proper understanding of ‘bondsman’ (according to how I read the commentary in the SEASC) seems to indicate ‘a person who due to dire circumstances in his life, and because he has no other recourse, has sold himself into slavery, until he can repay his debt, or work off what is owed.
There is no doubt that slavery and servanthood were prevalent at the time of the Exodus, and in fact well beyond that period. The Hebrew people have just been redeemed from their bondage in Egypt. There were slaves at the time of Y’shua’s earthly sojourn. Slavery was a fact of life. Furthermore, neither Elohim, nor Y’shua, showed concern that slavery existed. (This doesn’t mean they supported it, but rather that its abolition was not their ‘prime directive’. Elohim, for instance, did not redeem the Hebrew people from their bondage because slavery was against His plan – rather He rescued them, as He promised He would, because it was time to create a new nation which would be the means of His displaying His power to all the world, and that the Light of His redeeming grace would be witnessed by the whole world throughout all time.
Furthermore, the release of the Hebrews from the bondage of slavery was meant to point to another, far more important desire of God. Their redemption would point toward a future time when Elohim would come and bring redemption – not from slavery – but from sin. To affirm this statement, let me point out that Elohim, in His wisdom, commanded that B'nei Yisra'el observe an annual remembrance of the redemption of the Hebrew people so that this principle could be taught over and over. The slavery / bondage in Egypt was a far worse scenario than simple or common slavery, because our sin and our iniquity make us servants / slaves of the evil one, Satan, who – if left to his own devices - will never allow release to us.
So in this first ‘ruling’, we see that when a Jewish person, male or female, sells him/herself in to servanthood, they can count on it being a limited time engagement, no more than six years. Any and all regulations dealing with debt of any kind has the same regulation placed upon it – no more than six years of debt. No matter the consequence of the debt, it is to be forgiven and the person is to be released from that debt in the seventh year. This is all part and parcel of the over-riding concept of “Sh’mittah”. It is good to be reminded that we face the threat of bondage, but it is just as important, more so in fact, that we see practiced over and over the redemption from our bondage at the hand of God. This is why this law is written. Slavery and bondage existed, but for the Jewish community, redemption would come in the seventh year.
So in this first ‘ruling’, we see that when a Jewish person, male or female, sells him/herself in to servanthood, they can count on it being a limited time engagement, no more than six years. Any and all regulations dealing with debt of any kind has the same regulation placed upon it – no more than six years of debt. No matter the consequence of the debt, it is to be forgiven and the person is to be released from that debt in the seventh year. This is all part and parcel of the over-riding concept of “Sh’mittah”. It is good to be reminded that we face the threat of bondage, but it is just as important, more so in fact, that we see practiced over and over the redemption from our bondage at the hand of God. This is why this law is written. Slavery and bondage existed, but for the Jewish community, redemption would come in the seventh year.
The Hahftorah (Prophets and Writings of the Tenakh) portion this week picks up on this ruling. Yirmeyahu tells the leaders and people of his time – you were supposed to let your bondsmen go free, but you relented and held them in slavery. Therefore …I will hand you over to the armies of Bavel and Yerushalayim will be destroyed.
The first ruling continues with several codices which will cover specific situations, such as marriage and families which come along during the six years of bondage. Note that, in this segment, there is no mention of how to deal with Gentile slaves. The implication of this first ruling, consequently, sets out to say that if the subject has a choice between the purchase of a Jewish bondsman and one of Gentile background, the ‘purchaser’ should buy the Jew, because it is demoralizing that a Jew should sink to such level as selling one-self. Furthermore, the Jewish nation was to be a “light in the darkness”, an earthly example of God’s care and protection. Thus it would be antithetical for a Jew to be poverty stricken and hopeless. What is at stake here is the witness to the covenant that Elohim made to ‘care for’ His people. The purchase of the Jewish bondsman is God’s way of protecting and providing for his or her welfare over the next 6 years.
Note that the estate of the bondsman does not change during those six years of servitude. He leaves the employ in the same state he was in ‘family-wise’ when he was purchased. The interesting article of this ruling occurs when the bondsman is ‘given’ a partner in marriage by the proprietor. Although the bondsman is clearly married, the wife remains the property of the owner, not the husband. The same is true of any children that are born during the time of bondage. Again, we need to see this as God’s protective hand over the woman and children. The freed bondsman will likely have no way to support his ‘wife’ and family and so they stay with the owner in order to have some stability in their lives. There may also be other laws involved here, such as the husband, when he is able, being allowed to purchase the freedom of his wife and children by paying off their indebtedness. [NOTE: I don’t know if this is the case, I am just ‘supposing’, here. To me it makes some sense that this would be in keeping with the purposes of the rulings.]
The law provides for another possibility as well. Suppose, at the close of the sixth year, the bondsman decides he would like to stay in service to his ‘master’. Perhaps he has grown attached to the master and his family, perhaps he has a family of his own now, and wishes to stay with them. The ruling allows for that to happen, but there is a cost – a cost which involves a ‘lesson’. In such a case as this, The owner is to bring the bondsman back to the court where the judges, who are considered the spokesmen for Elohim, will reason with the bondsman. [NOTE: The court itself is actually called “Elohim”, for the judges, who have been chosen according to the characteristics suggested by Yitro {see last week’s reflection}, represent the very presence of Elohim in terms of “legal” issues for they are imbued with the Presence of God (Shekinah) and with His influence (that is, they are guided by God in meting out His justice ]. The role the judges play at this juncture, is to dissuade the bondsman from this fool-hardy position. But why is the decision to stay considered ‘fool-hardy’? The reason is this – at the most basic level, all those who have been redeemed by Elohim from the slavery and bondage of Egypt, [thus we can here assume that, by inclusion, all Jewish people, for all time, along with all who have thrown in their allegiance with them, are inferred] now belong to Elohim. All B'nei Yisra'el are to see themselves as the bondsmen / bondswomen of God. Our first allegiance then, is to Elohim directly. When an indentured bondsmen is given his freedom, he is considered returned to the service of Elohim, to not just serve Him, but to rely on Elohim completely for his well-being. This is the nature of the relationship with God of a Righteous Person, a “Tzadich” or “Tzaddik”. The decision to stay with an earthly master, therefore, is a decision to spurn the relationship with Elohim. If the bondsman still elects to stay in his bondage, in spite of the judges ‘warning’ then he is subjected to the ‘lesson’. The lesson involves two items – the doorposts of the owner’s tent / dwelling and the ear of the servant. A nail, or an awl, or some sharp instrument is pushed through the sinew of the servant’s ear into the doorpost. This is more than just a punishment, more than just the marking of a freeman. When the Hebrew people received their freedom at the hand of God (placing them in submission to Elohim) the blood of the Passover lamb had been put on the doorway, marking the residence as under God’s protection. In this way, the doorpost symbolizes ‘freedom’. Meanwhile, remembering that the bondsman is in his predicament by a court decision due to the person’s earlier having fallen from grace, as it were, by some action contravening the Law of Sinai, here represented by the 8th commandment, his ear is pierced against the doorframe to symbolize that “the ear that heard at Sinai the commandment not to “steal” should be bored with an awl” against the very symbol of his freedom. The bottom line is that all the children of God should seek their freedom – for this is the gift of God to them.
Let’s take another example ruling. We read in Verse 7 of our present chapter, “If a man will sell his daughter as a bondswoman….” In other words, a father might find it necessary to sell his own daughter into slavery. One finds this a difficult concept, but clearly the potential was there in the early days of Isra’el’s formation in the wilderness. Again, we must remember that this generation knew nothing but existence within the realm of slavery – it is their only “hitching post”, their only reality; it was the sole means of understanding themselves and their place in society. Thus, when a person fell into debt, and could not sell himself into slavery, he was forced to sell his family members to a benefactor to pay for his debt. But especially here, God steps in to ensure that the young woman is protected against abuse. Certain guarantees were put in place through the decision of the courts.
The first ruling continues with several codices which will cover specific situations, such as marriage and families which come along during the six years of bondage. Note that, in this segment, there is no mention of how to deal with Gentile slaves. The implication of this first ruling, consequently, sets out to say that if the subject has a choice between the purchase of a Jewish bondsman and one of Gentile background, the ‘purchaser’ should buy the Jew, because it is demoralizing that a Jew should sink to such level as selling one-self. Furthermore, the Jewish nation was to be a “light in the darkness”, an earthly example of God’s care and protection. Thus it would be antithetical for a Jew to be poverty stricken and hopeless. What is at stake here is the witness to the covenant that Elohim made to ‘care for’ His people. The purchase of the Jewish bondsman is God’s way of protecting and providing for his or her welfare over the next 6 years.
Note that the estate of the bondsman does not change during those six years of servitude. He leaves the employ in the same state he was in ‘family-wise’ when he was purchased. The interesting article of this ruling occurs when the bondsman is ‘given’ a partner in marriage by the proprietor. Although the bondsman is clearly married, the wife remains the property of the owner, not the husband. The same is true of any children that are born during the time of bondage. Again, we need to see this as God’s protective hand over the woman and children. The freed bondsman will likely have no way to support his ‘wife’ and family and so they stay with the owner in order to have some stability in their lives. There may also be other laws involved here, such as the husband, when he is able, being allowed to purchase the freedom of his wife and children by paying off their indebtedness. [NOTE: I don’t know if this is the case, I am just ‘supposing’, here. To me it makes some sense that this would be in keeping with the purposes of the rulings.]
The law provides for another possibility as well. Suppose, at the close of the sixth year, the bondsman decides he would like to stay in service to his ‘master’. Perhaps he has grown attached to the master and his family, perhaps he has a family of his own now, and wishes to stay with them. The ruling allows for that to happen, but there is a cost – a cost which involves a ‘lesson’. In such a case as this, The owner is to bring the bondsman back to the court where the judges, who are considered the spokesmen for Elohim, will reason with the bondsman. [NOTE: The court itself is actually called “Elohim”, for the judges, who have been chosen according to the characteristics suggested by Yitro {see last week’s reflection}, represent the very presence of Elohim in terms of “legal” issues for they are imbued with the Presence of God (Shekinah) and with His influence (that is, they are guided by God in meting out His justice ]. The role the judges play at this juncture, is to dissuade the bondsman from this fool-hardy position. But why is the decision to stay considered ‘fool-hardy’? The reason is this – at the most basic level, all those who have been redeemed by Elohim from the slavery and bondage of Egypt, [thus we can here assume that, by inclusion, all Jewish people, for all time, along with all who have thrown in their allegiance with them, are inferred] now belong to Elohim. All B'nei Yisra'el are to see themselves as the bondsmen / bondswomen of God. Our first allegiance then, is to Elohim directly. When an indentured bondsmen is given his freedom, he is considered returned to the service of Elohim, to not just serve Him, but to rely on Elohim completely for his well-being. This is the nature of the relationship with God of a Righteous Person, a “Tzadich” or “Tzaddik”. The decision to stay with an earthly master, therefore, is a decision to spurn the relationship with Elohim. If the bondsman still elects to stay in his bondage, in spite of the judges ‘warning’ then he is subjected to the ‘lesson’. The lesson involves two items – the doorposts of the owner’s tent / dwelling and the ear of the servant. A nail, or an awl, or some sharp instrument is pushed through the sinew of the servant’s ear into the doorpost. This is more than just a punishment, more than just the marking of a freeman. When the Hebrew people received their freedom at the hand of God (placing them in submission to Elohim) the blood of the Passover lamb had been put on the doorway, marking the residence as under God’s protection. In this way, the doorpost symbolizes ‘freedom’. Meanwhile, remembering that the bondsman is in his predicament by a court decision due to the person’s earlier having fallen from grace, as it were, by some action contravening the Law of Sinai, here represented by the 8th commandment, his ear is pierced against the doorframe to symbolize that “the ear that heard at Sinai the commandment not to “steal” should be bored with an awl” against the very symbol of his freedom. The bottom line is that all the children of God should seek their freedom – for this is the gift of God to them.
Let’s take another example ruling. We read in Verse 7 of our present chapter, “If a man will sell his daughter as a bondswoman….” In other words, a father might find it necessary to sell his own daughter into slavery. One finds this a difficult concept, but clearly the potential was there in the early days of Isra’el’s formation in the wilderness. Again, we must remember that this generation knew nothing but existence within the realm of slavery – it is their only “hitching post”, their only reality; it was the sole means of understanding themselves and their place in society. Thus, when a person fell into debt, and could not sell himself into slavery, he was forced to sell his family members to a benefactor to pay for his debt. But especially here, God steps in to ensure that the young woman is protected against abuse. Certain guarantees were put in place through the decision of the courts.
The sale of any young Jewish woman to a benefactor was understood to be equivalent to completing the Ketubah (contract) of marriage. The sale amount was the ‘bride price’, and its payment meant that she would eventually be married – either to the benefactor himself or to his son. In modern terms it could be considered the parallel to the giving of the engagement ring. This “exchange” would thus guarantee her protection and her being provided for in the future. The benefactor, in paying for the young woman, is promising to look after her, to provide for her safety and well-being and to make sure she has some stability in her life, all of which her father was unable to guarantee at the time. If the marriage does eventually take place, as planned, then her well-being is achieved. If, on the other hand, things don’t work out, then the benefactor may not sell her to another ‘strange’ man, but must make it possible for her father or family to buy her back, by reducing her cost to a level they can afford in their situation. If the child was purchased to be for the benefactor’s son, she shall be afforded every right and privilege of any young woman being given in marriage; that is, she is not to be mistreated because of the situation in which she and her family found themselves. Finally, in the event that her master / husband should take a second (or more) wife, her well being continues to be protected because she is to not encounter any decrease in the provision he makes for her. Furthermore, and this is a hugely significant phrase, if the benefactor does not provide for the young girl accordingly, the Law declares that she is free to leave the indenturement “free of charge, without payment.” As in the first case, the laws (or rulings) clearly are intended for the well being of God’s people.
The same could be said for the rest of the “Mishpatim” noted in most of the remaining chapters of this week’s portion. Just a random search turns up these other rulings which spring off the pages of Scripture before us. (they are but a sample of the total list) “Do not accept a false report” perhaps aimed at the judges who will hear all sorts of things from the ‘witness stand’. “Do not extend your hand with the wicked to be a venal (corrupt, open to bribery) witness.”, certainly connected with Commandment #9. “Distance yourself from a false word.” Three pilgrimage festivals shall you celebrate for me during the year… The Festival of Matzos,…The Festival of …First Fruits,…[and] the Festival of the Ingathering [Succoth].” “You shall not cook a kid in the milk of its mother.” [NOTE: This is the law which led to separating meat from dairy as a precaution against accidently breaking this Law. It was established to help B'nei Yisra'el avoid succumbing to the practices of the Kena’ani who practiced this as a pagan ritual.] and finally [Those tribes] I will drive out are not to “dwell within the borders of your land” which I have established, “lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, for it will be a trap for you.” These, and many other rulings are found in this week’s parsha, along with other locations in Scripture. The commentary of Ramban points that these rulings are meant to be “an extension of the tenth commandment” namely – “You are not to covet…” and this makes so much sense to me, for the last of the commandments, the most important of all the interpersonal laws, sums up the Laws of the second tablet dealing with our relationship with those around us. [NOTE: for more on the Ten Words, I refer the reader to my up-coming publication “The Ten Words – a Somewhat Different Approach to Exodus 20:1 through 12”.]
Each of the rulings [in the end there are a total of 613 laws provided] deal with day to day issues that could potentially affect the relationship between one refugee and another, or even the relationship between a member of B'nei Yisra'el and Elohim directly. The purpose of the rulings is to give guidance to the courts, that august body of judgement established after the visit of Yitro to the camp. They form the body of teachings which Moshé would have instilled in the education of the judges, and also with the people, for they must have been instructed in such things so as to live in the proper manner. This manner of living, this relationship with Elohim first, and with each other, help us to understand the order of the Laws given upon the tablets of stone, and in the summation of those Laws brought out by the teaching of Y’shua – recorded in the Gospels.
To fully grasp the centrality of these laws within Judaism, and I would maintain within the larger community of faith which has arisen, connected with, or “grafted into” Judaism, we have to understand that in establishing His Nation, Israel, Elohim had a specific concept in mind. It was clearly NOT His intent to have a separation of what we call today “Church and State”. God’s plan was to have what we call “The World” – the physical entity which we can reach out and touch – and the Sphere which we generally tend to label “The Religious Realm” be fully integrated.
There was, and I maintain is, simply to be one state of being, in which we are meant to exist day to day – and that is the Creation given and governed by God alone, the One entity in which we flow forth and back with ease; a complete entity, a complete ‘reality’ which can not exist in part – the physical without the spiritual or the spiritual without the physical. The instant we start to compartmentalize things – whatever those things may be – we go ‘sideways’, as a friend of mine likes to say… we just go wrong! This compartmentalization was the way of thinking in Greece and Rome and it comprises one of the biggest civil errors our founders of the “western” nations made at the outset, and it is now, quite likely, the most impossible to change “back” no matter how we might feel about it today. I grant that many will say they wouldn’t want to change our system, that it is “the better way to be”. However, I couldn’t disagree more vehemently that it is the “better way” at all. If it is so good, why do we have such wide-spread violence in our lives? Why is there such disrespect for the property, the rights, and the humanity of other people? Why do we have children suffering from neglect and poverty, and – in many countries of the world – why are there no protective rights for women, children, the elderly, the unwell, the infirm and so on? When did life become so cheap to us? When attempts are made to deal with the unabashed mistreatment of others, why are the courts so backed-up by indecision or searching for loop-holes in the laws, or lobbying for the protection of the powerful corporations or individuals? And why do we have judges who just can’t decide one way or the other, or worse, who are swayed by the input of non-involved members of the public who are trying to establish agendas of their own (i.e. Lobbyists etc.)? Maybe the real question here, is basically: “Why do we simple and sinful creatures think, as did Iyov (Job), that we have the right and the wisdom to alter, or in fact even question, the Creator’s plan; especially when it was put in place for own good?”.
Where and when, in history, did we come to consider ourselves smarter, more ‘right’, or more capable, or more important than Elohim? Was it during the rise of the Hellenistic Age, or during the influence of the “Holy, Roman, Empire” (which BTW author Leon Uris points out, in his novel “Armageddon”, was none of those things)? Was it during the Black Plague or the Dark Ages, or maybe it could have been revealed during the ‘enlightenment’ or the Renaissance? Could it have come about through the brilliance of the Spanish Inquisition, or during the ‘Industrial Revolution’? Did it arise after the First or Second World Wars – the “wars that would end all war”, or maybe it occurred to us in the midst of the Holocaust? Could it be more recent, during the Space Age for instance, or the Technologic Age, or is it a Millennial thing? Or could it be an older miscalculation? Could it have come into our heads just after The Serpent in the Holy Garden offered the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, saying: “Here, Try This. You’ll Like It!”
The point is, we have not, and we do not, know better than God. We human beings, we simple creatures, have made a mess of God’s Creation – physically, environmentally, legally, civilly, and spiritually. But by all means, let’s just continue to forge ahead and hope that things will change.
Simply put, the Law [and from this point forward I shall use the term “the Law” in the singular, so as to demonstrate the unity of both the Ten Words (Commandments) and the additional 613 rulings] is meant to infiltrate all areas of life; everything we do is meant to be governed by the Law of Sinai which has been given to us by our Creator. Oh yes, I know people (many, many people, so many in fact that they are a ‘dime a dozen’) who claim that the coming of Y’shua, the long-awaited Messiah of the Jewish people, and indeed of the world, meant the abolishing of the Law, that His coming established a whole new means of Salvation – through the acceptance of his sacrifice on our behalf. But that is not quite accurate because we are dealing with two separate situations. One must realize that the Law given on Sinai is not directly related to Salvation. This is true whether the words of the Law are written on the tablets of stone, or recorded in scrolls such as these follow-up laws recorded in our Parsha this week, or whether, as Yirmeyahu / Jeremiah prophesied , they are engraved upon our “hearts of flesh”
Rather, it is better to grasp that the Law, given to B'nei Yisra'el, as a whole, dealt [and deals] with “how to live”, it gave [and gives] us the means, the process by which we can live properly. They are designed and given to us to help us strive toward Righteousness – a “Right Relationship” with Elohim. As one commentator has declared, “The Sages teach that one who wishes to be a Chassid, (a devoutly pious person) should be scrupulous in matters of civil and tort law, for in Judaism, the concept of the temple is in the courtroom as well as in the synagogue.” (SEASC pg 416).
It was so ingrained a concept, in fact, that, as noted previously, the early “court” referred to in our passage this week, and which determined the outcomes of many claims of the people during their sojourn in the wilderness, was itself called “Elohim”. Later, the Sages would declare that the Sanhedrin, (the group which would become the supreme authority in matters of the Law) and the Temple should be physically as close to each other on the Temple mount as possible, so as to illustrate how the two bodies are connected – that one behaves in keeping the Law as one does in offering worship to Elohim.
At the same time, the Law is meant to make us curious about, to become seekers of, and to point us in the direction of, God’s righteousness. This process of living then, is the process of bringing us to a point in life, a point in time, when we recognize and accept the One Who would come to offer us the Salvation which we all desire. The Law is our map, and as such it must never be abolished until all mankind, past, present and future, has been given the opportunity to accept the gift of that Salvation. Simply put: the Law helps us to live properly, while Salvation in Messiah Y’shua allows us to die properly (i.e.: in the right relationship with Elohim) and subsequently enter into the greater Realm of God’s Eternal Kingdom. When an individual comes to faith in Messiah Y’shua, no matter who they are, or from what background they come, he or she realizes that the only real separation that exists is between “the world without salvation” and “the world with salvation”.
The acceptance of Y’shua’s sacrifice, the acceptance of God’s Grace-filled gift for us, does not, (in fact it can not), abolish the Sinaitic Laws, for He, (that is Y’shua) is part and parcel with that Law. This is what Yochanan means when he writes in his Gospel (1:1 and following) “In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning [and] all things came to be through Him.” (To put it clearly: Y’shua is the Living Word, which is the Spoken Word, which is also the Word of Law. They are intertwined, inter-connected and unbreakable, like “a three-strand cord”) It’s what Mattityahu / Matthew is trying to describe when he records the words of Meshiach Y’shua: “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to complete [them].” (5:17) Finally, to gently re-order the words of Sha’ul in his letter to the Romans, (a line which is so often misunderstood): “For the goal at which the Torah aims is the Messiah who offers Righteousness to everyone who trusts [who has faith].” (CJB 10:4) Y’shua is both the goal, the end-target of the Law and, at the same time, He is the Law itself. When we refer to Y’shua as “The Living Word”, and when we refer to the Law (or the “Torah”) as the written Word of God, we are essentially saying that Y’shua and the Torah are (in God’s thinking at least) the same thing – they are inseparable.
The same could be said for the rest of the “Mishpatim” noted in most of the remaining chapters of this week’s portion. Just a random search turns up these other rulings which spring off the pages of Scripture before us. (they are but a sample of the total list) “Do not accept a false report” perhaps aimed at the judges who will hear all sorts of things from the ‘witness stand’. “Do not extend your hand with the wicked to be a venal (corrupt, open to bribery) witness.”, certainly connected with Commandment #9. “Distance yourself from a false word.” Three pilgrimage festivals shall you celebrate for me during the year… The Festival of Matzos,…The Festival of …First Fruits,…[and] the Festival of the Ingathering [Succoth].” “You shall not cook a kid in the milk of its mother.” [NOTE: This is the law which led to separating meat from dairy as a precaution against accidently breaking this Law. It was established to help B'nei Yisra'el avoid succumbing to the practices of the Kena’ani who practiced this as a pagan ritual.] and finally [Those tribes] I will drive out are not to “dwell within the borders of your land” which I have established, “lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you will worship their gods, for it will be a trap for you.” These, and many other rulings are found in this week’s parsha, along with other locations in Scripture. The commentary of Ramban points that these rulings are meant to be “an extension of the tenth commandment” namely – “You are not to covet…” and this makes so much sense to me, for the last of the commandments, the most important of all the interpersonal laws, sums up the Laws of the second tablet dealing with our relationship with those around us. [NOTE: for more on the Ten Words, I refer the reader to my up-coming publication “The Ten Words – a Somewhat Different Approach to Exodus 20:1 through 12”.]
Each of the rulings [in the end there are a total of 613 laws provided] deal with day to day issues that could potentially affect the relationship between one refugee and another, or even the relationship between a member of B'nei Yisra'el and Elohim directly. The purpose of the rulings is to give guidance to the courts, that august body of judgement established after the visit of Yitro to the camp. They form the body of teachings which Moshé would have instilled in the education of the judges, and also with the people, for they must have been instructed in such things so as to live in the proper manner. This manner of living, this relationship with Elohim first, and with each other, help us to understand the order of the Laws given upon the tablets of stone, and in the summation of those Laws brought out by the teaching of Y’shua – recorded in the Gospels.
To fully grasp the centrality of these laws within Judaism, and I would maintain within the larger community of faith which has arisen, connected with, or “grafted into” Judaism, we have to understand that in establishing His Nation, Israel, Elohim had a specific concept in mind. It was clearly NOT His intent to have a separation of what we call today “Church and State”. God’s plan was to have what we call “The World” – the physical entity which we can reach out and touch – and the Sphere which we generally tend to label “The Religious Realm” be fully integrated.
There was, and I maintain is, simply to be one state of being, in which we are meant to exist day to day – and that is the Creation given and governed by God alone, the One entity in which we flow forth and back with ease; a complete entity, a complete ‘reality’ which can not exist in part – the physical without the spiritual or the spiritual without the physical. The instant we start to compartmentalize things – whatever those things may be – we go ‘sideways’, as a friend of mine likes to say… we just go wrong! This compartmentalization was the way of thinking in Greece and Rome and it comprises one of the biggest civil errors our founders of the “western” nations made at the outset, and it is now, quite likely, the most impossible to change “back” no matter how we might feel about it today. I grant that many will say they wouldn’t want to change our system, that it is “the better way to be”. However, I couldn’t disagree more vehemently that it is the “better way” at all. If it is so good, why do we have such wide-spread violence in our lives? Why is there such disrespect for the property, the rights, and the humanity of other people? Why do we have children suffering from neglect and poverty, and – in many countries of the world – why are there no protective rights for women, children, the elderly, the unwell, the infirm and so on? When did life become so cheap to us? When attempts are made to deal with the unabashed mistreatment of others, why are the courts so backed-up by indecision or searching for loop-holes in the laws, or lobbying for the protection of the powerful corporations or individuals? And why do we have judges who just can’t decide one way or the other, or worse, who are swayed by the input of non-involved members of the public who are trying to establish agendas of their own (i.e. Lobbyists etc.)? Maybe the real question here, is basically: “Why do we simple and sinful creatures think, as did Iyov (Job), that we have the right and the wisdom to alter, or in fact even question, the Creator’s plan; especially when it was put in place for own good?”.
Where and when, in history, did we come to consider ourselves smarter, more ‘right’, or more capable, or more important than Elohim? Was it during the rise of the Hellenistic Age, or during the influence of the “Holy, Roman, Empire” (which BTW author Leon Uris points out, in his novel “Armageddon”, was none of those things)? Was it during the Black Plague or the Dark Ages, or maybe it could have been revealed during the ‘enlightenment’ or the Renaissance? Could it have come about through the brilliance of the Spanish Inquisition, or during the ‘Industrial Revolution’? Did it arise after the First or Second World Wars – the “wars that would end all war”, or maybe it occurred to us in the midst of the Holocaust? Could it be more recent, during the Space Age for instance, or the Technologic Age, or is it a Millennial thing? Or could it be an older miscalculation? Could it have come into our heads just after The Serpent in the Holy Garden offered the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, saying: “Here, Try This. You’ll Like It!”
The point is, we have not, and we do not, know better than God. We human beings, we simple creatures, have made a mess of God’s Creation – physically, environmentally, legally, civilly, and spiritually. But by all means, let’s just continue to forge ahead and hope that things will change.
Simply put, the Law [and from this point forward I shall use the term “the Law” in the singular, so as to demonstrate the unity of both the Ten Words (Commandments) and the additional 613 rulings] is meant to infiltrate all areas of life; everything we do is meant to be governed by the Law of Sinai which has been given to us by our Creator. Oh yes, I know people (many, many people, so many in fact that they are a ‘dime a dozen’) who claim that the coming of Y’shua, the long-awaited Messiah of the Jewish people, and indeed of the world, meant the abolishing of the Law, that His coming established a whole new means of Salvation – through the acceptance of his sacrifice on our behalf. But that is not quite accurate because we are dealing with two separate situations. One must realize that the Law given on Sinai is not directly related to Salvation. This is true whether the words of the Law are written on the tablets of stone, or recorded in scrolls such as these follow-up laws recorded in our Parsha this week, or whether, as Yirmeyahu / Jeremiah prophesied , they are engraved upon our “hearts of flesh”
Rather, it is better to grasp that the Law, given to B'nei Yisra'el, as a whole, dealt [and deals] with “how to live”, it gave [and gives] us the means, the process by which we can live properly. They are designed and given to us to help us strive toward Righteousness – a “Right Relationship” with Elohim. As one commentator has declared, “The Sages teach that one who wishes to be a Chassid, (a devoutly pious person) should be scrupulous in matters of civil and tort law, for in Judaism, the concept of the temple is in the courtroom as well as in the synagogue.” (SEASC pg 416).
It was so ingrained a concept, in fact, that, as noted previously, the early “court” referred to in our passage this week, and which determined the outcomes of many claims of the people during their sojourn in the wilderness, was itself called “Elohim”. Later, the Sages would declare that the Sanhedrin, (the group which would become the supreme authority in matters of the Law) and the Temple should be physically as close to each other on the Temple mount as possible, so as to illustrate how the two bodies are connected – that one behaves in keeping the Law as one does in offering worship to Elohim.
At the same time, the Law is meant to make us curious about, to become seekers of, and to point us in the direction of, God’s righteousness. This process of living then, is the process of bringing us to a point in life, a point in time, when we recognize and accept the One Who would come to offer us the Salvation which we all desire. The Law is our map, and as such it must never be abolished until all mankind, past, present and future, has been given the opportunity to accept the gift of that Salvation. Simply put: the Law helps us to live properly, while Salvation in Messiah Y’shua allows us to die properly (i.e.: in the right relationship with Elohim) and subsequently enter into the greater Realm of God’s Eternal Kingdom. When an individual comes to faith in Messiah Y’shua, no matter who they are, or from what background they come, he or she realizes that the only real separation that exists is between “the world without salvation” and “the world with salvation”.
The acceptance of Y’shua’s sacrifice, the acceptance of God’s Grace-filled gift for us, does not, (in fact it can not), abolish the Sinaitic Laws, for He, (that is Y’shua) is part and parcel with that Law. This is what Yochanan means when he writes in his Gospel (1:1 and following) “In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning [and] all things came to be through Him.” (To put it clearly: Y’shua is the Living Word, which is the Spoken Word, which is also the Word of Law. They are intertwined, inter-connected and unbreakable, like “a three-strand cord”) It’s what Mattityahu / Matthew is trying to describe when he records the words of Meshiach Y’shua: “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to complete [them].” (5:17) Finally, to gently re-order the words of Sha’ul in his letter to the Romans, (a line which is so often misunderstood): “For the goal at which the Torah aims is the Messiah who offers Righteousness to everyone who trusts [who has faith].” (CJB 10:4) Y’shua is both the goal, the end-target of the Law and, at the same time, He is the Law itself. When we refer to Y’shua as “The Living Word”, and when we refer to the Law (or the “Torah”) as the written Word of God, we are essentially saying that Y’shua and the Torah are (in God’s thinking at least) the same thing – they are inseparable.
As an conservative evangelical, I believe that, in order to be all that we are meant to be in God’s purpose; to be all that we are “called to be”, we must have a relationship with Elohim which is made possible through our connectedness and acceptance of Y’shua, our Messiah. At the same time, as a Messianic believer, I know that the Law given on Sinai, the means of being a “Chassid” on this side of creation, as it were, is just as necessary. When Y’shua said to His talmidim, “Follow Me” (Mattityahu 4:19) and when He stated categorically “If you love me, you will keep My Commands” (Yochanan 14:15) He could only be showing how important both aspects of our lives must be. As He stated to the crowds in the Galil: “How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” You can be filled today, right now, if you can openly grasp the inter-connectedness of the Law of Sinai and the Man of Righteousness.
Shavua Tov!! - Have a Great Week!!
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NOTE: NASB stands for New American Standard Version / NRSV indicates New Revised Standard Version (both translations being considered quite reliable on the whole) / NIV stands for New International Version / CJB indicates The Complete Jewish Bible, translated by Dr. David Stern, and while it is paraphrased, it is also seen as a reliable interpretation of the Hebrew and Greek texts. SEASC stands for the Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash – a work containing the Actual Hebrew as well as a reliable (more Orthodox) translation of the Books of Torah. It also includes The Hahftorah portions and a long-standing commentary on the Parsha passages.
= = = ================================================= = = =
Acknowledgements
Wikipedia and other Internet sources for background information
Scherman, R. Nosson; and Zlotowitz, R. Meir; Editors, Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash, Mesorah Heritage Foundation / Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, New York, 2008
Stern, David, The Complete Jewish Bible, Jewish New Testament Publications Inc, Clarkville, Maryland. 1998
Zodiates, Spiros, Exec Editor, The Hebrew Greek Key Word Bible (New American Version Bible) AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 1977
Barker, Kenneth, General Editor, The New International Study Bible, Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985
==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ===== ===== ===== ==== ==== ==== ==== ==== ====
Shavua Tov!! - Have a Great Week!!
= = = ================================================= = = =
NOTE: NASB stands for New American Standard Version / NRSV indicates New Revised Standard Version (both translations being considered quite reliable on the whole) / NIV stands for New International Version / CJB indicates The Complete Jewish Bible, translated by Dr. David Stern, and while it is paraphrased, it is also seen as a reliable interpretation of the Hebrew and Greek texts. SEASC stands for the Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash – a work containing the Actual Hebrew as well as a reliable (more Orthodox) translation of the Books of Torah. It also includes The Hahftorah portions and a long-standing commentary on the Parsha passages.
= = = ================================================= = = =
Acknowledgements
Wikipedia and other Internet sources for background information
Scherman, R. Nosson; and Zlotowitz, R. Meir; Editors, Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash, Mesorah Heritage Foundation / Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, New York, 2008
Stern, David, The Complete Jewish Bible, Jewish New Testament Publications Inc, Clarkville, Maryland. 1998
Zodiates, Spiros, Exec Editor, The Hebrew Greek Key Word Bible (New American Version Bible) AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 1977
Barker, Kenneth, General Editor, The New International Study Bible, Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985
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