Parashat Mishpatim

5782

Chapter 21;v1

א וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶֽם

  1. And these are the judgments which you shall set before them.

למה נסמכה פרשת דינין לפרשת מזבח – לומר לך שתשים סנהדרין אצל המקדש (רש”י)

Why is this section regarding civil law placed immediately after the section that speaks of the arrangements for the altar? To tell you that us the Sanhedrin should be seated near the Temple. – Rashi

Other nations regard the laws pertaining to the relations between people not as religious observances but as social or civic duties which must be performed to preserve order in the land. Jews, though, regard these civil ordinances as Divine commandments with a sanctity all their own. Just as the ritual of sacrifices constitutes the worship in the Temple, the observance of Jewish civil law represents the Jew’s service of God in everyday life outside. For this reason it is fitting that the Sanhedrin, Israel’s Supreme Court of Law, should be seated close to the Holy Temple. (Avnei Ezel)

5781

Chapter 23;v7

מִדְּבַר־שֶׁקֶר תִּרְחָק וְנָקִי וְצַדִּיק אַֽל־תַּֽהֲרֹג כִּי לֹֽא־אַצְדִּיק רָשָֽׁע

Keep far from a false matter; and do not slay the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked.

Once a chasid asked Rabbi Dov Ber: “It says in the Psalms that “truth will grow out of the earth” (Psalms 85). If truth springs up so easily, why is there so little of it in the world?” The Rebbe replied: “Yes, truth does spring up from the ground – but not on its own. It must first be sown. The way to sow truth is to bury falsehood in the ground. Once that is done, truth will grow all over.” (Hasidic tale)

פעם שאל חסיד להרבי דוב בער: ילמדנו רבנו, כתוב: “אמת מארץ תצמח” (תהילים פה) ואם כן שהאמת צומחת מן הארץ מעצמה, למה יש כל כך פחות אמת בעולם? הרבי השיב: “נכון הוא שהאמת מארץ תצמח, אבל לא מעצמה. מוכרחים לזרע תחילה והזריעה של האמת היא קבורת השקר. ז”א קודם כל, צריכים לקבר את השקר ואז האמת תצמח!”