One can easily argue that last week’s portion Yitro more than any other represents Torah as a whole and one can easily argue that this week’s portion Mishpatim represents the Talmud. Mishpatim to me marks a departure from the format the Torah has been unrolling itself as, gone is the moral ambiguity of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs and present are divine laws. Last week Moses established a government body consisting of judges and this week he takes his nation founding to the next logical step by codifying laws on parchment and thus finding a way to unilaterally make the Torah relevant to every person then and now.
This week Moses gives his first dictation regarding law for just about everything. For the hardline right we have an out for murder, slavery, assault, and male immodesty and for me and my lame liberal brothers and sisters big government checks and balances regulating the treatment of widows, no interest loans, false witness, bribes, and respect for foreigners. Moses would be so unelectable today.
So does this mean do what you want just make a good argument for it after the fact? Probably, but I want to be a better Jeremiah today than I was yesterday and the only real way to do that is to strip yourself down to a point where you are moving forward in the direction of righteousness and not constantly resetting yourself always looking for that oh so sacred of a path. I am in a place now where the afore mentioned woes are non-issues in my daily life. True I have never murdered anyone in cold blood but I have definitely thrown my fair share of hook punches, the point is I am at a place in my life where fighting really is not a reality for me. I am way beyond that. The challenges for me lay with the later. I live in society, I interact with people in society, I am part of society. When one suffers we all suffer.
Mishpatim is the Talmud portion of Torah because it opens the discussion for fairness and what is righteousness while codifying what is and is not permissible within Jewish society. What this week’s portion is not are stagnant rules to take advantage of to further a special interest group’s agenda. Maybe you feel more comfortable eating steak in a tri-corned hat while shooting shifty eyed glances at widows with funny sounding last names or maybe you’re a vegan pot luck type of person who can’t quite figure out why the government is so hesitant to provide more basic needs for those it rules over.
Allowing those of different dispositions to gravitate towards one common root is the genius of Judaism. If Hashem wanted the Jewish people to be stagnant and set in a certain way he would have ended the Torah with Yitro but He didn’t in fact there is a lot more to come. Don’t be stagnant and set in your ways meditate on where you are at right now and challenge yourself to press forward along the path of righteousness.
Where do you see yourself now? Where would you like to be tomorrow or a year from now? Leave a comment below or jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter @circlepitbimah
