Parshat Mishpatim
February 20th-21st, 2004
29 Shevat, 5764

(Exodus: 21, 1 to 24, 18)

It's also Shabbos Shekalim [see below]

Let's take a quick look at an idea from this week's portion that might at first seem really quaint and even hackneyed...yet by digging (or at least, scratching around) under the surface, I'm certain that we will discover something awesome--in the true sense of that word.

Among the numerous mitzvot stated in the parsha (many of which fit under the basic category of "civil law," dealing with the maintenance of order in society) is what looks like your basic injunction to "Be nice to widows and orphans."

Now, I know that there are some tough cookies out there among my readership, and I'm also aware that an argumentative streak exists in some members of our people (or so I have been told by Jewish friends), but is there anybody who could possibly contest or criticize that noble sentiment? "Be nice to widows and orphans." By all means, we say (and to stray puppies as well). Next subject, please!

But hold on. The Torah is more profound and spiritually demanding (not to mention holy) than a Hallmark card, so let's give each verse--and each individual mitzvah-- its proper due.

Here is what the Torah actually says, with an excerpt from the verses before and after so we have some sense of context. (The verse we're focusing on is in bold type.)

"You shall not taunt or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not cause pain to any widow or orphan... for if he shall cry out to Me, I shall surely hear his outcry...When you lend money to My people, to the poor person who is with you, do not act toward him as a creditor..." (Exodus: 22: 20-24)

First, we can see--and this is confirmed by a close reading of the whole portion--that a general theme here seems to be the proper treatment of "vulnerable populations." The Torah is instructing the Jewish people on how to construct a society that will not abuse or exploit its "weaker" members. A stranger (whether it's an actual foreigner living among us, or as some commentators argue, a convert to our faith--who may still be looked on by some as a "stranger"), a debtor, a widow and an orphan all may find themselves both emotionally weakened by their state (or status), as well as legally--and socially--handicapped. The Torah tells us, in strong language, that we must take care not even to cause these people pain or anguish (presumably through our words or bearing alone), and certainly not take advantage of their situation to reap unwarranted financial gain.

If we dug no deeper than that, we might already be struck (if not astounded) at how much this ancient code of law goes out of its way to protect the feelings of these people who are weak or disadvantaged. Surely the Torah is trying to create a properly compassionate society, as well a just one.

This law regarding the proper treatment of the widow and the orphan (as well as the stranger and the debtor) is also aiming at ethically elevating each one of us, so that we become more sensitized to the feelings--and predicament--of our fellow man. Even when one has a right to collect money owed him (as the result of a personal loan extended to another), the Torah commands the creditor not to ACT like a creditor. The Oral Law explains: if we know that the debtor does not have the means right now to pay, we cannot seek payment or even pass unnecessarily in front of him as a means of "reminding" him of his debt! Even if a person would have a legitimate claim against a widow or an orphan--the commentaries explain--he or she would still be enjoined to take precautions not to show undue harshness.

(Note: Most of the laws in Mishpatim focus more explicitly on justice than compassion--including the mitzvah that tells us not to bend the law, or pervert justice, in our very compassion for the poor! A later Torah portion, Kedoshim, equally laden with mitzvot, focuses more explicitly on developing the inner love and compassion of the Jew-- "love you neighbor as yourself," etc. As Rabbi Elie Munk explains in The Call of the Torah, justice is the first requirement of civilized society--"while the rules of love and moral development serve as its crowning touch.")

Even if we went no further, we see (in my opinion) an amazingly progressive (if not revolutionary) emphasis on proper treatment of the disadvantaged in the Torah.

But there's still more to say. Rashi explains (based on the Midrash) that the mitzvah, "You shall not cause pain to any widow or orphan," is NOT limited to those two categories of individuals. Rather, he writes, "The same law applies [to oppressing or persecuting] any person, but Scripture speaks of that which is prevalent, for they [widows and orphans] are weak and persecuting them is common."

In Rashi's view, causing pain or anguish to anybody is prohibited by this verse! The Torah just uses--as is its wont--the example of widows and orphans because they are the societal members most commonly persecuted.

The only problem with this is that there are other verses in the Torah that explicitly caution us against hurting someone with our words ("ona'as devarim," or verbal persecution or oppression) or taking advantage of them financially. If so, what is the special nature of this particular commandment? How is it adding something to the general prohibition of causing anguish to somebody else?

Here, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (in his Torah commentary) beautifully explicates the exact connotation of the Hebrew word used in this verse for, "cause pain": lo si'anun. The Hebrew word specifically suggests making somebody feel his or her oni, or dependent position. According to Rashi (who said the verse is NOT limited to widows and orphans specifically), with the help of Rabbi Hirsch's etymological insight, we now understand that whenever we make someone else feel their dependent position, and thereby cause them anguish, we are violating this commandment. To consciously make our own power or influence felt at the expense of somebody else who is in a dependent position--for the sake of gloating, or intimidation however subtle--is to violate this prohibition...and (as the Torah goes on to say) to invite the anger of Hashem, the defender of the intimidated and powerless!

If we stop and think about this for a moment, we can see how often we--or should I just say, I--transgress this sacred interpersonal mitzvah by "throwing our weight around," or making someone feel their dependence on us. I think we see how AWESOME (I started with that word) is the Torah's concern with helping us to be individuals who empathize with the plight of others--and who then ACT (or desist from acting) on the basis of that feeling. How careful we have to be not to cause pain to our fellow man, not to take advantage of our own power to hurt or intimidate others. The Midrash (from which Rashi quotes) goes on to say that whether it's a little bit or a lot, it's a serious transgression to make someone else feel his weakness. Of course, employees are dependent (in a sense) on their employers, and there are different hierarchies in any society...but we still must be very, very careful of how we behave towards those "weaker" than we are (in any context), and how our actions or behavior make them feel.

May we all learn to treat our fellow Jews (and fellow human beings) as the Torah wants us to, with awesome sense and sensitivity, in whatever situation they may find themselves. (Including widows and orphans.) We will not only become better people--slowly, slowly--and improve our society, but (as with all the mitzvot we do) we will also be bringing the advent of the Messianic age closer.

GOOD SHABBOS/SHABBAT SHALOM!

My e-mail address is yosefe@comcast.net

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Rabbi Yosef Edelstein, Savannah Kollel. Phone: 912-351-0469; fax: 354-9923