And Now for (some of) the Details... (from the archives)

You know the famous question from the opening pasuk of BHAR - What does Shmita have to do with Mt. Sinai? And the answer is that just as the mitzva of Shmita was given in full detail at Sinai, so too was all of the Torah, were all of the Mitzvot, given by G-d at Sinai, with all their details. We have a beautiful example of this concept in Parshat Mishpatim.

In last week's sedra, we have the presentation of the Aseret HaDibrot. If one reads only Yitro, one can get the impression that Revelation at Sinai consisted of just these ten statements. And somehow, that is the impression that a large part of the Bible-reading world seems to have. And, even more unfortunately, so do some Jews.

But we read on. And we come to Mishpatim. And G-d's command to Moshe to "place the detailed laws before them (us)". It was not - the Aseret HaDibrot are G-d's commands and the Torah is Moshe's explanation. It IS - The Aseret HaDibrot are G-d's chapter headings, and the Torah, the Written Word AND the Oral Law - are His explanations and details. Each one of the Aseret HaDibrot can be found in greater detail in Parshat Mishpatim.

Let's skip the first one; we'll come back to it. Commandment #2 prohibits idolatry. In Mishpatim we find the prohibitions of sorcery (considered to be deeply rooted in pagan practices), sacrificing to anyone/thing other than G-d, bowing to idols, following in the ways of idolaters, even mentioning the names of other deities.

Commandment #3 is echoed in the prohibitions of swearing falsely, blaspheming, cursing, lying.

Shabbat is "repeated" in Mishpatim with the addition of the "other" Shabbats, namely the Festivals (Shabbat is the "first of the holy days") and the Shabbat of the Land, Shmita.

Honor of parents is reflected in the serious prohibitions against striking or cursing one's parents.

The two words LO TIRTZACH are detailed in Mishpatim, with the punishment spelled out and the laws of injuries and homicide by an animal.

Commandment #7 is expanded, so to speak, by the discussions of rape and bestiality.

LO TIGNOV mushrooms to include kidnapping, cattle rustling, penalties for stealing, taking advantage of others, mishandling that which belongs to others, lending and borrowing, the laws of damages, and more.

Bearing false witness heads the long list of perversions of justice, a major theme of Mishpatim.

Commandment #10 touches upon many of the theft rules and well as other aspects of interpersonal law that is detailed in Mishpatim.

Which brings us back to ANOCHI... Who took you out of Egypt... We were slaves and now we are free to serve G-d. The emphasis upon the treatment of slaves and servants, Jew and non- Jew, reflects the relationship with G-d that He wants us to have. There's a lot more; I leave it for your discovery.

From the TTarchives

In 20:15 (immediately following the Aseret HaDibrot), the Torah tells us that "all the nation saw the sounds & flames (thunder & lightning), and the sound of the Shofar, and the mountain smoking".

Does the Torah mean that they saw and heard the thunder & lightning (not respectively), etc. Or does it mean that they saw sounds?

A zeugma is a rhetorical figure in which a verb (or adjective) governs two nouns while correctly applying only to one of them. This means that one can correctly say that he saw the lightning and thunder, when he means that he saw the lightning and heard the thunder. This is one possibility - a prosaic way of explaining the wording in 20:15.

Many commentaries, however, suggest that Bnei Yisrael experienced a supernatural synesthesia. (Saw the word in the Living Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan z"l. Looked it up in the dictionary. It is a "transferred sensation, the production of a subjective response normally associated with one sense by stimulation of another sense - as perceiving a specific color from hearing a certain sound".)

G'MATRIYA based on L'ORAH SHEL TORAH by R. Yaakov Auerbach z"l

The mass Aliya L'Regel, the pilgrimages to Yerushalayim for the three major festivals was/will be accompanied by a peace in the Land resulting from one person not coveting the land and possessions of his fellows. YEIRA'EH KOL Z'CHURCHA EL P'NEI HA'ADON HASHEM (23:17) = 776 This is the same G'matriya as G-d's promise of peace - YASEIM L'CHA SHALOM = 350+50+376 = 776.

The Baal HaTurim gives a NUTRIKON for the first pasuk in Mishpatim. He takes each of the words and uses the letters as the initial letters of statements which instruct judges how to act.

V'EILEH - A person must investigate the case.

HAMISHPATIM - The judge should attempt compromise before issuing a decree.

ASHER - If both parties are agreeable to that.

TASIM - Hear both parties together (do not hear one in the absence of the other).

LIFNEIHEM - If a well-known charitable person is one of the disputants in a case, do not show him honor or favor, treat him like a stranger.

Half of... an apricot, a face, the copper mines.

Onkeles translates V'NISHMA as U'N'KABEIL, and we will accept.