* TORAH WEEKLY * Highlights of the Weekly Torah Portion and Haftorah. Plus Ani Ma'amin - The Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith. Parshas Mishpatim For the week ending 27 Shevat 5755 27 & 28 January 1995 =========================================================================== This issue is sponsored in loving memory of Harry M. Iskowitz O.B.M. by his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren =========================================================================== Summary The Jewish People receive a series of laws concerning social justice. Topics include: Proper treatment of Jewish servants; a husband's obligations toward his wife; penalties for hitting people and cursing parents, judges, and leaders; financial responsibilities for physically damaging someone or his property, either by oneself or by one's animate or inanimate property, or by pitfalls that one created; payments for theft or for not returning an object that one accepted responsibility to guard; the right to self-defense for a person being robbed. Other topics include: Prohibitions against seduction, practicing witchcraft, bestiality and sacrifice to idols. The Torah warns us to treat the convert, widow and orphan with dignity, and to avoid lying. Usury is forbidden, and the rights over collateral are limited. Payment of obligations to the Beis HaMikdash should not be delayed, and the Jewish People must be Holy, even with regard to food. The Torah teaches the proper conduct for judges in court proceedings. The commandments of Shabbos and the Sabbatical year are outlined. Three times a year -- Pesach, Shavuos and Succos -- we are told to come to the Temple. The Torah concludes this listing of Laws with a commandment of kashrus -- not to mix milk and meat. Hashem promises that He will lead the Jewish People to Israel, helping them conquer the nations that live there, and tells them that if they fulfill His commandments they will bring blessings to their nation. The people promise to do and listen to everything that Hashem says. Moshe writes the Book of the Covenant, and reads it to the people. Moshe ascends the mountain for 40 days in order to receive the two Tablets of the Covenant. =========================================================================== Commentaries "And these are the statutes..." (23:9). Rashi explains that the reason our Parsha begins "And these...", rather than just "These...", is to connect this week's Parsha to last week's _ that just as the laws of man's relationship with Hashem come from Sinai, so too the laws of social justice also come from Sinai. The rest of the civilized world also legislates social justice. The difference between their enactments and Judaism, however, is the one small word at the beginning of our Parsha..."And". In the rest of the world, laws are based on civility and pragmatism -- no society can exist without some code of acceptable behavior. Man-made laws, however, cannot withstand the onslaught of the desires of a person's natural inclinations. In times of trial and test, these laws go "out the window," and left in their place are a myriad of excuses. Rivers of blood have been spilled in murders and wars in every era, including our own, in spite of the fact that "You shall not murder" is a universally accepted creed. However, for the Jew, the essential imperative in laws of social conduct is not moral, pragmatic or cultural -- rather it is the Will of Hashem, no less than tefillin or kashrus. This is what gives the Torah's code of social justice its power and durability for millennia after its institution. (Adapted from Rav Shlomo Yosef Zevin) "...and all the people said `All that Hashem has spoken we will do and we will hear'" (24:7). "At the moment that the Jewish People answered "we will do and we will hear," 600,000 angels descended and crowned each Jew with two crowns, one for `we will do' and one for `we will hear'" (Shabbos 88a). By accepting the Torah "sight-unseen," one can certainly understand why the Jewish People merited a precious crown for their unconditional commitment to submit totally to Hashem's will with perfect faith. What, however was the significance of the crown for "we will hear"? Was this not merely an inevitable sequel to the commitment to do? Obviously in order to do, they had to know what was demanded. What is the true significance of this second crown, and what does it teach us? Man, by his very nature, must constantly strive to perfect himself. When he is not ascending, he is, of necessity, descending. One is either growing or stagnating, there is no in-between. Life is like the down escalator. If you stand still, you go down. If you walk, you stay where you. Only if you make the additional effort to run, will you ascend. This is the significance of the second crown -- the Jewish People accepted on themselves for all time, to be constantly open to learn more -- to "hear" more -- in order to elevate themselves, rung after rung, towards the fulfillment of the ultimate Torah potential each of us possesses. (Adapted from Rabbi Zev Leff -- "Outlooks and Insights") =========================================================================== Haftorah: Jeremiah 33-34 "Were it not for My covenant day and night, had I not established the laws of heaven and earth..." (33:25). The laws of nature are universally accepted as being incontrovertible facts, but how nature operates is a cause for investigation and speculation. Science labors constantly to offer more and more sophisticated explanations of phenomena, and to reveal the secrets of nature, but no one would sensibly contradict the realities of nature based on science's lack of precise understanding of these realities. Like nature, the Torah is an unchanging, incontrovertible reality. We must constantly labor to understand its mysteries. The Torah is "My covenant day and night" which needs to be like "the laws of heaven and earth" _ facts, which are not constrained by the intellect of Man, but are considered to be eternal fundamental concepts, which the intellect needs only to strive to grasp and understand. (Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch) =========================================================================== Ani Ma'amin The Rambam's 13 principles of faith Principle #12: "I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Mashiach, and even though he may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come." Rabbi Yochanan stated: "The son of David -- Mashiach -- will come only in a generation which is entirely deserving or entirely undeserving." Sanhedrin 98a There are two situations which can bring about our redemption by eliminating any benefit from Hashem's prolonged concealment of His glory. One is when all of Israel is deserving of redemption because of their service of Hashem. Then there is no longer any need to stimulate them to teshuva through exile and this dishonor to the glory of Hashem must come to an end. The other is when all of Israel is undeserving and so far removed from any state of holiness that there is no hope of stimulating them to teshuva. The dishonor to Hashem created by His concealment will no longer be productive and redemption will be initiated from Above. Michtav MiEliyahu, vol. 4, p. 138 =========================================================================== Where do YOU find TW* ? Judy Tashbook "gets it as E-mail from the Jerusalem1 ListServ which she access on Delphi through her office at HarperCollinsPublishers in NYC. She then forwards it as E-mail to her brother Charles Tashbook in Arlington, Texas because this way he gets a weekly Parsha Shiur from Ohr Somayach." TW finds its way all around the globe. E-Mail, fax, snail-mail, fedex and let us know where you found your copy. We'll share your responses with the other TW readers! *(Torah Weekly) =========================================================================== MATAN TORAH got you mixed up? Rabbi Gavriel Reuven and Ohr Somayach present Rashi's explanation of the Chronology of the Giving of the Torah The chain of events surrounding the giving of the Torah is very difficult to follow, because, according to Rashi's understanding, the verses are not arranged chronologically. This file lists the events in correct chronological order so that you can easily understand how the Torah was given to the Jewish People. This file is available from the following sources: o The Jerusalem1 Gopher under the heading "Religious Institutions" and the sub-heading "Ohr Somayach" o CompuServe Religion Forum, Judaism Library (3), filename TORAH.TXT o Sent via E-Mail for those without access to one of the above. Send your request to newman@jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il. To speed processing, set your subject to "SEND ME TORAH" and do not include any other topics in your message. =========================================================================== Dedication opportunities are available for Torah Weekly Please contact us for details. =========================================================================== Jewish L EEEEEEEE Prepared by Ohr Somayach Institutions J L E 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 J L Exchange Jerusalem 91180, Israel J J L E Tel: 02-810315 Fax: 02-812890 JJJJ Learning EEEEEEEE Internet: newman@jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il =========================================================================== Written and Compiled by Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair Production Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman Production Design: Lev Seltzer =========================================================================== (C) 1995 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. 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