FROM THE TORAH
Exodus 21:1-24:18
Israel is encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai. There, in last week’s Sedra Yitro, the Eternal and Israel forged a covenant. Israel is to be a kingdom of priests for the Eternal, a holy nation. They agreed to observe the demands of the Eternal. These demands begin with the Ten Commandments which God spoke in Israel’s presence from Mount Sinai amid thunder and lightning, the sound of a shofar, and smoke rising from the mountain, covered by the heavy cloud of the Eternal’s Presence. The people were so terrified that they moved away from the mountain and asked Moses to speak with them instead of God. Moses then approached the thick cloud to draw closer to God.
In this week’s Sedra Mishpatim, the message which the Eternal has told Moses to deliver to the Children of Israel (cf. Exodus 20:19-23) continues in detail. It comprises laws of social behavior, piety and obeisance. It is sealed with a divine assurance of safe passage contingent upon covenantal compliance. The people for its part accept the divine imperatives unconditionally, whereupon Moses is accompanied by the priestly and lay leadership to begin an ascent to the Mountain of God. Ultimately only Moses completes the ascent and remains on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
INTRODUCTION
21:1
Here follows the message which the Eternal has told Moses to deliver to the Children of Israel (cf. Exodus 20:19-23): Laws (Mishpatim) that Moses is to set before them.
MALE HEBREW SLAVE
21:2-6
A Hebrew slave that you acquire shall go out free without payment in the seventh year. If he comes in single, he goes out single. If he comes in with a wife, he goes out with her. If his master gives him a woman and she bears his children, the woman and her children belong to her master, and he goes out single. However, if he should declare, “I love my master, my woman, and my children; I shall not go out free,” then his master shall bring him to the judges and to the door or to the doorpost, the master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him in perpetuity.
FEMALE HEBREW SLAVE
21:7-11
If a man should sell his daughter as a slave, she shall not go out in the manner of male slaves. If her master designates her for himself and then she displeases him, he must let her be redeemed. But he does not have the right to sell her to a foreign person when he has violated her designation. If he designated her for his son, he shall deal with her in accordance with the ordinance of daughters. If he should marry another woman, he may not diminish her food, her clothing, or her conjugal entitlement; otherwise, she goes out free without payment.
CAPITAL OFFENSES
21:12-17
The following offenders shall be put to death:
One intentionally strikes another and the victim dies. However, if he did not act intentionally, but God caused it to come about, I shall provide for you a place to which he may flee. On the other hand, if it turns out that he actually schemed against his fellow to kill him with guile, you shall take him from My Sanctuary to die.
One strikes his father or his mother.
One kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or is found holding him.
One curses his father or his mother.
PERSONAL INJURIES
21:18-27
If one wounds another in a quarrel with a stone or fist, wherein the victim recovers, he is liable only for the victim’s loss of productivity and medical expenses.
If one strikes his male or female slave with a staff, so that the slave dies, he shall be held liable. However, if the slave lives for one or two days, he will not be held liable, since the slave is his property.
If men, in the course of fighting with each other, hurt a pregnant woman so that she miscarries, and there is no other harm, the man responsible shall be fined in accordance with her husband’s demand as determined by the judges. If, however, there is other damage, then you shall impose life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
If one destroys the eye or the tooth of his male or female slave, he shall set him free because of the eye or the tooth.
INJURIES BY PROPERTY
21:28-36
If an ox gores to death a man or a woman or a male or female child, it shall be stoned, and it shall not be eaten; the owner is innocent. If, however, the ox has a history of goring and its owner has been warned but does not guard it, the ox shall be stoned, and the owner is subject to the penalty of death. He may redeem his life by paying in full the ransom that is placed upon him. If the victim is a male or female slave, the owner of the ox shall pay a fine of 30 shekels to the master of the deceased slave, and the ox shall be stoned.
If a man should open or dig a pit and fail to cover it, and an ox or an ass fall into it, then the one responsible for the pit shall pay restitution to the animal’s owner and shall then own the dead animal.
If a man’s ox fatally injures the ox of another, they shall sell the live ox and divide its price, and they shall divide the dead animal. If, however, it was known that the ox has a history of goring and the owner does not guard it, the owner shall pay ox for ox and shall then own the dead animal.
THEFT, BURGLARY AND CONFLAGRATION
21:37-22:5
If one should steal an ox or a sheep and slaughter it or sell it, he shall pay 5 oxen for the ox or 4 sheep for the sheep. If what he stole is found alive in his possession, he shall pay double. He shall make restitution, but if he has nothing, he shall be sold in his theft.
If a thief is discovered tunneling in and is beaten to death, there is no bloodguilt for him. If, however, the sun had risen upon him, there is bloodguilt for him.
If a man allows his cattle to graze in the field or vineyard of another, he shall make restitution based upon the value of the choicest produce of the field or of the vineyard.
If a fire is started and reaches thorns, and stacked or standing grain or the field is consumed, the one who started the fire must make restitution for the burning.
LOST DEPOSITS
22:6-12
If a man deposits money or articles with another for safekeeping, and it is subsequently stolen—if the thief is found, he shall pay double. If the thief is not found, then the one with whom it was deposited shall appear before the judges to determine if he did not lay his hand upon the property of the depositor.
If one alleges misappropriation by another, the case of both parties shall be heard by the judges. The one whom they hold guilty shall pay double to the other.
If a man deposits an animal with another for safekeeping, and it subsequently dies or is injured or is captured, with no witness, an oath of the Eternal shall decide between them if the one with whom it was deposited did not lay his hand upon the property of the depositor. The depositor shall accept this: the one with whom it was deposited shall not make restitution. If the animal was torn by another animal, he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make restitution. However, if the animal was stolen, then he shall make restitution.
LOSS OF A BORROWED OR HIRED ANIMAL
22:13-14
If a man borrows an animal from another, and it subsequently is injured or dies—if the owner was not with it, the borrower shall make restitution; if the owner was with it, the borrower shall not make restitution.
If a man hires an animal from another, and it subsequently is injured or dies, the owner is entitled to his hire.
SEDUCTION
22:15-16
If a man seduces an unbetrothed virgin, he shall pay the purchase price to acquire her as his wife. If her father refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the purchase price.
VICTIMLESS OFFENSIVE ACTS
22:17-19
You shall not allow a sorceress to remain alive.
Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.
Whoever sacrifices to deities other than the Eternal alone shall be proscribed.
HOLINESS
22:20-23:13
Do not wrong or oppress a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Do not mistreat any widow or orphan. Otherwise, I shall hear their cry. Enraged, I shall kill you by the sword: your wives will become widows and your children, orphans.
Do not treat “My people, the poor with you” (Exodus 22:24), as a creditor would normally treat a debtor. Charge no interest when you lend him money. If he gives you his garment in pledge, return it to him before the sun sets because it is the only covering for his skin. If he cries out to Me, I will listen because I am compassionate.
Do not curse God.
Do not curse a leader among your people.
Do not be late in offering of the fullness of your fields or of your wine or oil.
Give to Me the firstborn of your sons. This also applies to your cattle and to your flock: for seven days it shall be with its mother, on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.
Do not eat torn flesh of an animal in the field; throw it to the dogs. You shall be holy people to Me.
Do not utter an unfounded report.
Do not join with the guilty to be a malicious witness.
Do not follow a multitude to do evil.
Do not pervert your testimony in a dispute to favor a party because he is mighty or because he is weak.
If you encounter the ox or ass of your enemy wandering, you must return it to him.
If you see the ass of your enemy lying under its burden, you must aid him in freeing it regardless of how you feel towards one who hates you.
Do not pervert laws which are meant to protect the powerless in their disputes. Keep far from a falsehood, which might lead to the death of the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the wicked. Do not accept a bribe, which blinds the clear-sighted and suppresses the candor of the honest. Do not oppress a stranger, for you know the plight of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.
Farm your land for six years, then let it rest in the seventh. The needy of your people may eat from its produce during the seventh year; whatever they leave may be eaten by the beast of the field. The same applies to your vineyard and to your olive grove.
Do your work for six days, then observe a Sabbath on the seventh day, in order that your ox and your ass may rest, in order that your worker and the stranger may be refreshed.
Be careful to observe all that I say to you. Do not mention the name of other gods, let it not be heard upon your lips!
FESTIVAL OFFERINGS OF THE YEAR
23:14-19
Three times in the year shall you observe a festival for Me. Keep the festival of unleavened bread for seven days by eating unleavened bread as I commanded you (cf. Exodus 12:15) for the festival of the month of Aviv, when you went forth from Egypt, when no one should appear in My presence empty-handed; the festival of the first fruits harvest of what you have labored to sow in the field; and the festival of the last gathering of your labors from the field at the end of the year. All of your males shall appear before Me, the Lord, the Eternal, three times in the year.
Do not offer My blood sacrifice (cf. Exodus 12:24 ff.) while there is leavened bread present, and do not leave the fat of My festival sacrifice overnight until morning (cf. Exodus 12:10).
Bring the choicest of your first fruits to the House of the Eternal, your God.
Do not boil a kid in the milk of its mother.
DIVINE PROTECTION
23:20-33
I am sending an angel before you to provide you safe passage to the destination I have prepared for you. Obey him, do not defy him, for he will not tolerate your transgression, as My Name is in him. If you do obey, then I will attack those who attack you.
When My angel brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I annihilate them, do not start to worship their gods or follow their ways. Rather, you should destroy their cultic infrastructure and serve the Eternal, your God, who will thus bless your bread and your water. Thus will I remove sickness from your midst, and there will be no miscarrying or barrenness in your land. I will see that you live out the fullness of your days.
I will send My terror before you and rout every people that you come against, including the Hivites, the Canaanites and the Hittites. However, this will not be accomplished in a year, in order to protect the land from sudden desolation and to prevent wild beasts from filling the vacuum left by your vanquished enemies. I shall expel them gradually, until you are fruitful and your progeny inherit the land.
I shall establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of Philistia and from the Wilderness to the Euphrates. The current inhabitants of the land do I place in your hand so that you can drive them out from before you. Make no covenant with them or their gods. They shall not continue to live in your land lest they influence you to sin against Me and thus become your undoing.
RATIFICATION OF THE COVENANT
24:1-18
Moses is commanded to ascend to the Eternal, together with Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and Seventy of the Elders of Israel (cf. Numbers 11:16 ff.), and to worship from afar. Moses alone is commanded to approach the Eternal, and the rest of the people are not allowed to come up with him.
Moses relates to the people all of the words of the Eternal and all of the laws. The people respond in one voice that they will do all that the Eternal commands. Moses also writes down all of the Eternal’s words. Early the next morning, he builds an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He causes young men to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as offerings of well-being to the Eternal. Half of the blood Moses places in basins, and the other half he dashes against the altar. Then he reads from the written record of the covenant in the hearing of the people, who respond, “All that the Eternal has spoken, we shall do and we shall heed” (Exodus 24:7)! Thereupon Moses takes the blood and casts it upon the people, pronouncing it, “the blood of the covenant which the Eternal has made with you concerning all of these things” (Exodus 24:8).
Now Moses ascends, along with Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and Seventy of the Elders of Israel, and they behold the God of Israel. Under His feet there is something resembling paved sapphire, as pure in its appearance as the heavens. Undisturbed by the Eternal, these nobles of the Children of Israel look upon God and eat and drink.
The Eternal tells Moses to come up to Him on the Mountain, where He will give him “the stone tablets with the teaching and the commandment, which I have inscribed to teach them” (Exodus 24:12). Moses and Joshua his attendant arise, Moses instructs the Elders to remain behind with Aaron and Hur to accommodate anyone who has a legal matter to decide, and Moses goes up to the Mountain of God.
A cloud covers the Mountain, the Divine Presence upon Mount Sinai for six days. The Children of Israel see it as a consuming fire at the top of the Mountain. On the seventh day, from the cloud, the Eternal calls to Moses. Moses enters the cloud and ascends to the Mountain. Moses remains on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
Maftir for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
Numbers 28:9-15
The Eternal orders Moses to command the Children of Israel
to present to Him His offering of food,
fire offerings of a pleasing aroma,
each at its appointed time:
SABBATH
28:9-10
On the Sabbath day, along with the regular burnt offering and its libation, a burnt offering of two year-old lambs without blemish, two-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal offering, and its libation.
NEW MOONS
28:11-15
On your New Moons, a burnt offering of two bulls of the herd, one ram, and seven year-old lambs, without blemish. For the meal offering, three-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull, two-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for the ram, and a tenth of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil for each lamb. Their libations shall be of wine, a half-hin for each bull, a third of a hin for the ram, and a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In addition there shall be a sin offering of a goat and its libation along with the regular offering.
FROM THE PROPHETS
Haftarah for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
Isaiah 66:1-24
Vindication of the Charedim
CRITIQUE
66:1-9
Thus says the Eternal:
Heaven is My throne,
the earth a stool for My feet;
what house, then, can you build for Me,
what place for Me to rest?
I brought all of these things into being
but choose to regard
the afflicted of body and spirit,
who trembles (chared) at My word.
What of him who brings the required sacrifices?
He slaughters an ox? He slaughters a man.
He sacrifices a lamb? He breaks the neck of a dog.
He brings a meal offering? He offers the blood of a pig.
He seeks remembrance through incense? He blesses idols.
Their misdeeds shall I return upon them,
for I called and no one answered,
I spoke and they heeded not;
they choose to do that which is evil in My sight.
Hear, O tremblers (charedim), the word of the Eternal:
Your brothers who disparage you
because of your devotion to Me
taunt you,
“Let the Eternal appear
so that we can witness your rapture (simcha)!”—
your brothers shall be confounded.
Hear the sound of discomfiture
from the city, from the Temple:
It is the sound of the Eternal
imparting recompense
to His enemies!
Zion shall deliver her child
even before she labors—
who has seen anything like it?
A land brought forth in one day!
A nation born at once!
Shall I who bring forth
not deliver?
Shall I who deliver
hold back?
Zion has not travailed
before she delivers her children.
“SIMCHU ET YERUSHALAYIM…”
66:10-11
Yes, enjoy your rapture, O Jerusalem,
and delight in her, all who love her!
Experience joy with her,
all who mourn over her,
that you may suck to satisfaction
from her comforting breast,
that you may drink deeply
of her glorious abundance.
“THE WEALTH OF NATIONS”
66:12-19
The Eternal promises to extend to her
prosperity (shalom) and the wealth (kavod) of nations
like a river overflowing.
You shall be carried on their side
and dandled on their knees.
As a man whom his mother comforts,
thus shall I console you;
in Jerusalem shall you find comfort.
When you see this,
your heart will rejoice,
your bones shall blossom;
His servants shall recognize the hand of the Eternal,
His adversaries shall know His indignation.
For the Eternal is coming with fire and sword,
His chariots like a storm,
executing judgment of all flesh,
multiplying the slain.
Those who sanctify and purify themselves,
one by one into the garden,
to eat swine and filth and mouse,
shall find their end together.
Their idolatrous thoughts and deeds
bring Me to gather all nations and tongues
to behold My grave Presence,
and those of them who escape to other nations—
to Tarshish, Pul, Lud,
drawers of the bow,
Tuval and Yavan,
distant coasts,
where they have not known My fame—
shall make it known to those nations.
RETURN OF THE EXILES
66:20-21
Then all of your exiled brothers
shall be brought back from those nations
as an offering to the Eternal;
they shall be brought on
horses, chariots, wagons, mules, dromedaries,
to My holy mountain of Jerusalem,
as the Children of Israel bring their offerings
in pure vessels to the House of the Eternal.
And I shall take also some of them
for Priests and Levites.
NEW ORDER
66:22-24
For as long as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall stand before Me
shall your offspring and your name endure,
and it shall be
that on every New Moon and every Sabbath
all flesh shall come to worship before Me,
declares the Eternal.
They shall go out and behold the transgressors’ corpses,
their worms not dead, their fire not abated,
a horror for all flesh.
CONSOLATION
66:23
It shall be
that on every New Moon and every Sabbath
all flesh shall come to worship before Me,
declares the Eternal.
FROM TALMUD AND MIDRASH
Exodus Rabbah 30:3
A Lesson about Judgment
“Do not ascend to My Altar by steps,
so that your nakedness is not exposed upon it.”
(Exodus 20:23)
“And these are the laws (mishpatim)
which you shall set before them.”
(Exodus 21:1)
The contiguity of these two verses, the first being the conclusion of the previous Sedra Yitro and the second being the beginning of the current Sedra Mishpatim, apparently connected by the conjunctive vav (“and”), implies a commonality between them, as if to suggest that the “laws” are to be applied in such a way as “your nakedness is not exposed!”
But the priests’ nakedness is already to be concealed according to a separate commandment: Make for the Kohanim (“Priests”) “linen underpants to cover their nakedness…” (Exodus 28:42). Thus, the preceding verse here (Exodus 20:23 as above), to avoid redundancy, must be understood not to be about the priests’ nakedness. What then is it about? It teaches that the way to ascend to the Altar is to take very small steps, heal touching toe, in the very same way that one would walk if he were trying to conceal his nakedness!
Rabbi Avina then explains the commonality between our verses (Exodus 20:23 and Exodus 21:1 as above): Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, warned the Kohanim against taking large steps on their way to the top of the Altar, so also does He warn the Judges against taking large steps in adjudication of the laws.
“Moses received Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua,
and Joshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets,
and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly,
who said…: Be deliberate (in the sense of ‘careful’) in judgment….”
(Mishnah Avot 1:1)
Rambam: They should not depend on their initial judgment, but they should engage in long deliberation and careful examination so as to avoid error. For one who rushes to judgment is considered a sinner, and even if he intends to arrive at the truth, he is not thereby an unintentional sinner but virtually an intentional one, having failed to hold in his heart the Prophet’s implication that “the mind of the hasty [does not] discern knowledge” (Isaiah 32:4), given that error inheres to everyone! That is what Rabbi Judah meant when he taught: “Be careful in your study, for an error in study may amount to intentional sin” (Mishnah Avot 4:13). And that is what Solomon taught: “If you see a man who is wise in his own eyes, there is more to hope for from a fool than from him” (Proverbs 26:12)!
“At the time [moed] that I choose
I shall make a fair judgment.”
(Psalms 75:3)
Interpret:
“When I take enough time [moed],
I can make a fair judgment.”
(Psalms 75:3 according to Midrash Samuel on Avot 1:1)
Exodus Rabbah 30:5
The Mishpatim bespeak the Ten Commandments
How beautifully abundant and deep is Sedra Mishpatim! Its Ordinances follow upon the giving of the Ten Commandments and their meaning. The first two laws provide evidence.
“I thank You for the awesome benefits You have provided me,
the wonders [nifla’eem] of Your works [ma’asecha],
to which I owe my life [nafshee]!”
(Psalms 139:14)
“When you acquire a Hebrew slave…” (Exodus 21:2)—thus says the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: I acquired you in Egypt (cf. Exodus 20:2) through the Ten Plagues. Indeed when the Psalmist praises God for the wonders of His own creation, we may understand the “wonders” [nifla’eem] of which he speaks as the liberation of Israel from Egypt: “What you have done [ma’asecha] for me is miraculous [nifla’eem] (cf. Exodus 15:11: osey feleh], to which I owe my existence [nafshee]” (Psalms 139:14)! So I (God) openly give you the Ten Commandments, which attest to My creating the world in no more than six days. Accordingly, I have given you no more than six years of work from your Hebrew slave.
“You (O Lord) have ascended on high,
taking captives (of the enemy),
accepting the gifts of man,
even of the rebellious,
so that the Eternal God will dwell there!”
(Psalms 68:19)
“When a man sells his daughter as a slave…” (Exodus 21:7)—I (God) had an only daughter (Torah), and I sold her to you; you may not take her out: show her honor by sheltering her in an ark—“…she may not go out as do the male slaves” (ibid.)! You captured her from me, as the Psalmist’s words may be understood to refer to Moses on behalf of Israel: “You (Moses) went up to the height (Mount Sinai), you took a captive (My daughter, My Torah), as a gift to Man, even for the wayward, to dwell with God” (Psalms 68:19)!
Exodus Rabbah 30:10
Train those whom you appoint
“And these are the laws…” (Exodus 21:1)—thus opens Sedra Mishpatim: with the conjunction “and,” linking this Sedra with the previous Sedra Yitro. In the previous Sedra, Moses follows the advice of his father-in-law Jethro to appoint lower judges in order to remove some of the burden of judgment from his own shoulders. Jethro specifies four qualities that Moses should look for in these judges. They should be (1) worthy men who are (2) God-fearing, (3) honest, and (4) averse to unjust gain. But what do we find? “Moses chooses (1) worthy men from all Israel,” (Exodus 18:25), but there is no further mention of qualities (2), (3) or (4). Yet Moses goes on to appoint them judges over Israel!
Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: I gave the judgeship to you, then you turn around and appoint others! And those others are not even fully qualified! So now, you must go and teach them, as was said, “And these are the ordinances which you shall place before them” (Exodus 21:1).
Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 3:5
Covenant of Redemption
“A Hebrew slave that you acquire
shall go out free without payment in the seventh year.”
(Exodus 21:2)
“I made a covenant with your fathers
when I brought them out of the land of Egypt…:
A Hebrew who is sold to you shall serve you for six years,
and then you must let him go free…”
(Jeremiah 34:13-14)
“The Eternal speaks to Moses and to Aaron and commands them,
to [el] the Children of Israel and to [el] Pharaoh,
to bring out the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt.”
(Exodus 6:12-13)
The purpose of speaking to Pharaoh—
to bring out the Children of Israel from his land—
had already been said (cf. Exodus 3:10),
so what new mitzvah did the Eternal command them here?
Said Rabbi Samuel son of Rav Yitzchak:
He commanded the Children of Israel here
the mitzvah of releasing their own slaves, to wit,
“The Eternal speaks to Moses and to Aaron and commands them
regarding [el] the Children of Israel…
[that they should release their Hebrew slaves after six years]
as a condition to bring out the Children of Israel from the land of Egypt!”
(Exodus 6:12-13)
And this is in accordance with the teaching of Rabbi Hila:
Israel was punished with the Babylonian Exile
expressly because they neglected the mitzvah
of releasing their own slaves.
This is explained by the Prophet:
”I made a covenant with your fathers
on the day that I brought them out
of the land of Egypt,
from the house of bondage,
saying:
‘At the end of seven years
each of you must release
your fellow Hebrew that was sold to you
and served you for six years;
you must let him go free from you!’
But your fathers did not pay attention
to what I commanded.”
(Jeremiah 34:13-14)
So the mitzvah of redeeming our own slaves
was taught to us even before Sinai
as a condition of our own redemption
from Egypt!
(Korban Ha-eydah Commentary)
Exodus Rabbah 30:5,16
Rationale for Capital Punishment
The following offenders shall be put to death:
“One intentionally strikes another and the victim dies…
“One strikes his father or his mother…
“One curses his father or his mother…”
(Exodus 21:12-17)
What justifies the penalty of death for one who intentionally strikes another so that the victim dies? The perpetrator neglected to consider the verses, “I shall require your blood for your lives…from the hand of every man’s brother shall I require the life of the man; whoever spills the blood of man, by man shall his blood be spilled, for in the image of God was man created” (Genesis 9:5-6). It may be compared to a man who obliterates a statue of the king, and on that accusation he is brought to trial. The king confronts him: Have you not read in my book of laws that whoever defaces my image is lost?! Why didn’t you have pity on yourself? Similarly, if one kills a person in Israel, it is as if he has removed the image of God, for which he is brought to trial and, if he is found guilty, condemned to death, “for in the image of God was man created” (Genesis 9:6). If it is determined that he killed another accidentally, God has provided him with a place to which he may flee from the blood avenger (cf. Numbers 35:1-15). But if he killed the other intentionally, even if he is the Kohen Gadol, he would be liable to death.
What justifies the penalty of death for one who strikes his father or his mother, not causing thereby their death, or for one who only curses them? Rabbi Samuel explained: The Holy One, blessed be He, punished a light infraction in order to protect against an offense more severe. When Noah, in a drunken state, uncovered himself inside his tent, his son Ham, father of Canaan, “saw the nakedness of his father” (Genesis 9:22). For the light infraction of merely seeing, Ham and his descendants became perpetual slaves (cf. Genesis 9:25); how much the moreso should the punishment for a greater offense against parents, like striking or cursing, be severe! The model for such severe punishment was the Ten Tribes of Israel exiled by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, because they rebelled against the Holy One, blessed be He, and rejected His Torah, in accordance with the Prophet’s words, “They have said, ‘It is not He,’ and thereby demeaned the Eternal” (tantamount to striking and cursing) (Jeremiah 5:12)—and who else is “He” but the Eternal, as the Prophet said, “And now, O Eternal One, You are our Father” (Isaiah 64:7)! So Israel would be punished severely for demeaning their Father! And for rejecting (also tantamount to striking and cursing) their Mother, whom the Sage identified with Torah, in the words, “Forsake not the Torah of your Mother” (Proverbs 1:8), that is, the Torah that is your Mother, for “In the way of wisdom [b’derech chochmah] have I taught you [horeyteecha]” (Proverbs 4:11), may be interpreted, “By means of Torah [b’derech Chochmah] have I conceived you [hareeteecha]!”
Mechilta Mishpatim Nezikin 7,9
Limit to Servitude
“If one strikes his slave with a staff,
so that the slave dies,
he shall be held liable.
If the slave lives for one or two days,
he will not be held liable,
since the slave is his property.”
(Exodus 21:20-21)
The second of these two verses creates a leniency for the slave owner wherein he is not held liable for the death of his slave. But:
“If one destroys the eye or the tooth of his slave,
he shall set the slave free because of the eye or the tooth.”
(Exodus 21:26-27)
Why was this third verse said? Because of another verse, “You shall acquire them as a permanent inheritance forever” (Leviticus 25:46), I might have inferred that “permanent inheritance forever” applies even if he destroys the eye or the tooth of his slave. So our third verse represents an oral teaching to exclude the Canaanite slave from the category of “permanent inheritance forever” as a stringency upon the slave owner to free the slave when he injures prominent organs.
Rabbi Ishmael explained an incidental implication: A Canaanite slave enjoys no redemption ever and cannot go out free except by consent of the owner, as was said, “You shall acquire them as a permanent inheritance forever” (Leviticus 25:46). So we have learned that while the Canaanite slave is like a permanent holding of land, nonetheless if his human master should subjugate him by knocking out his tooth or blinding his eye or damaging any of his prominent organs, the slave acquires his freedom by cause of that suffering [yissurin]. It then follows: If he acquires his freedom from servitude by suffering at the hands of flesh and blood, how much the moreso at the hands of Heaven! This may be understood by considering the example of David: “The Eternal made me suffer [yassor yissreynee],” he said, “but He has not allowed me to die” (Psalms 118:18)!
Rabbi Samuel Isaac Hillman (19th-20th cent., London), Or Hayashar Commentary: David offered thanks to God for his suffering, because of which He did not allow him to die. Rabbi Ephraim Ze’ev Garboz (20th cent., Jerusalem), Kav Hamiddah Commentary: His sufferings in this world provide atonement for his sins, thus sparing him from punishment in the world to come.
Talmud Sanhedrin 72a-72b
Home Intrusion
“If a thief is discovered tunneling in and is beaten to death,
there is no bloodguilt [dameem] for him.”
(Exodus 22:1)
MISHNAH: The case of one who breaks and enters is judged in accordance with its denouement.
GEMARA: Rava explains that the adjudication of breaking and entering is predicated upon the common assumption that a person does not restrain himself from protecting his property. The burglar therefore assumes: If I confront the homeowner, he will resist, and if he resists, I will kill him. So that burglary falls under the category of the victim’s self-defense, for which the Torah here prescribes: If someone comes to kill you, you kill him first!
“Bloodguilt [dameem] for him” refers to the burglar: In this case the homeowner bears no guilt for killing the burglar, as the case is judged in accordance with its denouement, self-defense. Rashi explains the clause, “There is no bloodguilt [dameem] for him”: You may consider him as one for whom there is no blood [dam] or soul [neshama] so that it is permissible to kill him.
“If, however, the sun had risen upon him,
there is bloodguilt for him.”
(Exodus 22:2a)
GEMARA: Our Rabbis considered two baraithot—
1 “If the sun had risen upon him, there is bloodguilt for him,” but does the sun rise upon him alone? Rather it must mean: If it is as clear to you as the sun that his intentions towards you are peaceful, then do not kill him! But if not (if in doubt), then kill him!
2 “If the sun had risen upon him, there is no bloodguilt for him,” but does the sun rise upon him alone? Rather it must mean: If it is as clear to you as the sun, that his intentions towards you are not peaceful, then kill him! But if not (if in doubt), then do not kill him!
Here, then, we have two anonymous baraithot which appear to be contradictory!
But we see that they are not contradictory when we understand that one applies to the possibility of a father’s breaking and entering the home of his son. A father’s intentions are always assumed to be benevolent towards his son, even if he is forcing his way into his son’s home. Accordingly, the second baraitha (2) applies, as the son must assume his father’s intentions are benevolent, even when there is doubt, unless it is as clear as day that his father would kill him if he resisted the incursion. The other baraitha (1) applies to the possibility of a son’s breaking and entering the home of his father. A son’s intentions may not be benevolent—and even moreso for a non-relative—so that the father would be justified in killing the intruder out of doubt—unless it is as clear to him as day that the intruder’s intentions are benevolent.
Mechilta Mishpatim Nezikin 18
Beloved are the strangers
“Do not wrong a stranger, and do not oppress him,
for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
(Exodus 22:20)
Do not wrong him with words, so that you should not say to him, “The mouth that was eating carrion and torn beasts, unclean animals and reptiles, now chants the tropes of the Torah; until now pig meat was hanging from between your teeth, and you were worshipping all of it!”
Whence do we learn that if you wrong him, he may wrong you? It is an inference from “for you were strangers!” But from the same words of the verse, Rabbi Nathan used to teach: Don’t apply a blemish in yourself to someone else!
Beloved are the strangers,
for in every place He gives warning concerning them:
“Do not wrong a stranger…” (Exodus 22:20)
“Do not oppress a stranger…” (Exodus 23:9)
“You too must love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:19)
“For you know the plight of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 23:9)
Rabbi Eliezer says: Because the condition of a stranger is poor, the verse cautions about him in many places.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: Consider the verse, “And His lovers are as the coming out of the sun in its might” (Judges 5:31)! Who is greater: One who loves the King? Or one whom the King loves? One should say: One whom the King loves, as was said: “The great, mighty and awesome God, who shows no favor and takes no bribe: He does justice for the orphan and the widow, but He loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18).
Abraham called himself a stranger, as was said, “Abraham rose from before his dead and addressed the Hittites: ‘I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; sell me a burial site among you…’” (Genesis 23:3-4). David called himself a stranger, as was said, “I am a stranger in the land…” (Psalms 119:19) and “For strangers are we before You, and sojourners like all of our fathers; our days upon the earth are as a shadow, lacking hope” (I Chronicles 29:15) and “Hear my prayer, O Eternal, give ear to my cry…for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my fathers” (Psalms 39:13).
Beloved are the strangers, for Abraham our Father was not circumcised until he was 99 years of age (cf. Genesis 17:24). For if he had been circumcised at the age of 20 or 30, no stranger would have been able to enter the covenant beyond the age of 30. Therefore God bore with Abraham until he was 99 years old, so as not to close the door to strangers who would enter in the future and to give credit for days and years, to maximize the reward of those who do His will, and to fulfill that which was said: “The Eternal desires, for the sake of His servant’s vindication, that he magnify Torah and glorify it” (Isaiah 42:21).
Exodus Rabbah 31:12
Why loan interest is prohibited
“If you lend money to My people, the poor with you,
do not act towards him as a creditor;
do not impose upon him interest.”
(Exodus 22:24)
1
This is what is written:
“One who shows compassion to the poor
makes a loan to the Eternal,
and He will repay him
what is due him.”
(Proverbs 19:17)
To what extent?
“The borrower
is a slave
to the lender.”
(Proverbs 22:7)
2
What shall we say about
“the poor with you?”
No affliction in the world is more feared or more known than poverty. When Job was allowed to choose between all other afflictions and poverty, Job said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, I would accept upon myself all of the afflictions of the world rather than poverty. If I go out to the marketplace and lack even a perutah, what shall I eat? But when he suffered other afflictions—which he chose over poverty!—he cried out in shock and disbelief, “My complaint is bitter…would that I knew how to reach Him…let me argue my case before Him and fill my mouth with evidence” (Job 23:3)! Hence, the Eternal says, “the poor with you”: poverty is in the mind of everyone, including the creditor, as if the Holy One, blessed be He, is saying to the would-be creditor: His poverty is not enough? And you would also exact from him interest?
Exodus Rabbah 31:13
God bonds with the poor
“Do not treat My people, the poor with you,
as a creditor would normally treat a debtor.
Charge no interest when you lend him money.
If he gives you his garment in pledge,
return it to him before the sun sets
because it is the only covering for his skin.
If he cries out to me, I will listen because I am compassionate.”
(Exodus 22:24-26)
“The poor with you?” They are not with you; they are with Me; they are “My people!” and thus says David: “For You shall deliver a poor people” (Psalms 18:28)!
In this regard the nature of the Holy One, blessed be He, is different from the nature of flesh and blood. A wealthy man of flesh and blood who has a poor relative will not acknowledge him. If he sees his poor relative, he hides from him, for he is ashamed to carry on a conversation with him because he is poor. Thus says Solomon, “All brothers of the poor hate him” (Proverbs 19:7) and “The poor is hated even by his own close one, while many are the friends of the wealthy” (Proverbs 14:20), and Job complained upon losing his wealth, “My relatives are gone, and my friends have forgotten me” (Job 19:14)!
But who are with the Holy One, blessed be He? The poor. When He sees a poor person, He bonds with him. “Thus says the Eternal: The heaven is My throne, the earth is My footstool…yet to this one do I look: to the poor and broken of spirit…” (Isaiah 66:1-2)! As Moses says to Israel, “It is not because you are the most numerous of all peoples that the Eternal has desired you and chosen you, but because you are the smallest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7)! And when He expresses His love for Zion, on whom does He have compassion first? On the poor, as was said: “The Eternal shall establish Zion, and He shall shelter therein the poor of His people” (Isaiah 14:32) and “The Eternal shall comfort His people, showing mercy to its poor” (Isaiah 49:13)!
Exodus Rabbah 31:15
Compassionate Lender
“Do not treat My people, the poor with you,
as a creditor would normally treat a debtor…”
(Exodus 22:24-26)
These words express His intention:
“A good person lends graciously [chonen],
conducting his transactions with justice.”
(Psalms 112:5)
Indeed all of the non-human creations of the Holy One, blessed be He, borrow from each other:
“The heavens declare the Presence of God…
day makes utterance to day,
night tells its mind to night;
there is no utterance, there are no words,
whose sound goes unheard!”
(Psalms 19:3-4)
Day borrows from night in the summer, and night borrows from day in the winter, without suing each other, as we interpret, “Do you imagine that day says to day that the night owes us, or that night says to night that the day owes us? No, there are no such words, there is no complaint, their voice is not heard!”
“God is the One
who commands the sun not to shine
and for [b’ad] the stars makes a sealing.”
(Job 9:7)
The moon borrows from the stars, and the stars borrow from the moon, as we interpret, “He says to the moon that it should wane in favor of [b’ad] the stars, and seals the stars in favor of the moon!”
“You make the mountains shake,
burst the earth into torrents…
sun and moon stand still [shemesh yareyach amad] on high;
Your arrows travel in brightness [l’or chitzecha yehaleychu],
in brilliance is the flash of Your spear [lenogah berak chaneetecha]!”
(Habakkuk 3:9-11)
The afterglow at sunset borrows from the sun, and the sun as it rises borrows from the first light, as we interpret, “As the glowing sun sets [shemesh yareyach amad], Your arrows of light arise [l’or chitzecha yehaleychu]; then a glow before the flash of Your spear [lenogah berak chaneetecha]” (Habakkuk 3:11)!
“A mist rises up from the earth…”
(Genesis 2:6)
Heaven borrows from the earth, and earth from heaven, as we interpret, “A mist rises up to heaven from the earth” (Genesis 2:6), and as was said, correspondingly, “The Eternal opens up to you heaven, His benevolent storehouse, to grant your Land rain when it needs it and to bless all the work of your hands” (Deuteronomy 28:12)!
All of them borrow from each other cooperatively, without rancorous accusations. But when His creations of flesh and blood need to borrow one from the other, the creditor seeks to dominate the debtor by means of interest and thievery. Indeed those who charge interest are saying implicitly to the Holy One, blessed be He: Why don’t You extract rent for Your world from its inhabitants? A fee from the earth that You water? A price for the produce that You bring up? A charge for the lights that you cast? A tax for the breath that You expire? A tariff for the body that You protect?
“Rob not the poor.
(Why not?)
Because he is poor…
and the Eternal will plead their cause!
(Proverbs 22:22-23)
This may be likened to the king who grants one of his subjects the use of his treasury. What does the grantee do with those funds? He distributes them to the poor, yes, but in so doing with cruel stipulations he grinds down those already impoverished, drives widows to despair, and strips naked the people, turning dignity to shame and ultimately converting theft to violence.
“Rob not the poor because he is poor!”
(Proverbs 22:22)
“You have sown wickedness; you have reaped iniquity” (Hosea 10:13)! He makes a lie of the king’s good intentions as he depletes the king’s treasury. For the King has said, “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine” (Haggai 2:8)! “Whoever undermines the poor reproaches his Maker” (Proverbs 17:5)!
To them the Holy One, blessed be He, responds: See how much the earth has provided without charging for its benefits, how much I Myself have lent without interest; I shall reclaim the principal and nothing more, as was said, “The dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God as He gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)!”
Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, admonishes us in the Torah, “If you should lend My people money…” (Exodus 22:24-26), and your debtor fails to pay you, be satisfied that I have called him “wicked,” as was said, “The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but a righteous person gives compassionately [chonen]” (Psalms 37:21)! This is precisely what He means when He warns Israel, “If he gives you his garment in pledge, return it to him before the sun sets because it is the only covering for his skin. If he cries out to me, I will listen because I am compassionate [chanun]” (Exodus 22:25-26).
Exodus Rabbah 32:6
Angels of Protection
“I am sending an angel before you
to protect you on the way…”
(Exodus 23:20a)
We find various references to His protecting angels
in varying numbers:
“An angel of the Eternal is stationed around those who fear Him, and it saves them” (Psalms 34:8) ꟷ From this reference to a single angel we learn that a person who fulfills just one mitzvah is protected by the Holy One, blessed be He, with one angel.
“And He will provide you with His angels to protect you in all your ways” (Psalms 91:11) ꟷ How many? At least two, so from this reference we learn that when a person fulfills only two mitzvot, the Holy One, blessed be He, protects him with two angels.
Fulfilling more than two mitzvot is rewarded by the Holy One, blessed be He, will no less than half of His camp, as we may infer from the verses:
“A thousand shall fall [yipol] from one of your sides,
and ten thousand from your other…”
(Psalms 91:7)
1,000 + 10,000 = 11,000 angels shall descend [yipol]
“The troop [rechev] of God is twice ten thousand,
thousands doubled…”
(Psalms 68:18)
(10,000 x 2 ) + (1,000 x 2) = 22,000 angels of God’s chariotry [rechev]
11,000 / 22,000 = Half of His camp
Exodus Rabbah 32:7
Angels of Idolatry
“I have said:
You are God-like beings,
children of the Most High;
nonetheless you are mortal like men
and will fall like any prince [k’achad hasareem].”
(Psalms 82:6-7)
When Israel stood at Sinai to receive the Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the Angel of Death: You determine the fate of all idolatrous nations, but over this one, “the Eternal’s portion, His people, Jacob, His promised possession,” you have no authority, for “since the Most High apportioned the nations…they are My portion, My children enduring for as long as I endure” (Deuteronomy 32:7-8). “You are God-like beings, children of the Most High…!”
But you, O Israel, did not seek My favor. Instead you acted corruptly and said of the golden calf, “These are your gods, O Israel…” (Exodus 32:8b)! “So shall you die like other men…!”
Just as idolators bow down to idols, so do you. This is what He meant when He said, “I am sending an angel…”(Exodus 23:20a). For you find that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Jacob the idols of every other nation, as we infer, “Jacob dreamed of a ladder planted on the ground and extending to heaven with God-like angels ascending and descending on it (Genesis 28:12) while [v’hineh] the Eternal was standing on top of it [alav]” (Genesis 28:13a). The angels were princes of the various nations. Why first ascending and then descending? When He showed him any of the angels first ascending, then He would show him them descending!
Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him: Now you ascend also! Whereupon Jacob would say to Him: But I fear that I would then descend just as those angels did! The Holy One, blessed be He, would then seek to assure him: Fear not, for just as I do not descend from My supreme height, so will you not and will your children not descend from their greatness, “just as [v’hineh] the Eternal was standing above him [alav]!” When? As long as they please Me, but when they say, “These are your gods, O Israel,” thereby forsaking Me and walking in the path of those who worship idols, then just as idolators worship idols [sareem] so do you, and this is why He said, “I am sending an angel…”(Exodus 23:20a), in order to show you that “you will fall like one of those idols [k’achad hasareem]”(Psalms 82:7b)!
Exodus Rabbah 32:8
Angel as Obstacle
“I am sending an angel before you
to protect you on the way
and to bring you to the place
that I have prepared.”
(Exodus 23:20)
To this Moses objects:
“Was that our understanding?!
Did You not tell me at the burning bush,
‘I am coming down to rescue you
from the hand of Egypt
and to bring you up from that land’ (Exodus 3:8),
and now You say that
You are going to send an angel instead!
No, that won’t do:
If You personally are not going to lead us,
don’t bring us up from here!” (Exodus 33:15)
“Yes, I did say that I would
personally bring you up from that land;
‘Only, I will not go up in your midst,
since you are a stiff-necked people,
lest I put an end to you
on the way!’” (Exodus 33:3)
Moses says to the Eternal,
“’See, You say…’ (Exodus 33:12):
You say what You say,
and I say what I say;
let’s see whose words
will stand!”
Said the Eternal to Moses:
“I will go in the lead
and give rest to you” (Exodus 33:14):
“Give rest to you”
in the sense of,
“I will concede to you.”
This was expressed
by the Holy Spirit:
“The word of the King is authoritative,”
(Ecclesiastes 8:4)
but immediately thereafter he says:
“One who preserves the commandment
will not know a bad word.”
(Ibid. 5)
Talmud Kiddushin 31a, 40a
Talmud Chagigah 16a
God’s Footstool
Rabbi Isaac said: Whoever commits a transgression in secret—it is as if he pushes away the feet of the Shechina (Divine Presence), as was said, “Thus says the Eternal: Heaven is My throne, the earth a stool for My feet…” (Isaiah 66:1).
Rashi: For one who transgresses in secret assumes that the Omnipresent is not present where he is hiding and therefore He is not aware of what he is doing. By thus narrowing (in his own mind) His parameters, it is as though he is pushing the divine feet aside.
But it was taught in a baraitha (an older, more authoritative teaching, contemporaneous with the Mishnah) that Rabbi Ilai the Elder said: If one finds that his evil impulse is in danger of overpowering him, let him travel to a place where he is not known, clothe himself in black, and do what his heart desires; only let him not profane the Name of Heaven in public!
The Gemara resolves: Rabbi Isaac has not contradicted the authority of the baraitha, as his teaching applies to one who can overcome his evil impulse, while the teaching of Rabbi Ilai the Elder in the baraitha applies to one who is unable to overcome his evil impulse. Tosafot: It would be better that one fulfill his evil desire in secret than in public! But:
It was taught in a baraitha: Whoever fails to protect the honor of his Maker—it would have been better for him not to have entered the world! What is the baraitha teaching about? Rav Joseph’s answer is that it refers to one who commits a transgression in secret. The same resolution as above is applied by the Gemara here: The baraitha applies to one who can overcome his evil impulse, while the teaching of Rabbi Ilai the Elder applies to one who is unable to overcome his evil impulse.
Tosafot: Rabbenu Chananel has a problem with the implication of Rabbi Ilai the Elder’s teaching, that one is permitted thereby (even in secret) to commit a transgression! He believes that Rabbi Ilai could not have meant that. He understands his meaning as follows: The shock caused by travel to a distant place, the uncomfortable lodging arrangements required, and the donning of black garments, together will deter his evil impulse and thereby prevent him from committing the intended transgression!
Talmud Rosh Hashanah 22b-23b
Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 2:1
Lights of Rosh Chodesh
When testimony of witnesses to the New Moon crescent was accepted in Jerusalem and Rosh Chodesh was sanctified, torches would be raised along a line of promontories, beginning on the Mount of Olives, then at Sartava in the hills of Samaria overlooking the Jordan Valley, followed by Agrippina in the Lower Galilee, then to Auran east of the Jordan, and ending at Beit Baltin between the borders of the Land of Israel and Babylonia. As the burning torch on the previous mountain became visible, those on the next mountain would kindle their torches and wave them back and forth, up and down, until they saw the torches afire on the mountain ahead, and so on for each promontory. From Beit Baltin the torch signaled to all of Babylonia: Pumbeditha was lit up as everyone would hold a torch in his hand and raise it up on the roof of his house.
Later, Rabbi discontinued the display of torches because of false signals from the Samaritans. But those who lived in Tsefat, having received notification of Rosh Chodesh by messengers, continued to display torches when they learned that Rosh Chodesh was sanctified, just to announce and celebrate.
Various commentators report on the subsequent practice of kindling lights in the synagogue and at home on Rosh Chodesh, such as Pri Chadash to Shulchan Aruch, Orah Chayim 419 (Hezekiah da Silva, Italy & Land of Israel, 17th cent.): “There is one who wrote that there is the practice of kindling extra lights in honor of Rosh Chodesh.” See Sefer Hamoadim, Vol. 5, p. 14.
Tanna d’Vey Eliahu Rabbah 26:2
Sanctify God’s Name Among the Nations
“You shall love the Eternal your God…”
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
This is fulfilled when you make
the Name of Heaven
beloved to your fellow creations:
You should take care in your business dealings with your fellow men while you openly study Biblical and Rabbinic books. Then, seeing all of this, people will say, “Fortunate is he who has studied Torah, see how fair are his deeds, how fine are his ways! Let us undertake to learn Torah ourselves and to teach it to our children.” Thereby is the Name of Heaven sanctified by him.
Whereas one who does not take care in his business dealings while he openly studies the sacred books will earn a bad reputation for the study of Torah and will discourage others from learning and teaching it. For this the Torah was not given, but only to sanctify His great Name, as was said, “You are My servant, O Israel, through whom I shall be glorified” (Isaiah 49:3).
From this teaching they said: One should stay far from any type of stealing from either an Israelite or from a Gentile, from anyone whom you encounter in the marketplace. For one who steals from a Gentile will in the end come to steal from an Israelite, and one who swears falsely to a Gentile will come to swear falsely to an Israelite. One who denies the truth to a Gentile will in the end deny the truth to an Israelite, and one who sheds the blood of a Gentile will come to shed the blood of an Israelite. The Torah was given not for this but to sanctify His great Name:
“Among the nations
whom I gather…
I shall establish a sign
by sending some of those
who escape the fire and the sword
to places where they have not known My fame,
and they shall make it known to those nations!”
(Isaiah 66:18-19)
SHABBAT SHALOM!
Sedra Summary 