Shabbat Mishpatim
The sequence of laws as given in the recent chapters of the Torah, may seem on the surface, to be random and without structure. But in fact, this isn’t the case.
There were different stages in describing the laws of the Torah. Circumcision, came from Avraham. Dietary laws began with Yaakov. Other laws came with preparation for the Exodus and then at Mara, (Shemot 15:26). The fundamentals were given on Sinai ( Shemot 20 ) and then expanded this week in (Shemot 21). The whole range of civil laws, intertwined with moral, ritual and sanctuary laws.
If one studies the legal systems of the Ancient and Near Middle East in the years before Moshe and Biblical law, they all share a certain pattern. The obvious example of this is the Hammurabi code which appeared in Babylon roughly speaking 4000 years ago before or around the time of Avraham. Many of its laws and terminology find resonance in the Torah. But what they lacked was the concept of equality between people before God and that everyone had the potential to become holy, not just kings, aristocrats and priests.
Ancient legal systems started with an invocation of the gods. Then moving on to Kings as the agents of gods on earth. These were replaced in the Bible by one divine source, the idea of one God and how to live a godly life. Then, having established the foundations, came the whole rubric of national legislation .
The very first law given after Sinai concerns the altar. God first. But then in this week the detailed laws start with slavery. This too was the first law in the earlier Sumerian system. The status of slaves and slavery, which applied both to citizens who worked for other citizens and those conquered elsewhere and enslaved.
Slavery seems an improbable place to start in the general list of laws, but this too is the first law mentioned this week . Historically slavery was the first state of the children of Israel. Their freedom was the foundation of an equal and fair society based on justice and respect, not class. So that the first thing they would want in their legal system, was to be freed of slavery or to have it controlled and humanized in such a way as to protect the rights of slaves. Once we have established equality in the eyes of the law then we can go on to discuss as we do this week, the specific laws that range from families, damages, property, commerce, down ( or up) to the treatment of animals. Only then we turn to reiterate the laws of Shabbat, which add a spiritual dimension to the legal as reflected in the Ten Commandments.
Judaism is often attacked for being obsessed with legalities and with laws. And too often humans make it so. But in effect every society has to have its rules and regulations. These in the Torah underline the principle that to be a good human being, one needs the discipline of a structure and good habits. Simply to have nice ideas floated around without their being part of one’s way of life, may lead to egoism and selfishness. Which in the ancient world characterized idolatry. Which some might see as coming back into fashion with the things that societies hold important today; overwhelmingly concerned with self, demands, and egoism rather than the greater good of the community.
Idolatrous societies, despite their laws, decayed into corruption. The sad truth is that the same thing could be said of the Children of Israel after the death of Moshe and Yehoshua, that they too began to abandon the disciplines of a Jewish life for the pleasures and indulgences of paganism. And one sees the same today.
Torah is not what we usually understand as religion. Simply a series of beliefs and acts of faith. It is a way of life and a system of governance. To promote awareness of time and ace, mindfulness and consciousness. Life is messy, unpredictable, sometimes cruel, but having a constitution and a structure not only keeps the people together. But also presents an ideal of what a society should become.
Despite laws being on the books for thousands of years we still are way off today from the ideals of thousands of years ago. The Torah demands leaders and judges should be honest , not take bribes, and demand righteousness. Laws are necessary to preserve peace and stability. When they are ignored, empires fall.
Shemot Chapters 21:1-24:18.
Rabbi Jeremy Rosen lives in New York. He was born in Manchester. His writings are concerned with religion, culture, history and current affairs – anything he finds interesting or relevant. They are designed to entertain and to stimulate. Disagreement is always welcome.
