Parashat 18- Mishpatim – “Right rulings or judgments”

Shemot/ Ex 21:1 – 24:18 

For millennia mankind have sought ways to discover and draw closer to an All – Powerful Divine Being.

How does one truly draw near to the Heart of our Heavenly Father?

I believe there is one way and one way only and that is to have the mind of the Messiah.

Php 2:5  For, let this mind be in you which was also in Messiah יהושע,

Php 2:6  who, being in the form of Elohim, did not regard equality with Elohim a matter to be grasped,

Php 2:7  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and came to be in the likeness of men.

Php 2:8  And having been found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, death even of a stake.

Php 2:9  Elohim, therefore, has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name,

Php 2:10  that at the Name of יהושע every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,

Php 2:11  and every tongue should confess that יהושע Messiah is Master, to the esteem of Elohim the Father.

This Torah portion points us to the heart of the Father and His Kingdom and how we should and will live in His Kingdom.

The key to Kingdom living is to have the heart of a servant and not just any servant but a bondservant. The bondservant is one who has committed his or her entire life in loving service to their master and the family of their master.

The men and woman who brought us YHVH’s word without exception all considered themselves bondservants of YHVH.

The Torah and YHVH’s covenant can only be entered into by someone who is willing to dedicate their entire existence in loving service to the Master and His family.

Everything else is commentary.

Blessing of Torah:

Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-O’lam,
asher bachar banu m’kol ha-amim,
v’natan lanu eht Torah-to.
Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah.
Ameyn.”

(Blessed are you, YHVH, our Elohim , King of the
Universe,you have selected us from among all the peoples,
and have given us your Torah.
Blessed are you, YHVH, giver of the Torah.
Ameyn.)

Torah Readings:

 

1. 21:1-19
2. 21:20 – 22:4 (3 Heb.)
3. 22:5-27 (22:4-26 Heb.)
4. 22:28 – 23:5 (22:27 – 23:5 Heb.)
5. 23:6-19
6. 23:20-25
7. 23:26 – 24:14 (Sefardim); 23:26 – 24:15 (Ashkenazim).
8. Maftir: 24:15-18 (S); 24:16-18 (A)

Haftarah: Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah 34:8 – 22; 33:25-26.

Aliyah Rishon 21:1-19

Shemot/Exo 21:1  “These are the right-rulings which you are to set before them:

Right-rulings or “Mishpatim.” This Hebrew word comes from the root “shaphat” which means to judge and by implication to vindicate or punish and by extension to govern.

We could also say this is the way the Kingdom of Elohim operates. We seek first His Kingdom and everything else will fall into place (Mat 6:33).

Exo 21:2  “When you buy a Heḇrew servant, he serves six years, and in the seventh he goes out free, for naught.

Exo 21:3  “If he comes in by himself, he goes out by himself; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him.

Exo 21:4  “If his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children are her master’s, and he goes out by himself.

Exo 21:5  “And if the servant truly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children, let me not go out free,’

Exo 21:6  then his master shall bring him before Elohim, and shall bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl. And he shall serve him forever.

Now the rabbi’s frown upon this custom because they believe Hebrews should seek to avoid the bondage of slavery.

This Torah portion reveals a bigger picture of how Messiah became a Hebrew slave for the sake of a Jewish and gentile bride and her children – the Messiah’s “kehelat” (assembly/called-out ones)

Only a freeman (one whose debt has been paid in full) can become a bondservant, the Hebrew slave (ivri eved) could only become a bondservant after 6 years. Yahshua was free because he had no sin, no debt to pay off, yet Yahshua very kindly paid our debt and chose to remain in a position of servitude to His Master forever and ever so that we could remain part of His household forever and ever.

Yeshayahu/Isa 50:5  The Master יהוה has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away.

Isa 50:6  I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard, I did not hide My face from humiliation and spitting.

The Hebrew verb for “opened” has a more intense form which means to carve or engrave. This reminds us of the ritual of “opening” the ear of a bondservant with an awl against the door post.

Yahshua will bear in his body the scars of the covenant he entered into on our behalf forever.

The gematria of Mashiach and Hebrew slave is 358.

(mem,shin,yud,chet = Messiah and ayin,veit,reish,yud – ayin,veit,daleth = Ivri eved or Hebrew slave)

Hebrew Slavery -Prof. Dov Landau.

“How can it be that the Torah, YHVH's perfect book of Law, did not take into account that in our day slavery would be considered morally reprehensible?

Indeed, the gemara in Tractate Kiddushin 15a says:

A hired laborer only works during the day; a Hebrew bondsman works day or night. [On this the gemara asks:] But is it conceivable that a Hebrew bondsman should work day or night? After all, it is said (Deut. 15:16): "he...is happy with you" - eating with you, drinking with you, and enjoying shelter with you.

For the next four pages the gemara sets forth all the protections due to a Hebrew bondsman, such as: he should not be made to work as a slave; his master must provide sustenance for his wife and children; the bondsman is released after the sixth year and in the jubilee year with a grant from his master; he may even redeem himself, etc., so that in the end he essentially is removed from the class of a slave and is no less than a resident hired worker. Moreover, a Hebrew slave is like a master, for the gemara (Kiddushin 20a) interprets the verse, "he... is happy with you" as follows:

Eating with you and drinking with you, for you are not to eat fresh bread while he eats stale mouldy bread, you drink aged wine while he drinks young wine, you bed down on feathers while he on hay. Hence it is said that whoever buys himself a Hebrew bondsman (i.e. slave) is as if he bought himself a master.

Abarbanel looked for the lesson to be learned from the juxtaposition between the Ten Commandments at the end of Parashat Yitro and the passage on Hebrew slaves at the beginning of this week's reading. He further developed the Sages' interpretation that the conjunction "And" appearing in the Hebrew as the first letter in Mishpatim, appended to the words, "These are the rules," means that the text which follows should be seen as adding to what preceded (i.e., to the first commandment, which says "who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage," Ex. 20:2). Abarbanel felt that the juxtaposition taught that by taking the Israelites out of bondage YHVH acquired them as His very own, as indicated by the Midrash on the words, "The children of Israel are My servants," (Lev. 25:58) "and not servants of servants". This idea was further developed by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in his commentary on this text. He adds that a Hebrew slave was not something encountered every day. Jewish courts did not sell a person, and a person would not sell himself except in the most dire of circumstances. Accordingly, even the situation of a "slave who is not a slave" came about only in the most rare of circumstances. Even in the extreme case of a thief sold for his theft it is said: "He shall remain with you as a hired or bound laborer" (Lev. 25:40), and we are taught that "you may not change his trade," that is, he must continue doing the skills he learned and may not be forced to do menial tasks.

We conclude with a quote from Rabbi Wolf:

Rather, the Torah left slavery in and of itself in existence, but improved the condition of the slave to the extent that the land of Israel would in any case become a paradise for slaves. The life and health of the Canaanite slave are well protected (vv. 20-21, 26-27). A weekly day of rest is assured him (Deut. 5:14). Slaves from other lands would flee to the land of Israel, to find refuge and be decently treated there, and in the fullness of time this situation would force slave owners in other countries to improve the lot of their slaves, so that in the end it would be recognized that a human being is not chattel and slavery would end of its own accord.

It must not be forgotten that in these matters the Torah does not permit any agreements to turn over slaves, for it says: "You shall not turn over to his master a slave who seeks refuge with you from his master" (Deut. 23:16). Even in our time, with the enlightened progress in morality of the third millennium, we have not yet reached this level. For all our progressive approaches, we are not capable of changing the mistaken conceptions to which we have become accustomed. Even the word 'slave' we are not capable of interpreting in its historic context, but give it anachronistic connotations in line with our modern-primitive conceptions.

Perhaps we would do better to learn our modern humane ideas precisely from the words of our ancient Torah?”

Shemot/Exo 21:7  “And when a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she does not go out as the male servants do.

Exo 21:8  “If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who has engaged her to himself, then he shall let her be ransomed. He shall have no authority to sell her to a foreign people, because of him deceiving her.

Exo 21:9  “And if he has engaged her to his son, he is to do to her as is the right of daughters.

Exo 21:10  “If he takes another wife, her food, her covering, and her marriage rights are not to be diminished.

Exo 21:11  “And if he does not do these three for her, then she shall go out for naught, without silver.

Vs 10 has given rise to one of the greatest controversies of our generation – the issue of polygyny (one man having more than one wife). It is probable that monogamy (one man having one wife) was YHVH’s original intention when He created male and female. Mankind no longer enjoys the intimacy and privilege once found  in the garden of Eden.

The great challenge we have today is that the Torah speaks of the issue of polygyny more than once and it does not condemn this practice. Many Christians become highly emotive and speak strongly against this practice in spite of the fact that polygyny was practiced and regulated in the Torah. How dare anyone exalt themselves above the authority of the scripture? Granted polygyny is not commanded but neither is monogamy, yet today in the west monogamy is enforced and even legislated. No wonder there are so many social problems in our society, broken homes and single parent families etc. Polygyny should at least be offered as an alternative to monogamy in certain cases. Please note monogamy is greatly desired and has been blessed by YHVH for centuries.

The great Jewish thinker Vilna Gaon was quoted as saying if he could he would do everything possible to reverse the decision rabbi Gershom made to ban polygyny because he saw the negative impact forced monogamy had on society. If the Torah gave the option of polygyny why don’t we?

Polygyny however can also be just as problematic as monogamy; we see several examples of this in the scripture as well.

The prophet Yirmeyahu/Jeremiah gives a profound prophecy concerning relationships between men and woman in Yir/Jer 31:22  “Till when would you turn here and there, O backsliding daughter? For יהוה has created what is new on earth: a woman encompasses a man!”

In the Hebrew we can deduce from this that the nurturing qualities of a woman will surround the strength of a man (nekeva tsovav gaber). Note the future tense of the verb “will surround or encompass” implying that this is not happening yet as it one day will. The context of this chapter is for the end of this age and the beginning of the next age or millennium.

We sadly see that in the garden Chava  (Eve) did not nurture Adam’s strength but she assumed a position of authority and operated in a position of strength that belonged to Adam alone. Adam may have abdicated but the consequences of Eve’s action have had consequences until this day. Will this one day be restored by Yirmeyahu’s/Jeremiah’s prophecy? I believe it will.

The current status of many relationships in these days points to the need and longing for a Torah restoration of relationships. Every Shabbat we pray for our wives -  the “eshet chayil” – a  woman of strength and ability from Proverbs 31:10 onwards. It would appear reading this chapter that no single woman would be capable of having all the listed qualities.

Further in this chapter (vs 31-33) we see that YHVH is going to renew His covenant (marriage with Yisrael) by putting His Torah in their hearts.

This prophecy must also point towards the restoration of Messiah and his bride. This spiritual dimension will also reflect in the marriage relationships between men and woman.

Shemot/Exo 21:12  “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall certainly be put to death.

Exo 21:13  “But if he did not lie in wait, but Elohim delivered him into his hand, then I shall appoint for you a place where he is to flee.

Exo 21:14  “But when a man acts presumptuously against his neighbour, to kill him by treachery, you are to take him even from My altar to die.

From verse 12 follows a long list of “mishpatim” right rulings or judgments.

It is helpful to understand these “mishphatim” as an evidence of what takes place spontaneously in our lives when the Torah is written in our hearts.

It is also helpful to understand the “mishphatim” in terms of the significance given to ownership or stewardship of property and respect and honour towards authority in the Torah. We see this illustrated in vs 12, when you kill someone you are actually destroying someone who is made in the image of YHVH and belongs to YHVH.  Murder is destroying YHVH’s property -  the crowning esteem of His creation – this is an extremely serious violation against YHVH and the penalty is death.

Exo 21:15  “And he who smites his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.

Respect towards earthly authority especially towards parents will reveal what kind of respect we have for YHVH’s authority.

Exo 21:16  “And he who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall certainly be put to death.

Exo 21:17  “And he who curses his father or his mother shall certainly be put to death.

Exo 21:18  “And when men strive together, and one smites the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,

Exo 21:19  if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who smote him shall be innocent. He only pays for lost time and sees to it that he is completely healed.

Aliyah Sheni 21:20-22:4

Shemot/Exo 21:20  “And when a man smites his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his hand, he shall certainly be punished.

Exo 21:21  “But if he remains alive a day or two, he is not punished; for he is his property.

Exo 21:22  “And when men strive and they shall smite a pregnant woman, and her children come out, yet there is no injury, he shall certainly be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband lays upon him. And he shall give through the judges.

Exo 21:23  “But if there is injury, then you shall give life for life,

Exo 21:24  eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

Exo 21:25  burn for burn, wound for wound, lash for lash.

Exo 21:26  “And when a man smites the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he is to let him go free for the sake of his eye.

Exo 21:27  “And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he is to let him go free for the sake of his tooth.

Exo 21:28  “And when an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall certainly be stoned, and its flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox is innocent.

Exo 21:29  “However, if the ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has been warned, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a man or a woman, the ox is stoned and its owner also is put to death.

Exo 21:30  “If a sin-covering is laid upon him, then he shall give the ransom of his life, whatever is laid on him.

Exo 21:31  “Whether it has gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this right-ruling it is done to him.

Exo 21:32  “If the ox gores a male or female servant, he is to give to their master thirty sheqels of silver, and the ox is stoned.

Exo 21:33  “And when a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it,

Exo 21:34  the owner of the pit is to repay, he is to give silver to their owner, and the dead beast is his.

Exo 21:35  “And when the ox of a man smites the ox of his neighbour and it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the silver from it, and also divide the dead ox.