Mishpatim

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Mishpatim (משפטים — Hebrew for “laws”) is the eighteenth weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 21:1–24:18. Jews in the Diaspora read it the eighteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in February.

1 Summary
2 In classical Rabbinic interpretation
3 Commandments
4 Haftarah
5 The Weekly Maqam
6 Further reading
7 External links

[edit] Summary

God told Moses to give the people a series of laws (see "Commandments" below), which some scholars call the Covenant Code. (Ex. 21–23.)

God invited Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders to bow to God from afar. (Ex. 24:1.) Moses repeated the commandments to the people, who answered: “All the things that the Lord has commanded we will do!” (Ex. 24:3.) Moses then wrote the commandments down. (Ex. 24:4.) He set up an altar and some young Israelite men offered sacrifices. (Ex. 24:4-5.) Moses read the covenant aloud to the people, who once again affirmed that they would follow it. (Ex. 24:7.) Moses took blood from the sacrifices and dashed it on the people. (Ex. 24:8.)

Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel then ascended, saw God, ate, and drank. (Ex. 24:9-11.)

Moses and Joshua arose, and Moses ascended Mount Sinai, leaving Aaron and Hur in charge of legal matters. (Ex. 24:13-14.) A cloud covered the mountain, hiding the Presence of the Lord for six days, appearing to the Israelites as a fire on the top of the mountain. (Ex. 24:15-17.) Moses went inside the cloud and remained on the mountain 40 days and nights. (Ex. 24:18.)

[edit] In classical Rabbinic interpretation

[edit] Exodus chapter 21

The Mishnah interpreted the language of Exodus 21:6 to teach that a man could sell his daughter, but a woman could not sell her daughter. (Mishnah Sotah 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Sotah 23a.)

Rabbi Eliezer interpreted the conjugal duty of Exodus 21:10 to require relations: for men of independence, every day; for laborers, twice a week; for donkey-drivers, once a week; for camel-drivers, once in 30 days; for sailors, once in six months. (Mishnah Ketubot 5:6; Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 61b.)

Tractate Bava Kamma in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Talmud interpreted the laws of damages related to pits in Exodus 21:33, oxen in Exodus 21:35–36, men who steal livestock in Exodus 21:37, crop-destroying beasts in Exodus 22:4, fires in Exodus 22:5, and related torts. (Mishnah Bava Kamma 1:1–10:10; Tosefta Bava Kamma 1:1–11:18; Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 2a–119b.)

[edit] Exodus chapter 22

The Mishnah interpreted the language of Exodus 22:2 to teach that a man was sold to make restitution for his theft, but a woman was not sold for her theft. (Mishnah Sotah 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Sotah 23a.)

[edit] Exodus chapter 23

The Mishnah interpreted Exodus 23:8 to teach that judges who accept a bribe and change their judgments on account of the bribe will not die of old age before their eyes grow weak. (Mishnah Peah 8:9.)

Tractate Bikkurim in the Mishnah and Tosefta interpreted the laws of the first fruits in Exodus 23:19. (Mishnah Bikkurim 1:1–3:12; Tosefta Bikkurim 1:1–2:16.)

[edit] Exodus chapter 24

Reading Exodus 24:3, Rabbi Simlai taught that when the Israelites gave precedence to “we will do” over “we will hearken,” 600,000 ministering angels came and set two crowns on each Israelite man, one as a reward for “we will do” and the other as a reward for “we will hearken.” But as soon as the Israelites committed the sin of the golden calf, 1.2 million destroying angels descended and removed the crowns, as it is said in Exodus 33:6, “And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from mount Horeb.” (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 88a.)

[edit] Commandments

According to the Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 23 positive and 30 negative commandments in the parshah:

To purchase a Hebrew slave in accordance with the prescribed laws (Ex. 21:2.)
To betroth the Jewish maidservant (Ex. 21:8.)
To redeem Jewish maidservants (Ex. 21:8.)
The master must not sell his Jewish maidservant. (Ex. 21:8.)
Not to withhold food, clothing, or sexual relations from one's wife (Ex. 21:10.)
The courts must execute by strangulation those who deserve it. (Ex. 21:12.)
Not to strike one's father or mother (Ex. 21:15.)
The court must implement laws against the one who assaults another or damages another's property. (Ex. 21:18-19.)

The court must carry out the death penalty of the sword. (Ex. 21:20.)
The court must judge the damages incurred by a goring ox. (Ex. 21:28.)
Not to benefit from an ox condemned to be stoned (Ex. 21:28.)
The court must judge the damages incurred by a pit. (Ex. 21:33.)
The court must implement punitive measures against the thief. (Ex. 21:37.)
The court must judge the damages incurred by an animal eating. (Ex. 22:4.)
The court must judge the damages incurred by fire. (Ex. 22:5.)
The courts must carry out the laws of an unpaid guard. (Ex. 22:6.)
The courts must carry out the laws of the plaintiff, admitter, or denier. (Ex. 22:8.)
The courts must carry out the laws of a hired worker and hired guard. (Ex. 22:9.)
The courts must carry out the laws of a borrower. (Ex. 22:13.)
The court must fine one who seduces a maiden. (Ex. 22:15-16.)
The court must not let the sorcerer live. (Ex. 22:17.)
Not to insult or harm a sincere convert with words (Ex. 22:20.)
Not to cheat a sincere convert monetarily (Ex. 22:20.)
Not to afflict any orphan or widow (Ex. 22:21.)
To lend to the poor and destitute (Ex. 22:24.)
Not to press them for payment if you know they don't have it (Ex. 22:24.)
Not to intermediate in an interest loan, guarantee, witness, or write the promissory note (Ex. 22:24.)
Not to curse judges (Ex. 22:27.)
Not to blaspheme (Ex. 22:27.)
Not to curse the head of state or leader of the Sanhedrin (Ex. 22:27.)
Not to preface one tithe to the next, but separate them in their proper order (Ex. 22:28.)
Not to eat meat of an animal that was mortally wounded (Ex. 22:30.)
Judges must not accept testimony unless both parties are present. (Ex. 23:1.)
Transgressors must not testify. (Ex. 23:1.)
The court must not execute through a majority of one; at least a majority of two is required. (Ex. 23:2.)

Celebrating Sukkot

A judge who presented an acquittal plea must not present an argument for conviction in capital cases. (Ex. 23:2.)
To decide by majority in case of disagreement (Ex. 23:2.)
Not to pity a poor man in judgment (Ex. 23:3.)
To help another remove the load from a beast which can no longer carry it (Ex. 23:5.)
A judge must not decide unjustly the case of the habitual transgressor. (Ex. 23:6.)
The court must not kill anybody on circumstantial evidence. (Ex. 23:7.)
Judges must not accept bribes. (Ex. 23:8.)
To leave free all produce that grew in the Sabbatical year (Ex. 23:11.)
To rest on the seventh day (Ex. 23:12.)
Not to swear in the name of an idol (Ex. 23:13.)
Not to turn Israelites to idolatry (Ex. 23:13.)
To celebrate on the three Festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot (Ex. 23:14.)
Not to slaughter the Passover lamb while in possession of leaven (Ex. 23:18.)
Not to leave the fat overnight (Ex. 23:18.)
To set aside the first fruits and bring them to the Temple (Ex. 23:19.)
Not to eat meat and milk cooked together (Ex. 23:19.)
Not to make any treaty with the seven nations to be extirpated, or with any idol worshiper (Ex. 23:32.)
Not to let them dwell in our land (Ex. 23:33.)

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem (painting by Rembrandt)

(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, vol. 1, 197–355. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is Jeremiah 34:8–22 & 33:25–26. Both the parshah and the haftarah address the law requiring the release of Hebrew slaves. Both the parshah and the haftarah use the words “Hebrew” (ivri) (Ex. 21:2; Jer. 34:9,14), “slave” or “servant” (eved) (Ex. 21:2,5,7; Jer. 34:9–11), “free” (chofshi) (Ex. 21:2,5; Jer. 34:9–11,14), and “covenant” (brit) (Ex. 24:7; Jer. 34:13.) The haftarah literally quotes the parshah. (Jeremiah 34:14; Ex. 21:2.) And the haftarah recites the setting of the parshah (described in the previous parshah), the time at which God brought the Israelites “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” (Jer. 34:13; Ex. 20:2.)

[edit] The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardic Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For Parshah Mishpatim, Sephardic Jews apply Maqam Saba, the maqam that symbolizes the covenant between man and God. By performing mitzvot and following commandments, one obeys God's covenant, and therefore in this parshah, with its multitude of mitzvot and commandments, it is appropriate to apply Maqam Saba.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Laws of Eshnunna 53–55. Sumer, circa 2100 B.C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Reuven Yaron. The Laws of Eshnunna. Brill Academic Publishers, 1997. ISBN 9004085343. (ox that gores).
Code of Hammurabi 194–214, 250–51. Babylonia, Circa 1780 B.C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., James B. Pritchard. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 175, 178. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 0691035032. (lex talionis, ox that gores).
Genesis 31:39 (domestic animals lost to wild animals).
Leviticus 25:8–10, 39–55.
Deuteronomy 15:12–18; 20:10–14; 21:10–14; 23:16–17.
2 Kings 4:1–7.
Amos 2:6.
Jeremiah 34:8–22.
Nehemiah 5:1–13.
Mishnah: Peah 8:9; Sheviit 2:1; Terumot 3:6–7; Challah 4:10; Bikkurim 1:1–3:12; Rosh Hashanah 2:9; Chagigah 1:1–3; Ketubot 3:2, 5:6; Sotah 3:8; Kiddushin 1:2–3; Bava Kamma 1:1–10:10; Bava Metzia 2:10, 3:12, 4:10, 5:11, 7:8, 8:1; Sanhedrin 1:1, 4, 6, 7:6, 8:6, 9:1, 11:1; Zevachim 14:2; Chullin 8:4; Bekhorot 1:7, 8:7; Arakhin 3:1, 3–4; Zavim 2:3. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 36, 70, 99, 158, 166–75, 303, 328–29, 383, 388–89, 453, 487–88, 503–28, 533, 537, 540, 544, 548, 550, 583–85, 598, 601–02, 607, 730, 781, 790, 806, 812–13, 1111. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael 58:1–80:2. Land of Israel, late 4th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael. Translated by Jacob Neusner, vol. 2, 105–250. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-237-2.
Babylonian Talmud: Sotah 23b; Arachin 29a; Gittin 65a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Exodus Rabbah 30:1–32:9. 10th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Exodus. Translated by S. M. Lehrman, vol. 3: 346–413. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Rashi on Exodus 21–24. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg. Rashi: The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated, vol. 2, 247–317. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-027-7.
Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 2:14; 3:1, 35, 47; 4:3, 11. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 90, 135, 168, 175, 204, 217. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
Zohar 2:94a–126a. Spain, late 13th Century.
Isaac Abrabanel. Principles of Faith. Chs. 3, 5, 12, 17, 19. Naples, Italy, 1494. Reprinted in, e.g., Isaac Abravanel. Principles of Faith (Rosh Amanah). Translated by Menachem Marc Kellner, 66, 76, 116, 118, 154, 171. Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press, 1982. ISBN 0-8386-3080-4.
Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, part 3, ch. 40. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 503. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 305, 535–36. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.