We have spent half the year with dysfunctional families, tyrannical rulers, great escapes, and dramatic treks through the wilderness. We have learned lessons from tales of sibling rivalry, marital relationships, and conversations with talking animals. Genesis and the first part of Exodus provide no end of learning opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week, v’ayleh hamishpatim<\/em>: These are the rules. Admittedly, some of the verses we read in Mishpatim <\/em>are challenging. And yet, many resonate and inspire us, offering opportunities to expand our sense of justice and responsibility for the world we live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some examples?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are\nresponsible<\/strong>. If someone owns an animal who is known to be violent, for\nexample, and the animal kills someone, the owner must make restitution. Where I\nlive, stories of children and adults who are mauled to death by dogs are not so\nrare as I would wish. Our ancient forbears knew about the problems that afflict\nhuman society \u2013 and they weren\u2019t so very different from those that afflict us\ntoday. How do we make sure animals are protected and safe? How do we make sure\nhumans are, too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are responsible<\/strong>. Do not carry false rumors. Our Torah not only warns us against uttering sheker<\/em>, falsehoods and lies, but also lashon hara<\/em>, slander. <\/em>Say negative things about someone to those who have no practical reason to know of a person\u2019s weakness, and you violate Torah. Even r\u2019khilut, <\/em>truths about a person that are not defamatory but communicated for no good reason constitute gossip. So much communication that goes wrong can go right when we are mindful, careful, open and generous. Why not try to be all those things?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are\nresponsible<\/strong>. For widows. For orphans. For the poor. These laws remind us that justice must be\nmeted out equally to poor and rich alike, that we are obligated to care for\nthose in need \u2013 weren\u2019t we once slaves in Egypt, Torah asks? \u201cYou shall not\noppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of a stranger, having yourselves\nbeen strangers in the land of Egypt\u201d (Ex. 23: 9). <\/p>\n\n\n\n If we fear the\nhomeless instead of housing them, if we ignore the growing disparity between\npoor and rich, if we ourselves never imagine what it is to lose our jobs and\nour sense of worth, to be desperate, to go hungry, then we can hardly understand\nwhat we need to do to build a just society. It\u2019s not that hard to ignore real\npain and feed apathy, self-indulgence, and disinterest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When given the chance to take on the law \u2013 before they knew every last requirement, every last mitzvot, the Israelites all answered, the Torah says, with one voice: \u201cWe will do!\u201d (Ex. 24.7). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Na’aseh v\u2019nishma<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will do,\u201d they\nsaid. \u201cWe will do and then hear, then understand.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is in the doing that we understand how to become the holy people God longs for. By noticing in our conversations when we can redirect complaints and concerns so that those who are hurt can benefit from an opportunity to understand \u2013 directly \u2013 when and why something has gone wrong, from making sure that all we do and all we own \u2013 from cars to dogs \u2013 are held and used responsibly, by doing the tikkun olam<\/em> projects waiting for our active affirmation, by saying \u201cwe will do\u201d each morning when we wake up and act upon our commitment each day \u2013 this is what will lead to our learning to be the kind of people that is, in fact, a holy one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When our works\nexceed our wisdom, our wisdom endures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Naaseh v\u2019nishma.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We have spent half the year with dysfunctional families, tyrannical rulers, great escapes, and dramatic treks through the wilderness. We have learned lessons from tales of sibling rivalry, marital relationships, and conversations with talking animals. Genesis and the first part of Exodus provide no end of learning opportunities. This week, v’ayleh hamishpatim: These are the … <\/p>\n