Mishpatim is about civil and criminal law. Most societies promulgate laws for governing law and order. These are abided by through the concept of a social contract. Torah law is beyond contract, and therefore cannot be rationalised out of existence. It is in sync with the template of creation. Notes: • Our Parsha, Mishpatim, discusses…
Different writers have offered various rationales for society legislating laws. The general view is that they conform to human reason (though reason is variable). In Judaism law is an expression of G-d’s intention and will, thereby even the most reasonable of laws have higher meaning. Many a jurisprudential writer has argued the basis of the…
he definition of something as simple as the word, ‘law’, defies writers of jurisprudence, philosophy, and religion combined. And yet, our Parsha is named Mishpatim – ‘laws’.Interestingly in Hebrew the word for judge ‘Shofet’and for law ‘Mishpatim’ are the same root, indicating that the judge must be of the ‘same stuff’ as the law he…
This week’s Parsha, Mishpatim, raises a curiosity. It describes the basic civil and criminal laws that regulate society and legal recourse in cases of civil and criminal disobedience. It then goes on to describe the design of the Mishkan – the construction of the portal between this world and the higher spiritual realms. It is…
Negligence may be a defence in law but it also reveals a lack of disciplined Mindfulness. Being mindful allows the soul to flow fully through the body.
Mishpoim means laws. But there are three kinds of laws. Firstly the laws that are inscrutable, without human capacity to fathom their logic – these are the Chukkim — of which I Judaism there are very few, a mere handful, like Mikva and Kashrut. Secondly there are the laws that once understood are perfectly reasonable…
We must treat foreigners and immigrants with sensitivity and empathy because we Jewish people have experienced the hurt and pain of having been discriminated against in so many host societies that we have lived in, and it behooves us to have learned from that unfortunate experience. A most relevant and current world issue is what…
