Parshah • February 2025
Mishpatim – Why Have Law?
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…
Parshah • February 2024
Mishpatim – Even Common-Sense Needs G-d’s Imprimatur
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…
Parshah • January 2022
Mishpatim – Breaking the Law
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…
Parshah • January 2019
Mishpatim – Running the Red Light
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…
Parshah • February 2017
Mishpatim – Negligence and Mindfulness
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.
Parshah • January 2014
Mishpatim – V’Eyleh Mishpotim Osher Tossim Leifneichem
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…
Parshah • February 0218
Mishpatim – Treat Immigrants With Empathy
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…