This week's Parashah Mishpatim, often referred to in Hebrew as "Sefer Habrit" - "the Book of the Covenant" - contains the first laws of the Torah and begins: "Ve eleh Hamishpatim" - "These are the ordinances that you shall set before them". 

                           

Now, in theory, it should be straightforward for us to follow these laws - especially that (as part of the millennial chain of our tradition) - "we" received and accepted the Torah, and "we" heard and accepted the Ten Commandments.

 

Why, then, is it so difficult in these modern times to do?

 

Let's take a moment to explore this further...

 

You see, in a covenant (Brit) there are always two parts.  In this case, G-d is one part and we, the Jewish people (and non-Jews, too) - constitute the other part.

 

Well, we need only look at the society in which we live to better understand the difficulty of fulfilling our part of the Book of the Covenant today.  Just consider that...

 

• Our society offers us a multitude of temptations - money, power, fame, etc.
• Our society is one where we view our fellow human being more as a competitor rather than as "a man or a woman".
• Our society is so accustomed to corruption, that we are no longer surprised when we read about it in the media!

I'm sure you've all heard the very well-known Maaseh (story) in the Talmud about a non-Jew who wanted to convert to Judaism, but only on one condition - that he would be able to learn "All the teachings from the Torah while standing on one foot!"

 

When this man approached the rabbis of Beit Shamai, the House of Shamai, with this condition, they threw him out right away!  But when he went to Beit Hillel, the House of Hillel, the elderly Hillel, himself, wisely answered with the words: "Don't do unto your neighbor that which you would not like done to yourself...This is the message of the Torah and all the rest is commentary!"

 

Unfortunately, we often act in our lives like the non-Jew who wanted to take a simple short cut to Judaism. But the Torah in Ve eleh Hamishpatim makes the laws of Judaism very clear.

 

This Shabbat we have the wonderful opportunity of hearing the laws from Mishpatim read not only by Etan Mabourakh, who will become a traditional 13-year-old Bar Mitzvah, but also from his father, Dr. Shahrad Mabourakh, who is sharing his own Bar Mitzvah with his son.

 

May we all learn from this great "father-teaching-son-by-his-example" situation to help us better understand the laws of Mishpatim as well as Hillel's oft-stated golden rule: "Ve-Ahavta Lereacha Kamocha" - "Thou Shalt Love Thy neighbor as Thy Self!"

 

Shabbat Shalom,