Parshas Mishpatim

This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have a complete and speedy recovery.



The question for this week is why, out of all the laws in this week's Torah portion, those of Jewish servants are placed first?



Halacha on a Practical Level

Laws, ordinances, statutes, and more! All found in Parshas Mishpatim. I have already discussed the theoretical need for a halachic system but all these details, isn't it enough for a Rabbi to know them? Why does traditional Jewish study focus the bulk of our energy into halachic studies instead of focusing on philosophical ideas (such as the nature of prayer or the world to come) or Tanach or Midrash?

Rav Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein provides us with an answer: "Without doubt, the Jew, like other people, confronts the Ribbono shel Olam [Master of the Universe] as redeemer, benefactor, and judge. Primarily, however, he encounters Him as commander" (Leaves of Faith, page 3).

G-d commands and we strive to fulfill our mission which we achieve through halacha. (Often we must go beyond halacha but that is a separate discussion.)

Translating this sense of mission into everyday lives, it becomes obvious that if we are to act properly, we must strive to master the details and not leave them to a Rabbi.

This care for the details becomes manifest when comparing Orthodoxy to the Conservative movement, which philosophically recognizes the binding nature of a halachic system. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that this is not a polemic; I am simply attempting to illustrate a concept.* I am not speaking of their methodology nor their scholarship (I could go into detail but again, this is not a polemic). Rather I am speaking of which halachic questions are even asked.

* I want no inferences (either way!) to be drawn from this about my views of the Conservative movement's theoretical philosophy and the same holds true for all non-Orthodox movements. An eighteen year old such as myself cannot confer or deny any legitimacy or validity on anything. The topic of how an Orthodox Jew should relate to non-Orthodox movements is one which every Orthodox Jew should discuss with his or her own Rav and their Rav's opinion should be viewed as binding.

Skimming through the index to the halachic answers written by Reb Moshe Feinstein z"ztl (I highly suggest you read a bit about him at http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/feinstein.htm ) I see questions such as:

1. if a women sitting outside a sukkah answers amen to a blessing being made on the mitzvah of sitting in a sukkah.

2. if one accepts Shabbas early, can he or she ask others to do malacha for them.

3. what blessing is made on cornflakes.

Contrast these to the Conservative movement whose halachic responses deal mainly with communal issues and modern fads (Reb Moshe also discusses communal issues). Some examples:

1. whether or not a mechitza is required.

2. can somebody who married a non-Jew receive an aliyah.

3. the burial of non-Jews in Jewish cemeteries.

Practical everyday questions relevant to a halachically observant community are not even asked. Reb Moshe alone answered far, far more questions, most of which are of a much more practical nature, than the entire Conservative movement's committee for Jewish Law.

Halachic questions pop up everywhere and we often are not even aware of them. Practically, a concern for our mission dictates that we learn so we can act.




Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai

Parshas Yitro

This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have a complete and speedy recovery.



Question:

Proposing a court system, Jethro says "Let [the judges] administer justice for the people on a regular basis. Of course, they will have to bring every major case to you, but they can judge the minor cases by themselves. They will then share the burden, making things easier for you" (Exodus 18:22).

Recalling the event, Moses says "...If any case is too difficult, bring it to me, and I will hear it..." (Deuteronomy 1:17).

What is the significance of the change Moses made?



Parshas Yitro

Philosophically speaking, there are many problems with religion. We believe that G-d is completely perfect in every way and lacks any faults. Yet if we extend this logically, Judaism which is based on mitzvot - actual laws commanded to us by a Supreme Commander - appears to make no sense. Here is how:

1. Commanding a person to do something implies that you want something to be done.

2. Wanting something to be done implies that you are currently lacking in something (namely that thing which you want to be done).

3. If you are lacking something, you cannot be perfect.

Therefore: Since G-d commands, it appears we can infer that G-d wants something. If G-d wants something, it appears we can infer that G-d is lacking. If G-d is lacking, it appears we can infer that G-d is not perfect.

This conclusion is utterly unacceptable! However, we do not wish to toss rationality out the window like many Christian theologians demand.

With G-d's help, following Rabbenu Yehuda HaLevi, author of the Kuzari, I will provide a satisfactory explanation to this problem based on this parshah. I hope to flesh out some ideas I mentioned in Parshas Shemos.

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When G-d appeared to the king of the Khazars telling the king that his intentions were virtuous but his actions were wrong, the king sought out a philosopher who proceeded to ridicule the whole idea of G-d desiring things.

"There is no favour or dislike in [the nature of] God because He is above desire and intention. A desire intimates a want in the person who feels it, and not till it is satisfied does he become (so to speak) complete. If it remains unfulfilled, he lacks completion." This is essentially the same argument we saw above.

However, the king responds by saying that he knows that this cannot be true because G-d told him! As much as the philosopher's position makes sense, G-d said otherwise! After being dissatisfied with the philosopher (and subsequently Islam and Christianity), he brought a Rabbi.
He said "I believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, who led the children of Israel out of Egypt with signs and miracles; who fed them in the desert and gave them the land, after having made them traverse the sea and the Jordan in a miraculous way; who sent Moses with His law, and subsequently thousands of prophets, who confirmed His law by promises to the observant and threats to the disobedient. Our belief is comprised in the Torah -- a very large domain."

The King responds asking why the Rabbi why did he not say he believed in G-d the Creator (rather than the G-d of his ancestors)?

The Rabbi responded that such a faith is "based on speculation and system, the research of thought, [and] open to many doubts."



In our Parshah, we see G-d introduced Himself saying "I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery" (Exodus 20:2) and not 'I am the Creator of the world and your Creator.'

The Rabbi tells us that unlike other faiths, based on speculation, ours is based on "personal experience."

Philosophers sit down and ponder but the human intellect has limits. Judaism on the other hand is based on what G-d told us.
The same G-d who spoke to us also tells us He is perfect. Yes, it is a paradox. But paradoxes or OK. Kant basically proved that the G-d is so totally beyond human understanding that we cannot comprehend Him; our knowledge of G-d comes only from Him.

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In a fitting end, one of the last verses in our parshah states "Wherever My name is mentioned, I will come to you and bless you" (Exodus 20:21).

The experience lives on.



Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai