Divrei Mishpatim
Day to Day
Parshas Yisro and Parshas
Mishpatim together comprise the major events of Matan Torah. While most was
recorded in Yisro, near the end of Mishpatim, Hashem gives Moshe the command,
“Go up to Hashem, you, Aharon, Nadav, Avihu, and seventy of the elders of
Israel, and you shall prostrate yourselves to Hashem.” (24:1) which Rashi
explains occurred on the fourth of Sivan, before Matan Torah. Their ascent and
Moshe’s further climb up Har Sinai form the rest of Mishpatim. In between the
two accounts of Matan Torah is a huge body of laws, most (the “mishpatim”)
having to do with civil and criminal justice. The commentators raise the
question, “Why does the Torah interrupt the narrative to bring laws that deal
with such mundane matters as rampaging cows and tunneling thieves?”
One answer is recorded in the first Rashi in the parsha. Even the Torah’s mundane civil and criminal laws are imbued with the kedushah of the Torah. In fact, the seat of the Sanhedrin, the high court charged with deciding all issues of major significance for each individual and the nation as a whole, is located within the Temple complex, the center of our spiritual life.
Hashem holds mishpatim in high regard. The Midrash (Shmos Rabbah 30:9) brings the verse in Tehillim (147:19): “He relates his Word to Yaakov, His statutes and judgments to Israel,” then explains it: “’His Word to Yaakov’ – these are the Ten Commandments; ‘His statutes and judgments to Israel’ – these are the mishpatim.’” From this Midrash’s direct comparison between the Ten Commandments and mishpatim, says the Slonimer Rav, we see that the two are equal in status before Hashem. In fact, he says, a case could be made that the reference to Israel (connoting a higher status than Yaakov) describing mishpatim implies that these day-to-day rules of life are in a sense superior to the Ten Commandments, associated with Yaakov! Clearly, mishpatim possess tremendous spiritual power.
A key to understanding this power comes from the Chassid Ya’avetz, an escapee from the Spanish Inquisition, who wrote a commentary on Pirkei Avos. In it (3:25), he explained that the more physical a mitzvoh, the more potential spirituality is locked inside it. Therefore, if one lives physically in accordance with the Torah, Hashem’s instructions for living a spiritual life in this world, the kedushah he can unleash is limitless,
The quintessential example of one who unlocked this world, so to speak, is Yaakov Avinu. At the beginning of Parshas Vayeitze, Yaakov was able only to dream about malachim, (Breishis 28:12) who were on a much higher level than him. By the beginning of Parshas Vayishlach, not only had Yaakov risen to the level of malachim, but he ascended higher, for he was actually able to order them to do his bidding. (32:4, see Rashi) What did Yaakov do to accomplish such a high level of spirituality? Yaakov was not learning in yeshiva full-time anymore; he was living the life of a ba’al habayis! (The Torah testifies: he worked hard for his father-in-law (see 31:38-42), he served as a dedicated husband and father, and he dealt with day-to-day issues and conflicts.) Yet millions of his contemporaries also served as husbands, sons-in-law, fathers, and breadwinners. What made Yaakov different from all of them? Throughout his career, by fulfilling Hashem’s will in every situation possible, Yaakov spiritualized even the most “unholy” areas of his life.
Of course, the opportunity to learn full-time can be an incredible opportunity to grow. After all, Yaakov reached navuah, as expressed in his dream, after fourteen years in Shem and Eiver’s academy. However, life does not stop the day one leaves yeshiva. By living our lives according to the not-so-mundane mishpatim of the Torah, we infuse kedushah into our home, school, business, and communal lives and so are elevated spiritually in the process. This world is a diamond mine, except that the diamonds are all around, not underground.