Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1-24:18
Shekalim Exodus 30:11-16
II Kings 11:17-12:17
Two Jewish mothers meet for coffee. “Well, Rose,” asks one. “How are your son and daughter doing?” “To tell you the truth,” answers the second, “my Jacob has married a real good-for-nothing. She doesn’t get out of bed until 11. Then she’s out all day spending his money on heaven knows what, and when he gets home exhausted, does she have a nice hot dinner for him? Forget it. She makes him take her out to an expensive restaurant.”
“And how about Sara?”
“Ah! Sara has married a saint. He lets her sleep in late all the time and even brings her breakfast in bed, he gives her enough money to buy all she needs, and in the evening he takes her out to dinner to a beautiful restaurant.”
The contrast of last week’s Torah portion of revelation, the great story of the giving of the Torah, with this week’s focus on the mundane — relationships, legal liability for others and property rights — could not be more startling. How do we transition from the soaring rhetoric of the Ten Commandments — accompanied by fire and the sound of the great shofar, the entire nation standing as one trembling, witnessing the greatest revelation of God to mankind ever, calling on us to be a light unto the nations — to laws about slaves, wayward children, wild oxen and thieves making off with others’ property? What about the transcendence of last week? Is this the same God talking?
Axiomatic to the study of Torah is that in addition to the plain meaning, there is also a deeper psychological, emotional and spiritual dimension. Indeed, Nachmanides (1194-1270) writes that the Torah speaks of the physical realm but alludes to the spiritual. Or, as the kabbalists saw it, the Torah speaks of the mystical and only hints at the corporal.
Let us take an in-depth look at an example from this week’s portion.
Among the many laws recorded, the Torah introduces us to four types of “custodians”: an unpaid custodian, a paid custodian, a renter and a borrower (Exodus 22:6-14).
In brief, the Torah establishes the degree of responsibility for guardians of an object and divides them into four categories of custodians. The unpaid custodian is liable only for damages that result from negligence. Indeed, by taking an oath that he wasn’t careless, he is absolved of responsibility. The paid custodian is liable if the item was lost or misplaced, even if the loss was not a result of negligence. A renter has similar responsibility, and a borrower is liable for the entrusted item in almost all circumstances and has the most liability.
In a profound teaching on this subject, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, known as the sheloh (1565-1630), writes that there is a more sublime message the Torah is conveying with these laws, and that it is indeed a seamless continuation of the Ten Commandments.
In accepting the Torah, we all became its “custodians,” yet we may relate to this relationship differently. Some might ask, what’s in it for me? What personal benefit will I gain? Is there a reward?
Then there is the “unpaid” custodian, one who commits to keep the Torah and mitzvot purely out of love of God and Judaism.
On an even deeper level, we are all trustees of our souls. Before we are born, we take an oath in heaven that as long as the soul is in our custody we will watch over it and lead a righteous life (Talmud Niddah 30b). At some point, the owner will come to take it back, asking, What happened to the precious soul I entrusted to you? Were you so busy chasing life’s pursuits you had no time to invest into your own soul’s well-being? Thus the Torah tells us that it’s all a matter of how we view our relationship with God. Are you the type who expects to be compensated for your mission in this world? Are you “borrowing” time, or merely “renting” this soul? Is this your life to live as you please?
Indeed, if we consider that our planet was entrusted to us to protect, that we as God’s partners remain committed to our mission from Sinai to repair the world, then even when life gets complicated, distracting us temporarily from our mission to transform our world into one of goodness and light, God as our partner assures us that he will be at our side and that we will succeed. Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Shlomo Zarchi is the spiritual leader of Orthodox Congregation Chevra Thilim in San Francisco. He can be reached at [email protected].