Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pinkus
“And these are the laws (mishpatim) that you shall set before them” (Exodus, 21:1).
(The word mishpat—law—can also be translated as “judgment.”)
In fact, each of us acts as a judge throughout the day. We judge ourselves and our family.
The question is whether we judge “according to justice” or take all the circumstances into account.
Dad comes into the house, and Mom tells him: “Yanky was playing ball near the window, even though I warned him several times not to play there, and he ended up breaking the window. Ever since then—and it has already been two hours—he has been hiding under the bed in fear.”
Dad can act “according to justice”: the boy broke a window, so he will be punished. But Dad is a judge, not a computer. First, if the boy has already been sitting under the bed for two hours, he has already received part of the punishment he deserves, and perhaps it would be appropriate to show him compassion. Second, Dad must hear from Yanky himself what happened and exactly how the window broke. Third, if Dad punishes him now, perhaps the child will learn only to hit his younger brothers and sisters. And if Dad does not hit him, perhaps he will learn that in this world he can go unpunished and do whatever he likes. The father must take all these points into account when punishing his son.
Sometimes a person puts the Creator on trial, so to speak.
He encounters various difficulties and concludes: “The Almighty hates me!” (G-d forbid!). Something happens in his family, and he already has complaints: “Almighty, I prayed this morning and recited Tehillim, so why?”
But before judging, let him stop for a moment and think: Whom is he addressing? After all, how beautiful this world is! Thank G-d, he is alive and has a family. How many blessings the Almighty has given him: he has the Torah, and every morning he recites the blessing: “Blessed are You… Who has not made me a slave.” Everything must be taken into account!
Whenever we make decisions, we become judges, and there is only one way to reach a true decision: make the Almighty part of it!
We must train ourselves to make decisions only when “I believe that the Almighty is the Creator and Ruler of all created beings.” In every situation we encounter, we should stop for a moment and think: How does the Almighty see this?
This idea is illustrated by a story I heard from a great Torah scholar. It happened when he was studying at the Mir Yeshiva under the great mashgiach (spiritual mentor), Rav Yerucham Levovitz. Once, he needed to travel to Warsaw on some business. He packed his belongings and was about to leave. But before leaving, of course, he had to say goodbye to the mashgiach and receive his blessing for the journey. The mashgiach’s room was on the very top floor, so he had to climb the stairs. When the young man climbed one step, he stopped and thought: “What will I tell the mashgiach? That for such-and-such reasons, I need to go to Warsaw.” He climbed a few more steps and thought again: “What will I tell the mashgiach? That the reasons are such-and-such…” He continued climbing and stopping several times until he reached the door. There he stopped, turned around and began descending the stairs. Then he went to his room and unpacked his suitcase, because he had already realized on his own that the trip was not actually necessary.
When we turn to a great person who can critically examine things and ascertain the truth, the picture suddenly changes. Even the thought of doing so led the young man to change his decision.
The same applies to us. When we get up in the morning and say, “I thank You, living and eternal King,” that is a moment of evaluation and reflection.
Whom are you praying to? How much of our lifetime does the Almighty deserve for us to devote to Him? That is our judgment.
There is actually another very important matter here: time. Time is a very valuable commodity. Time is, in essence, life itself. Squandering time means squandering life. Today, people have no time. When a wealthy person is asked for a donation, he is often willing to write a check, but not to meet with the person asking or spend his time. Nothing is more valuable than time.
Yet each of us is also a judge when it comes to time: how much time we devote to ourselves, how much to our family, and how much we give to the Almighty.
A person recites a blessing. He has no time. He is willing to devote a few seconds to the Creator, no more. He does not have enough time to say slowly, clearly pronouncing every word: “Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, Master of the universe, by Whose word everything came into being!”
Yet if only he would think: “How the Almighty has helped me until now, how much I owe Him! He deserves greater respect from me…”
A person also judges how much time to devote to his children. Sometimes a child whines and is told: “Stop bothering me!” If you were to ask this father, “Perhaps you should send this child to an orphanage? After all, you have no time for him anyway!” he would surely answer: “Well, that’s going too far!” But why are you unwilling to listen to him? This child has feelings. Think about the future—with G-d’s help, he will bring you joy and give you grandchildren… Does he really deserve to be cut off in mid-sentence like that?
I was once shown a newspaper article in which a woman wrote that when mothers leave their children with a nanny, the children run after their mother and cry, pleading with her not to leave. That woman wrote that children supposedly ought to understand that mothers were not created to stay with them all the time.
But that is a lie! A mother’s role really is to be with her children!
Today, we look at everything from the perspective of non-Jewish laws and ideas. But the Almighty tells us: “I am the L-rd, Who loves law.” Ask Me! The Torah has a perspective on every question in life.
Tractate Berachot (29) says: “When you set out on a journey, consult your Master and then depart. What does ‘consult your Master’ mean? Rabbi Yaakov said in the name of Rav Chisda: ‘It means the Traveler’s Prayer.’” When we recite the Traveler’s Prayer properly, it is as though we are consulting the holy Shechinah, and then there is a chance that the Almighty will send “blessing and success in all our endeavors.”
In everything we do, we should examine whether our actions are important and necessary.
This is judgment—mishpat. When the Almighty is part of this process, the judgment will be true; otherwise, “they will not know His laws.” This is what Parashat Mishpatim is about. Mishpatim, the laws governing human relationships, are established by the Almighty rather than by us, “for judgment belongs to G-d!”
Prepared by - Mrs. Leah Shukhman