“Moses repeated the commandments to the people, who answered: “All the things that the Lord has commanded we will do!” Moses then wrote the commandments down.”
This week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, literally “Laws,” is a long list of rules and laws given by God to the Jewish People, and is sometimes referred to as “The Covenant Code.” While last week’s list of the ‘Ten Statements’, or as they are more commonly referred to, the ‘Ten Commandments’, dealt primarily with spiritual matters, this week’s portion delves into Civil and Tort Law. Here is the “short list” of items covered by God: homicide, assault, theft, kidnapping, judicial integrity, sorcery, seduction, humane treatment of the enemy, wronging the disadvantaged, and my personal favorite, insulting a parent. Mentioned several times in the portion is the concept of ‘not oppressing the stranger.’ We are reminded over and over again to be attentive and sensitive to the stranger, as we were once strangers in a strange land – Egypt.
As Jews interpreting Torah we tend to see many of these laws as unique to us; being handed down from God to Moses in a very dramatic moment. However upon examination we find that quite a few laws are not much different from those found in Hammurabi’s Code, or the ancient law codes that predate the Code of Hammurabi.
How then, do we come to see these laws and rulings as uniquely “Jewish”? What differentiates the Laws of Moses from those in other early societies is that the Law, as it is presented to Moses and the people, is bound up in the relationship God has with his people. These laws create our value system and demand of us a higher regard for life, integrity, and social justice.
Yes, God initially gives the laws to Moses. But unlike some religions whose laws are held closely by a designated hierarchy, Moses in turn reads God’s covenant aloud to the people, who once again affirm that they will follow it.
Which brings us to why there are so many Jewish lawyers! Our religion asks of us to not only understand the festivals and observances, but to be intimately aware of how we must conduct ourselves in every part of our lives, making each Jew a lawyer, obligated to learn and understand the Law. Long before there were Law Schools, perspective lawyers “read” the law. Each Jew must “read the Law”, and not just leave it up to “professional Jews.” It was and still is God’s intent that we each stand before God with an understanding of the Laws of Moses. Of course each generation is then left to reinterpret the Law within the context of their time… while never straying far from the original intent of the Law.
We are meant to be not just “a people of the book” but in a small way a nation of lawyers, always aware of our obligations to God and each other!
No comments:
Post a Comment