The key to a just society is that the judges follow the law. That they do not favor either the wealthy or the poor. All are equal before the law and cases can only be tried on the facts or the evidence. Not on anything else.
1. Getting Egypt Out of Us
The Torah does not move from the Ten Commandments directly into building the Mishkan. Instead, it moves into civil law.
Why?
Because freedom without law is chaos.
Egypt was not merely a place of slavery; it was a worldview — hierarchy, power, arbitrary justice, different laws for different classes. Leaving Egypt physically was easy. Removing the Egyptian mindset required law.
Mishpatim creates a society governed not by power, but by דין — objective justice.
2. Judges May Not Play Social Engineer
The Torah is explicit:
- לא תטה משפט אביונך בריבו — do not bend judgment even for the poor.
- לא תהדר פני גדול — do not favor the powerful.
Justice is not about sympathy.
Justice is not about revenge.
Justice is not about social correction.
Justice is about law and evidence.
In the ancient world — as in the Code of Hammurabi — punishment varied by class. Noble and commoner did not receive equal treatment. Torah law applies equally to all.
One law.
One standard.
One courtroom.
That itself was revolutionary.
3. “An Eye for an Eye” — What It Really Means
📜 “עין תחת עין”
The phrase is intentionally precise. It does not say:
- עין בעין (an eye in exchange for an eye)
- nor עין תחתיו (his eye instead of the eye)
The word תחת means “in place of” — compensation replacing the damage.
The Oral Law makes this explicit: monetary damages. The Talmud (Bava Kamma 83b–84a) derives this through linguistic analysis and comparison to adjacent verses discussing financial restitution.
The Torah removes revenge from the equation.
You don’t take vengeance.
You don’t retaliate.
You go to court.
That alone separates Torah civilization from the brutality of the ancient world.
Even more: the court assesses five categories of damages — loss, pain, medical costs, unemployment, humiliation. That is sophisticated tort law thousands of years before modern jurisprudence.
4. Why Begin With the Maidservant?
The parasha opens with laws of the Hebrew maidservant — the lowest rung in society.
Why begin there?
Because justice is measured from the bottom up.
If the weakest are protected,
everyone is protected.
If the weakest are ignored,
no one is safe.
This is not sentimentalism.
It is structural stability.
A society that does not protect its lowest member will eventually collapse — morally and legally.
5. Sinai Without Mishpatim Is Memory
This may be the deepest point you made.
Sinai is transcendence.
Mishpatim is daily conduct.
How do I:
- run my business?
- treat an employee?
- handle damages?
- conduct testimony?
- judge fairly?
- avoid revenge?
Torah is not meant to be a spiritual high that fades.
It is meant to regulate daily behavior.
Without Mishpatim, Sinai becomes nostalgia.
With Mishpatim, Sinai becomes civilization.
6. The Radical Idea
The Torah’s revolution was not ritual.
It was law restrained by morality and accountability to God.
Not:
- Power decides.
- Class decides.
- Emotion decides.
But:
- Law decides.
- Evidence decides.
- Justice decides.
And the judge answers not to society — but to God.
That is what removes Egypt from within us.
This is a powerful theme for a D’var Torah:
Freedom is not the absence of chains.
Freedom is the presence of law.Sinai gave us inspiration.
Mishpatim gave us civilization.
Something very much to think about.
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