Torah Study Mishpatim

Exodus 21:3If he comes in by himself, he is to go out by himself. If he was married, then his wife will go out with him. 4If his master gave him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children will be her master’s, and he will go free by himself.

This is a very complex statement that seems obvious at first. Let us elaborate on what is described.

Slaves had to have permission from the master to do anything that could inhibit their ability to serve, including starting a family.

Just because 1 slave is freed does not mean the other is when they become married.

This law is only applying to Hebrew Men. There is a different Law for Hebrew Women.

Most sages acknowledge this is a reference to Non-Israelite woman.

Exodus21:5 “But if the servant plainly states, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children, and I will not go out free,’ 6then his master is to bring him to God, then take him to a door or to a doorpost. His master is to pierce his ear through with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

The word used here for “God” is elohim and can mean God, gods, princes or Judges. The literal translation would be “great ones”. In this case the slave is probably being taken to the courts for this procedure.

Many times this ritual/procedure is romanticized in to being a good thing. The sages are very clear that it is not. Below are a couple of things to keep in mind.

HaShem did not free his people from slavery to then becomes slaves to each other.

The situation described is the slave has a better life with his master than by himself but that does not justify the giving up of freedom.

The piercing of his ear against the doorpost is actually one of the only places in the Torah where the disfigurement of a person is allowed. This part of the ritual has the slaves head held against the doorpost, figuratively the same door post that the passover lamb blood was spread on when HaShem freed the Israelites from slavery, and his ear is nailed to it because he did not listen and learn the lesson of being freed from slavery. Then his blood is on the wood that the lambs blood would have been on.

He is not allowed to leave later if he changes his mind as a warning to others. This slave wanted to stay because life was good with his master. What about when life was not good? What about when he loses the affections of his wife, or the crops did not do well, or the master is having an economic hard time, or the master dies and now his son has inherited him, or the master pursues a different venture and instead of growing crops now he is working in a stone quarry, or the master decides to move?

Exodus 21:7“If a man sells his daughter to be a maidservant, she is not to go free as the male servants do. 8If she does not please her master who has selected her for himself, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He will have no power to sell her to a foreign people, seeing as he has dealt deceitfully toward her. 9If he betroths her to his son, he must give her the rights of a daughter. 10If he takes another wife, he is not to diminish her food, her clothing, or her marriage rights. 11If he does not provide these three to her, then she is to go free without payment.

So notice the description here is that the female slave is not bought with the same intention as the male. A female servant was bought with the intention of being a wife to either the buyer if a man or their son.

It is important to note that a female could not be forced to marry against her will. So this is known and handled on the front end.

The female servant has more protections than the male. It is presumed that she will be redeemed if at any time the relationship is not going to workout.

She is to be treated as a daughter by the master if not a wife.

If the Master fails she is freed early without having to pay him for the freedom.

Exodus 21:16“Anyone who steals a person and sells him, or is found with him under his hand, must surely be put to death.

What does this mean?

Kind of puts an end to any idea that slaves in ancient Israel where “kidnapped” or just “grabbed” and forced in to slavery.

Exodus 21:23 23But if any harm follows, then you are to penalize life for life, 24eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, blow for blow.

A lot of misconception for this exists. This particular passage has been compared to the code of hammurabi and admittedly is similar but the understanding is different.

First off, accept in rare circumstances, a person cannot be maimed or disfigured even for a crime. They could be whipped, fined, or slain but not disfigured.

This is stating the punishment must fit the crime.

In regards to crimes that resulted in the loss of a limb or body part a value must be placed on that limb or body part and restitution made for it.

For instance if a person is a guide for caravans and their foot is totally required to do their job then the compensation would be higher for them than a person who is a tailor and does not use their feet for their job.

Another example is a Kohen or Levite who must be unblemished to serve HaShem and loses their eye and so can no longer serve in the same capacity recieves a higher compensation than one who does not serve HaShem.

This is a method of how one could become the slave of another.

Haftorah Portion 2 Kings 12:1-17

2 Kings 12:1Jehoash was seven years old when he became king. 2Jehoash began his reign in the seventh year of Jehu and he reigned 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 3Now Jehoash did what was right in Adonai’s eyes all his days, just as Jehoiada the kohen instructed him. 4The high places, however, were not taken away. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

How is that Jehoash did what was right in Adonai’s eyes all his days, yet the people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places?

In the previous chapter we read that the temple of Baal and all the priest where slain and the alters destroyed, so who are the people making sacrifices and burning incense too?

The Israelites are worshiping HaShem but they are doing so in the way that the idolaters/pagans/gentiles did.

A common misconception is that when we read about sacrifices and incense in the high places or even of some of the pagan practices that the Israelites where worshiping other gods. Some of these times they where worshiping HaShem in the way of the idolaters/pagans/gentiles and this is not ok.

There is no passage or scripture for “redeeming” pagan holidays or practices. This is completely the traditions of men.

In fact there are many scriptures that state specifically to not worship HaShem as the pagans/gentiles do. Deuteronomy Chapter 12 is all about this.

Dt 12:31You are not to act like this toward Adonai your God! For every abomination of Adonai, which He hates, they have done to their gods—they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

Dt 13:1“Whatever I command you, you must take care to do—you are not to add to it or take away from it.

Basorah Portion Matthew 17:22-27

24When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the Temple tax, doesn’t He?”

Once again we see a lot of misconception in this passage. Part of this can only be attributed to antisemitism that is being written in to the English versions.

What temple was in Capernaum?

None, there was a synagogue

What Tax is being collected? Here is a hint neither the words Temple nor Synagogue appear in the text of the entire chapter 17 in the greek. Another hint the word used is didrachma.

It is a tax leveied by the Herodians with the Saduccees, hellenistic jews or jews that where becoming gentiles, that was the same approximate value as the half shekle.

The temple tax was collected only from Israelites and not from foreigners. As well the temple tax was levied by HaShem and not by a king. So why does Yeshua talk about tolls and taxes levied by a king and being paid by foreigners and not by their own people?

Cause this is not about a temple tax and Yeshua having to pay a tax in his fathers house as is commonly depicted but is instead about a person who is an Israelite and having an inheritance in the land granted by HaShem and still being expected to pay a tax to be in the land by an unjust and unauthorized ruler.

Yet he complied anyways because his mission was not to overthrow the government.

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