Parasha Mishpatim 5785

Me

This week we read Parasha Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1-24:18, and, interestingly, this parasha alone covers 53 of the 613 Mitzvot of Torah, which is just short of 10% of all the Torah’s commandments. Of those 53 commands, 23 are imperative and 30 are prohibitions. In this list in Mishpatim we find commandments dealing with everything from how to treat a slave should one have one (though I do not believe the Scriptures ever condoned slavery), to how to make restitution if your animal harms another person or damages someone’s field, to how to handle a situation of a thief dying mid-robbery, to not leaving your enemy’s ox or donkey stranded if you find it away from the owner, to how to treat an outsider in the midst of Israel.

Realistically, from Exodus 21 through the first half of 23 what we really see are the Aseret HaDibrot broken down into situational circumstances. Pretty much everything found in the first three chapters of Parasha Mishpatim are further illustrations of how to live out the Aseret HaDibrot in daily practice.

Exodus 23:14-17 lays out the Shalosh Regalim, the three pilgrimage feasts of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot. This is followed by Adonai’s promise to lead the way for Israel into the Promised Land and a reminder to be careful to uphold His ways when we are in the Land and not to strive to be like the nations He is dispossessing in front of us.

Exodus 24 is a continuation on what we read at the tail end of Exodus 20 after the Nation of Israel hears the Bat Kol speak forth the Aseret HaDibrot and becomes terrified of God’s voice and demands Moses receive the rest of what He has to say and we will obey Adonai’s word through Moses. So here in chapter 24 the Lord calls Moses to come up into His Presence on the mountain so he can be given the rest of the Covenant. And Moses spends 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain in the Presence of God receiving a divine download of the rest of Torah.

We

God

Principle: When G-d says love your neighbor as yourself He definitely is not speaking only of those with whom we’re closest…

(Repeat)

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

Matthew 22:37–40 TLV

37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

Exodus 23:1–9 TLV

1 “Do not to spread a false report. Do not join hands with the wicked by becoming a malicious witness. 2 “Do not follow a crowd to do evil. Nor are you to testify in a case, to follow a crowd and pervert justice. 3 On the other hand, nor should you takes sides with a poor man in his case. 4 “If you find your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you must surely bring it back to him again. 5 If you see the donkey of the one that hates you lying down under its burden, do not leave it. Rather, you are to release it with him. 6 “You are not to pervert justice to your poor in his dispute. 7 Stay far away from a false charge. Do not kill the innocent and the righteous, for I will not justify the guilty. 8 Take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight, and perverts the words of the righteous. 9 “Do not oppress an outsider, for you know the heart of an outsider, since you were outsiders in the land of Egypt.

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

Principle: When G-d says love your neighbor as yourself He definitely is not speaking only of those with whom we’re closest…

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

Matthew 5:38–48 TLV

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him also the other. 40 And the one wanting to sue you and to take your shirt, let him also have your coat. 41 Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than anyone else? Even the pagans do that, don’t they? 48 Therefore be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

Principle: When G-d says love your neighbor as yourself He definitely is not speaking only of those with whom we’re closest…

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

John 13:34–35 TLV

34 “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also you must love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

Principle: When G-d says love your neighbor as yourself He definitely is not speaking only of those with whom we’re closest…

Parasha Mishpatim 5785

You

(Call worship team back)

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