Mishpatim/Laws
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!
Very good; that way the whole world will be blind and toothless.
–Fiddler on the Roof
When Tevye the milkman made the statement above, he did not realize that the verse “an eye for an eye,” which appears in this week’s portion, was interpreted by the Rabbis to mean that a person is required to give monetary compensation for committing a bodily injury. According to Maimonides, no Rabbinic court ever ruled that one who blinded another should himself be blinded; rather, he must pay the value of the eye (or other injured limb). Still, if Tevye’s sentiment was that we should not be overly harsh in our treatment of one another, even our enemies, then he makes a good point. The parasha certainly agrees with this sentiment, admonishing us to return an ox to our enemy if we encounter it wandering off.
These laws are part of a wide range of mitzvot (commandments) given to the Israelites immediately after the revelation at Sinai. In total, fifty-three mitzvot appear in this parasha (which is appropriately titled Mishpatim, or “laws”). Twenty-three of them are imperative commandments, such as bringing agricultural gifts during the three seasonal Festivals; the other thirty are prohibitions, including those against taking bribes in court, charging excessive interest and cooking a kid (i.e. a goat) in its mother’s milk.
Jewish laws are often divided into two categories: chukim (statutes or decrees) and mishpatim (laws or judgments). Mishpatim are laws with readily apparent utility or rationale, such as not murdering; such laws stress the function of the mitzvot as educators and enlighteners of human life. By contrast, chukim (such as the dietary regulations) have no apparent rational basis; we follow them simply because they are God’s decree, and thus they emphasize the supra-rationality of our commitment to God.
Of course, even the rules we don’t understand can be powerful communal markers. For many people who are committed to Jewish life, it is the force of history, family and tradition that compels them to keep the laws of kashrut and others. And as we all know, without our traditions our lives would be as shaky as—well, as a fiddler on the roof!
