HANGING ON THE ‘VAV’
The first letter of our Parsha, Mishpatim, is the letter ‘vav’ which translates as ‘and’. Rashi teaches us that this ‘vav’ indicates that everything that follows is connected to the previous Parsha. This teaches us that just as in last week’s Parsha the Ten Commandments were said at Mount Sinai so too, this Parsha, which deals with the laws governing civil issues of money, was also given at Sinai.
This is very strange! We know that all the mitzvos were given at Sinai, why should these laws be any different?
In this very first verse, we are instructed to bring all our cases requiring judgement to the Jewish Beis Din, court. This includes any matter that comes up between two contestants, they must rest their case in front of a Jewish court and let the court adjudicate it.
The Rambam writes regarding a person who takes his case to a non-Jewish court, “Anyone who brings his case to the non-Jewish courts, even if they judge using Jewish law, such an individual is wicked. It is equivalent to blaspheming and raising his hand in arrogance against the Torah of Moshe.” What is unique about this mitzvah that the transgressor has committed such an egregious crime? Why is this transgression any greater blaspheming than other transgressions? Furthermore, if this court uses the Torah’s laws what could be wrong?
Every civilized society with any level of sophistication will have a set of laws and a system to adjudicate those laws by which the society operates and by which businesses operate. Without such a system there will be no framework to borrow and lend, to buy and sell. It will be a society where there are no responsibilities. For this reason all successfully functioning societies have laws by which everyone knows what to expect and a legal system which everyone can trust. Only then will people extend credit and allow business to flourish.
To accomplish this purpose the laws need not be absolutely just and morally correct to perfection. It is only necessary that everyone knows the laws and can rely upon them. So long as there are no surprises, the society will function perfectly. Since the purpose of these laws are as we stated, there is no interest that they should reflect the absolute morally correct position.
This differs in sharp contrast with our Torah’s purpose. The Torah’s purpose of having a set of laws and a legal system is to adjudicate what is truly morally correct. We just read in last week’s Parsha in the Ten Commandments how careful we must be in respecting the property of our neighbor. We are not even allowed to desire what belongs to him. The property of my neighbor should not even enter my mind as something that I would like.
Therefore, when an issue arises between two folks, it is not sufficient for them to go to have the judge settle the issue in an acceptable manner. They must find out to whom the disputed funds belong. Every monetary issue is a moral issue that re-quires HaShem to decide. In fact, the verse in Devarim (1:17) states “for the Judgement is for HaShem…”
It is no wonder why taking one’s case to a non-Jewish court would be a blasphemy against the Torah of Moshe. He is making a statement that he is not interested in the moral concern, all he is interested in is to settle the matter peacefully. It is tantamount to erasing that extra ‘vav’ at the beginning of our Parsha. It is detaching HaShem’s rule of morality from his daily life.
Have a wonderful Shabbos.
Paysach Diskind