TORAH READING FOR 27 SHEVAT 5782 SHMITAH Jan 28-29, 2022
PARSHA
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/mishpatim
Mishpatim (מִשְׁפָּטִים — [These Are the] Rules) – Exodus 21:1-24:18
These are the rules that you shall set before them. – Exodus 21:1
SUMMARY:
- Interpersonal laws ranging from the treatment of slaves to the exhibition of kindness to strangers are listed. (21:1-23:9)
- Cultic laws follow, including the commandment to observe the Sabbatical Year, a repetition of the Sabbath injunction, the first mention of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals, rules of sacrificial offerings, and the prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk. (23:10-19)
- The people assent to the covenant. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascend the mountain and see God. Moses goes on alone and spends forty days on the mountain. (24:1-18)
HAFTARAH
Jeremiah 34:8-22; 33:25-26
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishpatim
Connection to the Parashah
Both the parashah and the haftarah address the law requiring the release of Hebrew slaves. Both the parashah and the haftarah use the words “Hebrew” (ivri), “slave” or “servant” (eved), “free” (chofshi), and “covenant” (brit). The haftarah literally quotes the parashah. And the haftarah recites the setting of the parashah (described in the previous parashah), the time at which God brought the Israelites “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
STRUGGLING WITH TORAH
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishpatim
Mishpatim (מִשְׁפָּטִים — Hebrew for “laws”) – Exodus 21:1-24:18
The parashah sets out a series of laws, which some scholars call the Covenant Code. It reports the people’s acceptance of the covenant with God.
In Modern Interpretation
Professor Jacob Milgrom, formerly of the University of California, Berkeley, identified Exodus 21–23 as the Torah’s oldest law code…. Professor David P. Wright of Brandeis University argued that the Covenant Code of Exodus 20:23–23:19 was directly, primarily, and throughout dependent upon the Laws of Hammurabi [c.1760 BCE].
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/mishpatim
From the D’var Torah By: Rabbi Hilly Haber
This week’s parashah, Mishpatim, takes place against the backdrop of a borderland: the setting forth laws given at Mt. Sinai as the Israelites journey through the wilderness from slavery in Egypt to an unknown future in their own land.
REFLECTION
From “The Torah / A Women’s Commentary” edited by Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Rabbi Andrea L. Weiss, Ph.D.
משפטים Mishpatim – Exodus 21:1-24:18
Rules for Life in a Covenant Community by Elaine Goodfriend, pp.427-428
Parashat Mishpatim (“rules”) presents the culmination of the covenant process that began with the preparations for the revelation on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19). While the so-called Ten Commandments articulate the general principles of the covenant between God and Israel (20:1-14), this parashah presents specific stipulations. This collection of case rulings and rules, referred to as the “Book of the Covenant” (24:7), the “Covenant Code,” or the “Covenant Collection,” covers a range of topics–from criminal and civil matters like murder, assault, and theft, to moral and religious precepts, such as treatment of the stranger and observance of the festivals. Although the stipulations in this parashah address an array of subjects, they do not constitute a comprehensive legal code. Many essential aspects of life in biblical times, like marriage, adoption, or inheritance, do not appear here.
The contents of the Book of the Covenant can be divided into two groups of laws. The rules in the first group (21:2-22:16) are formulated mainly as case laws, meaning that the text describes a specific scenario and its legal consequences: “When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned” (21:28).
As for the second group (22:17-23:19), many of its regulations are phrased as unconditional imperatives, similar to language of the Decalogue: “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (23:19).
Parashat Mishpatim refers to a remarkable number of women; however, like the men in this parashah, they are not named characters but rather different types of female figures who warranted legal consideration in certain situations. We read about the wife of the Hebrew slave (21:3-5), the daughter sold into slavery (21:7-11), the mother verbally or physically abused (21:15, 17), the female slave beaten by her master (21:20-21, 26-27), the pregnant woman who suffers a miscarriage and possible death because of a brawl (21:22-25), the woman gored by an ox (21:28-32), the unbetrothed young woman (22:15-16), the sorceress condemned to death (22:17), and the vulnerable widow (22:21-23). Furthermore, Exodus 21 repeatedly equates females and males regarding compensation for assault and injury (vv. 15, 16, 20, 26, 28, 29, 31, 32). This collection also treats other types of women implicitly, such as the slave owner (21:2, 10, and elsewhere), the debtor mother (21:7), the impudent daughter (21:15), the brawler (21:18, 22), the fatherless daughter (22:21), and more.
After Moses communicates these stipulations to the people, they voice their enthusiastic acceptance of the terms of the covenant: “All that יהוה has spoken we will faithfully do! (naaseh v’nishma)” (24:7). The parashah ends with Moses’ ascent of the mountain to receive two stone tablets, the physical symbol of the new legal relationship wedding God and Israel.
The Covenant Collection (21:1-23:33) p. 429
In conveying the Decalogue (Exodus 20:2-14), God addressed the people directly; but because the people fear the terrifying display of divine might (20:18-21), Moses mediates the regulations that now follow. The Book of the Covenant exhibits numerous similarities in content, form, and organization to the law collections of Israel’s neighbors. Yet biblical law departs from ancient Near Eastern jurisprudence in several ways. Israel was unique in its belief that God–not a king–authored the rules governing interactions with humans and the Divine. Another distinguishing feature is that all Israelites were charged with knowing the precepts in order to ensure their observance….
The Covenant Ratification Ritual (24:1-18) pp.442-443
Exodus 24 depicts the ratification of the covenant between God and Israel. The central components of this ceremony involve Moses’ recitation of the terms of the covenant, the people’s unanimous agreement to follow God’s words, the construction of an altar and twelve pillars symbolizing the twelve tribes, and the offering of sacrifices, with half the blood dashed on the altar and the other half sprinkled on the people–perhaps a graphic symbol of their entry into the covenant.
The passage also describes an unusual scene in the which the leaders and representatives of the people ascend partway up the mountain, where they collectively experience a vision of God and participate in a formal meal to solemnize the covenant. Various segments of Israel’s leadership participate in this ceremony: prophetic (Moses), priestly (Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu), and judicial (seventy representative elders). Although women do not take part in this particular ritual, presumably they are included in the term “people” as everyone affirms, “All that יהוה has spoken we will faithfully do” (v. 7). The episode reaches its climax when Moses ascends the mountain and receives the stone tables etched with God’s precepts. The tables are to be deposited eventually in the ark of the Tabernacle, the focus of most of the remaining portion of the book of Exodus.
ROSH CHODESH ADAR I (Leap Year)
Begins at sundown on Monday, January 31 and ends at sundown Wednesday, February 2, 2022. Adar I is the twelfth month of the Hebrew calendar. If a month has 30 days, then day 30 becomes Rosh Chodesh. The current month of Shevat has thirty days, so Adar I’s Rosh Chodesh is two days. Adar I also has 30 days. Purim falls in Adar II.
PRAYERS
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:
ROSH CHODESH – FOR THE NEW MONTH p.519
Our God and God of our ancestors, may the new month bring us goodness and blessing. May we have long life, peace, prosperity, a life exalted by love of Torah and reverence for the divine; a life in which the longings of our hearts are fulfilled for good.
FOR OUR COUNTRY p.516
THUS SAYS ADONAI, This is what I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of lawlessness; to let the oppressed go free, to break off every yoke. Share your bread with the hungry, and take the wretched poor into your home. When you see the naked, give clothing, and do not ignore your own kin.
O GUARDIAN of life and liberty, may our nation always merit Your protection. Teach us to give thanks for what we have by sharing it with those who are in need. Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation, and alert to the care of the earth. May we never be lazy in the work of peace; may we honor those who have [served, suffered or] died in defense of our ideals. Grant our leaders wisdom and forbearance. May they govern with justice and compassion. Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit. Amen.
FOR HEALING
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of abuse, brutality, conflicts, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds especially directed at individuals and specific communities including us, and war; for all those at home alone or lonely; for all those in need of physical, emotional, and mental healing. “R’fuah sh’lëmah” – a complete recovery!
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
We say KADDISH YATOM for those of our friends and families who have died and been buried this last week; those in the period of Sh’loshim (30 days since burial); those who have died in the last year; and those whose Yahrzeits/Anyos occur at this time; as well as the victims of brutality, conflict, disease, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds, and war.
This coming week, 26 Shevat through 2 Adar I, we lovingly remember:
Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.
“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.
TORAH STUDY AND SHAZOOM
We will meet as usual at the regular times for Torah Study and Shazoom this evening, Friday, January 28, 2022.
Zoom regularly updates its security and performance features. Making sure you have the latest version of Zoom, please join us online this Friday evening with wine/grape juice for Kiddush and Challah for Motzi.
Topic: Torah Study – Mishpatim (triennial part) Ex 23:20-24:18
Time: Jan 28, 2022 06:00 PM Arizona
and/or
Shazoom – Erev Shabbat Service
Time: Jan 28, 2022 07:30 PM Arizona
To join Torah Study and/or Shazoom click on the following link [you may need to copy it into your browser]: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/72510500854?pwd=Z3VQZWF4U1BBZytNYmh3aHFTWkFDZz09
Meeting ID: 725 1050 0854
Passcode: 4NrMk0
Hint: The last character of the password is the number zero.
Shabbat Shalom – Buen Shabbat!
-Ruben