This week’s parsha, Parshat Mishpatim, marks a change in the flow of the Torah thus far. In the entire preceding parshiyot, we’ve only gotten about 40 mitzvot or commandments, but in Mishpatim ALONE we get 53.
We get a wide range of mitzvot from this parsha — the laws of kashrut (keeping kosher), laws of stealing, commandment of prayer, and others. But a main theme is the idea of dealing with other people generally, as well as in relation to their money or belongings. But when we refer to stealing, we don’t just mean money or belongings. This refers to stealing someone’s sleep (slamming doors when your family is sleeping, talking on the phone when your roommate is napping), stealing someone’s time (arriving at a Zoom meeting late, or leaving someone on hold for too long), and even stealing fresh air from others (blocking the window or door in a stuffy room).
An interesting commandment we are given is, “You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan - כָּל־אַלְמָנָ֥ה וְיָת֖וֹם לֹ֥א תְעַנּֽוּן׃”
The Baal HaTurim points out this usage of the word כל, kol meaning “all.” Every single widow and every single orphan should be treated with kindness, even if they are well-to-do. The Baal HaTurim explains that this usage of “kol” teaches that even if someone seems “comfortable” after a loss, no kind of hurt can be compensated for simply by earthly possessions.
When I read this, my thoughts were, “…well it sure is easier to mourn in a nice, warm house than a not-nice, cold house…” Which probably isn’t the right response? I don’t know. There’s a movement to “make Instagram casual again” and this refers to the fact that Instagram has become this glossy, posed film reel of the seemingly-perfect lives of others. This is DEFINITELY different, but we have this idea in our minds that if something *looks* beautiful, it is. That if someone *is* beautiful, their life is too. That even if someone has experienced loss, “well at least they still have the vacation home in Aspen!”
This goes for celebrities too. We hear all the time how celebrities will speak from the height of fame, the height of wealth and privilege, saying how even these material things can never fill the void of hurt, sadness, loneliness, and meaningful relationships.
I’m going on about this because the key to caring for *every* widow and orphan is empathy and basic respect. To go back to our rules about stealing — our belongings, our time, our space, our sleep, these are things (both tangible and intangible) that make us human. They are the base of our earthly existence, and respecting that time, space, and sleep is the basis of what we owe one another.
This is why I think these laws about interpersonal relationships have to appear now — seemingly abruptly inserted between last week’s experience at Har Sinai (Mount Sinai), only to return to the Har Sinai experience at the end of the parsha. Of course there are lots of other mitzvot that we are responsible for in regard to G-d, but how can our commandments related to G-d mean anything if we don’t have respect for the creatures of G-d’s earth?
I’ve been getting these daily emails from the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, all relating to interpersonal relationships. The first day’s idea asked, “Do you know someone who's mean or difficult?”
Well duh. (Who just popped into your mind? That’s the person we’re going to focus on.) I was excited to read this. I don’t like feeling negatively about people! Like the saying goes, “holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
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