Putting principles into practice :Mishpatim 5785

The Torah follows its exhilarating and inspirational description of the revelation at Mount Sinai with a rather dry and detailed set of various laws. It is one thing to be inspired and thus acquire great ideals—but it is quite something else to be able to transfer those ideals and inspiration into everyday life on a regular basis.

 We are all aware that the devil is in the details. It is natural to agree that one should not steal. But what is the definition of stealing or murder? Is taking something that originally did not belong to you always considered stealing? How about grabbing my neighbor’s rope and using it to save a drowning person? Is that also stealing? Is self-defense murder? Are court- imposed death penalties murder?

 How are we to deal with such complex moral issues?   This is the crux of all halacha and this week’s parsha introduces us to the intricacies of Jewish law. Without an understanding of halacha in practice, the Torah’s great ideals and inspiration are rendered almost meaningless and unachievable.

The Torah concentrates not only on great ideas but on small details too. From these minutiae spring forth the realization of the great ideals and the ability to make them of practical value and use in everyday life. Hence the intimate connection between this week’s parsha and the revelation at Mount Sinai discussed in last week’s parsha. There is a natural and necessary continuity in the narrative flow of these two parshiyot.

 I think that this idea is borne out by the famous statement of the Jewish people when asked if they wished to accept the Torah. In this week’s parsha their answer is recorded as: “We will do, and we will listen.” All commentators and the Talmud comment on the apparently reverse order of this statement. People usually listen for instructions before they “do.” But the simple answer is that the people of Israel realized that listening alone would be insufficient.  The great and holy generalities of the Torah are valid only if they are clearly defined, detailed and framed within the context of everyday activities. We have to “do” in order to be able to fully “listen” and understand the Torah’s guidance and wishes. The Talmud records that a non-Jew once told a rabbi that the Jews were a “hasty and impulsive people” in accepting the Torah without first checking out its contents. But that hastiness was actually a considered and mature understanding that the Torah could not be sustained by fine ideas alone.

 Only those who are willing to “do” and who know what to “do” will eventually appreciate intellectually and emotionally the greatness of Torah. Only then will they be able to truly “listen” and appreciate the great gift that the Lord has bestowed upon Israel – the eternal and holy Torah.

 Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein