BackWhy Must I Follow the Rules?
By: Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger
Last week the Torah was revealed in thunder and lightning. This week we learn about law. What is the connection between Moses receiving the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai and property damage or taxation? The answer is: everything. Torah is purposeful; it empowers us to recall our own greatness by the fact of our commandedness as human beings. G-d finds us worthy of His Mitzvot. The great Rabbinic ethicist Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel never ceased reminding us of the concept of “Gadlut Ha-Adam”, the majesty of the human being. What then of this week’s parsha, called “Mishpatim”, civil laws? Why the seeming turn to the prosaic?
We cannot live out a life of authentic spirituality without structure. The steps towards realizing the fullness of our humanity consist of a conduct that is real, yet reaches for the best of what a human can be. The Halacha, Jewish law, provides us with those guideposts. Details of how we handle practical matters in our relationships with others are cumulative. They are the building blocks of our characters.
Rashi teaches on the opening verse of this week’s parsha that the seat of the High Court, the Sanhedrin, was right next to the Temple itself, where the religious offerings were made. The soaring aspirations of Torah are grounded in the benchmarks of the law. That is the unique contribution of Judaism to the existential experience of humankind. Torah does not separate theory from practice. It marries them into a seamless whole, all in order to bring out the best in each of us.