DG's Divrei Torah

In this week’s parsha, parshas Mishpatim, we learn about how the rabbinic judicial system works. Truly, a fascinating topic! However, I have one question, why does the parsha start off Viayleh hamishpatim? That makes it seem as if we are starting the parsha in the middle of a clause. The vuv in viayleh means “and.” Last I checked, a sentence doesn’t start off with the word “and.” In fact, it’s used as a conjunction to link two like ideas.

There are some mifarshim that give reason for the addition of the vuv; here are a couple of them. The vuv is showing that the laws in this parsha, which may appear as man made, are in fact works of G-d; they are the same laws that Hashem gave to us at Har Sinai. You might think that since some of these laws can be worked through and argued with man made logic, that they do not come from Hashem. That is why this parsha starts off with a vuv, to show us the link between what we may think are man made laws, are in fact laws given from the One above. (Rashi)

Another reason for the vuv is as follows. This parsha is starting off teaching us how the rabbinical judicial system was set up and run. The end of the last parsha, Yisro, was teaching us about the works of the mishkan. That is the reason for the vuv, to show us that all cases should be held nearby the mishkan. (Rambam). This way the court cases would be instilled with the kedusha of the mishkan, and we should know that Hashem is the One who is running all matters among men.

Here’s a quick peek at a couple of the conflicts that were dealt with by the judges in this week’s parsha.
Slavery – How does the court rule in regards to a Jewish slave? One, who acquires a slave, acquires a master. What does this mean? You must treat your slave like royalty. If they become sick, you must pay for their medical bills and not demand compensation for the cost. If there is one pillow on the house, you must forfeit the pillow to your slave. Finally, once they are released, you must send them off with gifts.
Bodily Damage – How does the court rule in regards to one person causing harm to another person's body? The punishment is ayin tachas ayin, or literally, an eye for an eye. What does that mean? If he pokes my eye out, the court should poke his out? The Vilna Gaon comes up with a kabbalistic interpretation of ayin tachas ayin. He says, first you look at the word tachas, which literally means under. From this we learn to go to the next letter “under.” What does this mean? If you write out the word Ayin (Ayin, Yud, Nun), the next letters under are (Fey, Chuf, Somich) pachas. Once you have these letters you rearrange them and you end up with the word kesef (Chuf, Somich, Fey), which is translated into money. This teaches us that the penalty for causing harm to one’s body is to provide the injured with money.

Nowadays our court systems are corrupt. They decide on their own without any concern for Hashem’s laws. May we all see the restoration of a true Torah court speedily in our days, and may we all see Moshiach, bimheira viyameinu amein. Gut Shabbos.