Parshas Mishpatim 5767

Commentary by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

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Immediately following the Ten Commandments, the Torah discusses many of the civil and tort laws given at Sinai. The juxtaposition to the Ten Commandments is to emphasize the Divine origin of our social obligations. The Jew’s laws and ordinances are not based on human intellect or socially accepted norms, which change over the course of time. They originate from an objective, eternal source–-the Creator of all mankind.

It is for this reason that when a dispute arises between two Jews they must go to a Jewish court, the Beis Din, for litigation, and not to a secular court. Even if both courts reach the same conclusion, the decision of a secular court is based on human intellect whereas the Beis Din’s decision is based on Torah.

The first discussion centers on the laws of the Hebrew slave. The idea of slavery seems repugnant to the modern mind. Yet the Torah’s description of slavery leaves quite a different impression.

The concept of slavery generally refers to an individual who has stolen from his neighbor, and lacks the resources to repay what he had stolen. The court then sells the thief into slavery as a means of being able to repay the debt.

There are many restrictions placed upon the buyer. He must accept the responsibility of supporting the thief’s family, since they have lost their breadwinner for the duration of the servitude.

The master may not make any unreasonable demands of the slave, nor may he require him to fulfill any demeaning tasks. Furthermore, he must be treated like an equal, like any other fellow Jew, notwithstanding that he is in slavery as a result of his criminal behavior.

The slave may not be purchased for longer than a six-year period. In certain instances, the slave may elect, on his own, to stay longer than six years. Even then he could only stay until the Jubilee Year, which was celebrated every fifty years, independently of when the slave was bought.

It is hard to imagine why a person would want to invest in such a venture. In the words of the Talmud, “A person who buys a Hebrew slave is buying a master for himself.”

The only logical reason for buying the slave must be out of a sense of compassion and responsibility, to help rehabilitate a fellow Jew who has fallen, both materially and spiritually. It is not difficult to imagine the positive influence resulting from living in such an individual’s environment. This is the purpose of the Torah’s form of slavery.

When you will see the donkey of your enemy buckling under its load…you shall surely assist him... (Ex. 23:5)

The Talmud explains that even if one is justified in hating a person, for example if he was wicked, the hatred must be directed to the person’s actions, and not against the individual. The person deserves assistance like any other person.

A man once came to Rav Yisrael Salanter to explain how he was taking measures against his friend who had mistreated him terribly. Rav Yisrael instructed the fellow with penetrating advice. “You may be presently in the right, but you must make sure that you remain in the right.”

Did You Know...

It is forbidden to pressure a borrower to repay his loan if the lender is certain that he is unable to do so. If the lender is uncertain if the borrower can repay the debt, or if the borrower forgot about the loan, it is permissible to remind him.

Even if the borrower has no cash, but he does own possessions that could be sold, it is permissible to remind him to pay.

If one knows that the borrower is unable to pay the debt, he should not even pass before the borrower if he knows that it will make him uncomfortable. However, just as the lender must be sensitive to the borrower, the debtor also has responsibilities to the lender, and he may not withhold the money he owes if he is capable of paying it.