From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 4:02 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Mishpotim, 5767




                                                
                                                  Bringing it Down
             
                     By Rabbi Joshua (pragmatically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


  At the end of last week's parsha, Yisro, after the Jewish people experience the divine revelation at Mt. Sinai, we are told that they saw the sound, the flames, and the rest of the effects occurring in that area, and that they trembled and kept their distance. They then tell Moshe that he should address them, rather than God, lest they die. Seeing and hearing this, Moshe told them, "Do not fear, for in order to exalt you ('lenasos eschem") has God come, so that His fear shall go before you, so that you shall not sin (Shemos 20:17)." He then approaches the thick darkness around the mountain, and receives a further message from God, with a series of commands concerning the prohibition of making images of silver and gold. And the obligation of making an altar, and how to walk up its ramp. After these commands are recorded, the Torah goes on to the next parsha, Mishpotim, which consists largely, although not exclusively, of the Torah's code of civil law. We need to understand why Moshe's message to the people, including the several commandments which he conveyed to them, follows after the revelation at Mt. Sinai, and why the Torah then goes on to present the laws that are found in parshas Mishpotim. Understanding these points will, I believe, will give us an insight into the nature of the laws we find there.


  Our translation of the phrase 'lenasos eschem' as 'to exalt you' follows Rashi's interpretation. However, Ramban finds difficulty with Rashi's approach, because there was no one to witness how the nation became exalted. Ramban himself offers a number of different explanations of the phrase, and concludes by saying that he prefers to explain the phrase as meaning ' to test you.'  After God had removed any doubt from their minds about Him, through granting them a very high level of prophecy at Mt. Sinai, he now wanted to see if they loved Him and desired His commandments. I would like to use Ramban's explanation as a starting point, but refer back to what he says in parshas Vayeira concerning the tests of Avrohom, and then explain our verses with the background of those tests in mind.


  In parshas Vayeira, Ramban says that God does not test someone in order to find out whether he can withstand the test. Rather, God wishes to activate that potential which the person has thus far held within himself. My teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik, zt"l, further explained the Ramban to mean that God tests a person in order to convince him that he does, indeed, have that potential, and can conduct his life in accordance with it. Although the Ramban says this in regard to the test of the akeidah, there was a further test that Avrohom had to undergo, according to Rabbeinu Yonah, and, possibly, it appears, according to the Ramban himself. Rabbeinu Yonah, in his commentary to Avos, writes that the final test that Avrohom was subjected to was the need to purchase a burial plot for Sarah, even though God had promised the land to his descendants. Why was there, indeed, a need for any further test following the akeidah? Didn't the angel of God tell him that he had reached the level of fear of God, which, as the Maharsha explained based on Rav Yosef Albo's categories in his Sefer HaIkkarim, refers to the awe and reverence of God, which is a result of the love of God? What more could be expected from Avrohom after reaching this level? Rav Eimelech Bar Shaul explained, in a eulogy he gave for Rav Betzalel Zolty, that Avrohom needed to descend from the plateau he had reached at Mt. Moriah and bring the level he had reached there into play in the affairs of his daily life. Thus, after leaving the mountain, he went on to display the ultimate level of chesed, or kindness, by attending to the burial of his wife, despite the fact that it entailed expending a great deal of money for a plot of land that God promised to his descendants. With this explanation in mind, we can now better understand the verses at the end of Yisro, and the reason for presenting the laws in parshas Mishpotim at this moment in time.

  As we mentioned, according to Ramban, after the nation experienced prophecy at Mt. Sinai, God wished to test them to see if they loved Him and desired His commandments. The commandments that are mentioned at the end of parshas Yisro are prohibitions of making gods of silver or gold, the requirement to build altars on which to serve God, and a prohibition of taking long strides when walking up to the altar. All of these commands and prohibitions, it seems, are related to one's relationship with God as manifested in the mishkan. Rashi explains that the prohibitions of making gods of silver and gold relate to the service in the mishkan, telling the people that although the aron, or holy ark, will have cherubs on top of it, they are not allowed to decide to make such images on their own in order to worship God. The people are then commanded to build altars on which to serve God, and, finally, they are told that they must not ascend to the altar on steps, so as not to  uncover their nakedness. Rashi explains, that even though the kohain doing the service will be wearing linen  pants ('michnesei vad), still, using steps would requre taking long strides, which is close to uncovering of nakedness. Rashi then cites the Mechiltas saying that if one must exercise such care in regard to the altar, which is made of stone and has no feelings, how much more does he need to exhibit respect for his fellow human being. I believe that this stress on the dignity of man, in the context of our service of God on the altar, is the key to understanding the transition from the end of parshas Yisro to the laws in parshas Mishpotim.


  Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, in a sicha to parshas Mishpotim, writes that the civil laws recorded in this parsha are rooted in recognition of man being made in God's image, and the consequent need to take extraordinary measures to preserve his dignity and maintain his rights. Following this approach, we can suggest, that after the experience of Mt. Sinai, God instructed the people as to how they should serve him in the mishkan, and, then, instructed them as to how to serve him in everyday life. Observing the laws of parshas Mishpotim is, in fact, a way of acknowledging God's presence in this world by preserving the dignity of the people whom He created in His image. Thus, not only by serving God in the mishkan are the people being presented with an opportunity to express their love of God, but also, in their everyday encounters with their fellow man, they are given the opportunity to recognize the image of God within each person, and thereby express their love for Him in a concrete way. Viewed in this way, the civil laws presented in parshas Mishpotim can be seen as a commentary to the first statement in the Decalogue in parshas Yisro, "I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (Shemos 20:2)."



  Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

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