Netvort
parshas Mishpatim, 5771: Keeping
the Peace
By Rabbi Joshua (peacefully known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
In
memory of Rabbi N.W. (Nachum Zev) Dessler, zt'l, son of Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler,
who authored the classic work Michtav Me Eliyahu, and long -time
principal and dean of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland. Rabbi Dessler's
pioneering efforts in establishing a day school in Cleveland changed the face
of Orthodox life in that city for generations to come. He passed away on
Sunday morning. May his memory be a blessing.
Parshas Mishpatim begins with the words, 've-eileh hamishpatim,' meaning, and
these are the laws. Rashi points out that the letter 'vav' – and - indicates
a connection to what preceded. In the previous parsha, we are told of the
presentation of the Decalogue to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai. The vav is
thus telling us that just as the Decalogue was given at Sinai, so too were the Mishpatim,
or the civil laws, given at Sinai. Rashi is, however, faced with the problem
of the immediately preceding verse, which speaks of the altar, and therefore
explains that this sequence comes to teach us that the Sanhedrin, the central
Jewish court, must be placed next to the altar. What is the purpose behind
this particular law? In a simple sense, we can say that since, according to
the Mishnah in Middos, Sanhedrin must judge whether a kohein who serves in the
Temple is, in actuality, a kohein, they must be available at the altar in order
to render such decisions in their proper time. The Maharal of Prague, however,
in his super-commentary to Rashi, Gur Aryeh, offers a more philosophic
explanation.
The Maharal explained that just as the implementation of the laws by the
Sanhedrin, meaning, the judging of disputes, instills peace between man and his
fellow man, thus bringing them closer together, so too does the altar, upon
which the korban - the sacrifice - is brought, brings man closer to God, as
indicated by the fact that the word korban is related to the word kareiv - to
come close. The Maharal's message, on another level, is that if we wish to
be close to God, we must insure that we are close to our fellow man. If we do
not maintain peaceful relations with our neighbor, who is made in the image of
God, we cannot expect to be close to God Himself. On the other hand, if we are
truly close to God, we will also be close to our fellow man, who was made in
the image of God. (See also Netvort to parshas Mishpatim, 5758, for a further
elaboration of the Maharal).
One problem with the Maharal's explanation is that it does not relate to the
altar itself, but to the sacrifices that were brought on it. The Netziv,
however, in his Ha'Amek Davar to Mishpatim, relates the vav in 'va'eileh' to
the actual sacrifices that are brought on the altar, as mentioned in a verse
previous to the last one in parshas Yisro. The Torah tells us (Shemos, 20:24),
"In every place that I cause My name to be mentioned I will come and bless
you," meaning that wherever God permits us to bring sacrifices, He will bless
us. This means, says the Netziv, that sacrifices brought on the altar bring
blessing. The Netziv cites a number of other places in the Torah that this
connection is made as well. The Netziv does not elaborate on the blessing that
sacrifices bring, but perhaps we can suggest, in a way somewhat similar to the
Maharal, that sacrifices are an expression of love between man and God, as
explained at length by Rabbi Menachem Kasher in an appendix to his Torah
Shleimah on Vayikra. In bringing a sacrifice, man is saying that his very
existence is a gift of God, and that he is willing to sacrifice it if the need
arises. A truly loving relationship with God will necessarily transfer over to
one's fellow man, as well, and the result will be a blessing. Since the greatest
blessing possible is peace, the message of the Maharal and the message of the
Netziv are essentially the same.
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