Parshas Mishpotim

Money, Money, Money


“And these are the statutes that you shall put before yourselves.” Shemos 21:1

Onkelos translates this verse as “And these are the laws that you shall order before yourselves” This adds an element of a requirement of orderliness and arrangement of the commandments taught in the parsha.

This leads into Rashi’s explanation that Hashem told Moshe that these laws should not be studied until known, rather the reasons and explanations of the laws have to be studied, the word “Tasim”, (which I translated as “put”) connotes that these laws should be like a set table ready for a person to eat from. That is, everybody should be well versed in these laws and understand them fully, not just in terms of practical halacha but to understand the fundamental underlying principles.

Does this exhortation apply exclusively to the mitzvos of this parsha or to all of the mitzvos of the Torah? (Perhaps a binyan av could tell us to apply this concept across the Torah – the Torah chose to put this posuk here but intended it to apply generally, just as it applies here, it applies everywhere unless otherwise indicated).

Why were these financial laws chosen for this exhortation?

The Ponim Yafos, (Rabbi Pinchas HaLevy Horowitz of Frankfurt), quotes the Gemoro at the end of Bava Basra, (175a), to illustrate this verse: “Rabbi Yishmael says, “One who wishes to become wise should involve himself in monetary laws, for there is no connectedness in the Torah greater than in these laws and they are like an abundant well”.

He continues to explain that all monetary laws are based on concepts which can be arrived at through analysis, (wisdom and sense), and are similar to one another. This is not the case with other Mitzvos which have laws that are specific to that particular Mitzvah and the principles don’t necessarily transfer to other areas of halocho.

According to this, the Torah specified that these monetary laws expressed in the Parsha should be studied diligently in order to understand the underlying principles, since the Mitzvos expressed here are precisely those which will lead to wisdom if studied correctly.
However, this is not the simple understanding of the verse, rather a drosh, (allegorical interpretation). Therefore it is still possible to say that in “simple” pshat terms the verse applies to all Mitzvos.

The Nefesh HaChaim and the the Ramo (in the introduction to his commentary on Megilas Ester), (and probably several other seforim which I havn’t seen), explain that the Torah takes on an outer dressing appropriate to that spiritual world in which it is in. Thus in our physical world, it deals with physical matters, such as monetary law and the stories of the fathers of the Nation of Yisroel, the dressing of the spiritual principles, applying them to this world . The Torah in the highest spiritual planes is without this dressing, and that which is allegorical in the Torah as given to us is the simple meaning there. (I’m not saying that I understand this, or that it’s simple!)
The Chida, (Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay), writes in Nachal Kedomim, that each word and letter of Torah has many hidden meanings which were transmitted to Moshe by Hashem. The vav of “v’eleh”, (the “and” of the “And these…”), indicates that “these statutes” are in addition to something else. The Chida explains this something else as referring to the hidden meanings of the Torah, as opposed to the “dressing” to apply it to our world denoted by the eleh, (these). These laws, as the dressing of the Torah for our world are what are placed in front of us, written expressly in the Torah. The hidden meanings, in this world are reserved for certain worthy individuals. The revealed Torah is what we are required to toil in, in order to adhere to Hashem’s Mitzvos in this world and is the primary means of connecting with Hashem. The hidden is for those who have already mastered the revealed – no matter how exciting the hidden part of Torah may seem.
According to this, the admonition to become fully expert in the laws and their workings would apply to the whole of the Torah, there is no reason that this should apply to monetary law more than any other area, (although perhaps monetary halocho is Mitzvos at their most worldly).

This would appear to conflict with the Ponim Yafos, however, more than one allegorical meaning can exist in any given verse, since this is anyway not the simple literal meaning of that verse. Two contradicting literal readings cannot coexist, but drosh anyway presupposes several interpretations.


This was fun, but didn’t answer the questions above!

The Ikar Sifsei Chachomim understands Rashi’s explanation of “place” as referring to gaining the greatest expertise and understanding as being necessitated by the unusual word “put”, rather than the usual “Hashem spoke” or “said”. Since the Torah has changed its language here, there must be an additional connotation beyond the regular transmitting of law from Hashem to Moshe, thus the explanation of the verse as an exhortation to understand the reasoning of the Torah.

Of course, we can still ask whether the change in language indicates something particular to this parsha, or something general, applicable to the whole Torah.

Perhaps, we can use the allegorical interpretations of the Ponim Yafos and the Chida on a pshat, (literal), level.

The Torah wanted to exhort us to delve into the reasoning of the Torah in all laws. According to the Nefesh HaChaim, this amounts to instant deveikus, (closeness), to Hashem. Why should this be restricted to monetary halocho? Thus the v’eleh will tell us to gain understanding on the laws which have been put before us – the revealed Torah as a whole. However, the Torah chose the parsha of the monetary laws for this exhortation because of their interconnectedness and their lending themselves to the development of wisdom and technique in Torah study. (It could be that the Torah indicates this as a starting point in Torah study; yeshivos focus on the masechtos dealing with these laws, leaving intensive study of other areas of halocho for students already versed in monetary halocho).

Thus, two apparently allegorical interpretations of the verse have been combined to understand the pshat!


Gut Shabbos