Mei HaShiloach, Volume I, Exodus, Mishpatim/מי השלוח·חלק א·ספר שמות·משפטים

1“And these are the laws that you shall place before them ….” (Shemot, 21:1)Here it is not said, “And God spoke to Moshe saying,” as with all the mitzvot, for the matter here discusses civil legal enactments (“mishpatim”), and concerning justice there is no difference between the great and the small. This may be compared to when the king goes out to inspect and judge his soldiers; then they all stand in the same line, even their senior officer standing in the line. Thus it is written (Yesahya, 56:1), “keep justice, and perform tzedaka [righteousness], for My salvation is close at hand.” “Keep” is an expression of restraint, saying that no soul of Israel should bear greivences against God concerning His attributes (where He is concealed from us). He should refrain from asking why He does not help him to serve Him, especially as this is what He desires, so why does God not help him immediately?Therefore it is said, “keep justice and perform tzedaka,” meaning to cleave to God with righteousness and honesty of heart, and not holding any grudges. This being done, “My salvation is close at hand,” meaning that God will reveal to us the order with which he conducts our lives in the exile. Then He will send consolation, making it clear that none of the longing and suffering that Israel underwent in the service of God was in vain. On this it is said in the holy Zohar (Shemot, 150b), “even a man’s good intention will not be lost,” for with every action man does, even if it seems now to be insignificant, in the future God will expand upon it greatly.In this week’s Parsha, God teaches us how one must clean and refine himself, to the extent that his attribute of goodness is even drawn into his possessions, and then good attributes will be found in them so as not to cause damage to anyone else. Therefore, when a man’s possessions cause damage, he must pay for the damages, for the damage was done because his soul was not refined enough. Thus his possessions could cause damage, or he could steal from another, for if his soul was in a state of true refinement then his possessions could never do damage to another.So it was told in the Gemara (Ta’anit, 25a), “the neighbors of R. Channina ben Dosa complained that his goat was causing them damages. He said, ‘if it is so, then let them be eaten by bears.’ The goats went into the forest, and returned each with a bear on its horns.” Furthermore, it is said in Berachot (16b), “Manservant and maidservants are not addressed as ‘father so-and-so’ or ‘mother so-and-so’ [a title of honor] except for the servants of the house of Rabban Gamliel, who were called so because of their importance.” This means that the power of the Kedusha of Rabban Gamliel extended even to his possessions, and they too were good (his goodness extended into them).

2“… that you shall place before them ….” (Shemot, 21:1)Rashi explains, “before them [Israel] and not before the idolaters, and even if you know that one of their judgments is the same as the judgments of Israel, do not bring it into their courts. One who brings the judgments of Israel before the heathens profanes the name of God, and gives honor to idolatry to praise it, as it is written [Devarim, 32:31], ‘for their Rock is not our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.’ This means, when our enemies are judges it is testimony to the superiority of their idol.” The matter is thus: Every man is cut from the same material, and the form of the limbs and organs is the same for everyone, yet however, the form of the Israelite is recognized and refined among all the nations. This matter defies logic, for if a thousand Gentiles stand with one Israelite among them, the form of the Israelite will be recognized, and this is a wonder in the eyes of all the whole world. This is because, “their Rock is not like our Rock,” even though with the Israelites, all their organs and the forms of their faces are exactly the same as the rest of the world, yet still, all who see them will recognize that this is the seed that God has blessed. “And our enemies themselves being judges” means that it is exactly the same in the realm of justice, for even if their judgments are exactly like those of Israel, nonetheless, if an Israelite goes to their courts he is profaning the name of God, for it has no likeness to the justice of Israel at the depths. On this it is written in the Tehilim (147:19), “He speaks His word to Yaakov, His statutes and judgments to Israel. He does not do this with any nation, and as for His judgments, they have not known them.”

3“And [if a man] did not lie in wait [he did not lie in ambush for him, but killed him unintentionally. Rashi] but E-lohim caused it to come to be, then I will appoint you a place to where he may flee.” (Shemot, 21:13)Rashi explains, “Concerning what does the Torah speak? Of two men, one killed inadvertently, and the other killed intentionally, and there were no witnesses to testify concerning the affair. Therefore the latter was not put to death, and the former was not exiled. The Holy One, blessed be He, brings them to the same inn, and the one who killed intentionally sits under a ladder; while the one who killed inadvertently ascends the ladder, falls, and kills the one who killed intentionally. Witnesses testify to this, and [the court] requires him to be exiled. So in the end, the one who killed inadvertently was exiled, and the one who killed intentionally was killed.” The famous question is, how did the one who inadvertently killed first come to do this? It seems that it may be explained through the verse (Tehilim, 145:14), “God supports all those who fall, and straightens all those who are bent down.” Two things are mentioned in this verse—fallen, and bent down.This means, with one who has anger and evil lusts rooted in his heart, if God forbid he brings his potential into action, it is called “fallen.” If it still has not been brought forth into action, he is called “bent down,” meaning that his heart is bent and enslaved to this evil lust. God is the One whose thoughts are to never banish anything completely. Therefore it says, “but E-lohim caused it to be,” for with the one who killed inadvertently, it is not to say that he has already actually killed; rather that he has a deficiency in his heart, namely anger and desire to murder. With the one who killed intentionally, it means that he has already brought it into action and committed murder.So the Holy One, blessed be He, completes both of them. The one who killed intentionally is killed, and the one who killed inadvertently is exiled. This is, “but E-lohim caused it to be,” meaning that the Holy One, blessed be He, did it for his benefit. All the while that the evil thought had not come into action it would not occur to his heart to repent. Yet now that the Holy One, blessed be He, has brought it about that he actually has killed someone inadvertently, and the one who was killed had anyhow deserved the death penalty, he began to become greatly agitated in his soul, asking himself, “why did it come about that I killed inadvertently? Certainly I must have a root of murder in my heart.” (Questions that he would otherwise not have asked.) By means of this he repents.

4“Six days shall you do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest ….” (Shemot, 23:12)In Parshat Yitro, when discussion Shabbat, it uses the opposite order; “remember the day of Shabbat to keep it holy,” and then afterwards, “six days shall you work,” etc. We can understand this from the Gemara (Shabbat, 69b), “if one is wandering in the desert, and does not know when the day of Shabbat is, Hiya bar Rav says, he shall keep one day of Shabbat, and then count six. Rav Huna says, he shall first count six days, and then keep one day of Shabbat.”In order to understand these two different approaches, consider the verse (Mishlei, 4:8), “Laud her, and she shall exult you, she shall honor you when you embrace her.” This means, laud something if it strengthens the desires of your heart and your involvement in Torah. For instance, if you have a strong desire to eat and drink and the like, examine it and if, God forbid, it causes you to go against God’s will then refrain from it.Then through this very examination, “and she shall exult you,” then the very words of Torah will raise you over all your lusts. “Honor her when you embrace her,” for “when you embrace her” means that if you increase how much you take counsel in words of Torah each time more; then also, “she shall honor you” greatly in the eyes of all around you. Shabbat represents the acceptance of the yoke of the Torah, and a young Torah scholar who has not yet completed the purification of his heart is called “Hiya bar Rav,” who said to keep one day of Shabbat first. This means that one whose heart is not yet purified should not pray that God give him anything of the good in this world (“counting six days”), but should rather deliver over all his desires to Him (“starting with Shabbat”), and God will be the one who begins and finishes. “Rav Huna” represents an elder Torah scholar, for the name “Huna” is related to “Hon” or wealth; that is to say, he has found wealth in a large following of students, and his heart has been purified, containing no foreign desires.Therefore it says that he shall first count six days, meaning that it is permitted for him to ask God to fulfill all the wishes of his heart, for the six days teach of the power of the actions of man. “Then keep one day of Shabbat” means that God will then complete matters for him, in the sense of (Iyov, 22:28), “you shall decree the matter, and it will be established for you.”

7“And God said to Moshe, ascend to Me, to the mountain and I will be there ….” (Shemot, 24:12)“To the mountain” means to the end of the renewal of all levels. A man must first pass through all of the forms of wisdom in the world until he reaches true wisdom. “And I will be there,” teaches of a place of purity and true life, as in (Bamidbar, 21:17), “and they went from there to the well.” (The well always represents the source of true wisdom.) This shows that all of the forms of wisdom were only stations on the journey, while the main point of your place is the end of all the levels, called there.”