Mishpotim and Yisro - Justice and Mercy, HaShem and the Moon

Sedra of Mishpotim – Mercy and Judgment of Yisro and Mishpotim

Dovid Eidensohn

The two Sedras of Yisro and Mishpotim are two Sedras of much mercy and much strict judgment. Yisro is a sedra beginning with Yisro who was not part of the Jewish people but the father-in-law of Moshe. When HaShem made miracles and brought the Jews out of Egypt, Yisro realized that the Jews were special in the eyes of HaShem. He gathered the family of Moshe from his home near Mt. Sinai and brought them to the Jews who awaited the Ten Commandments at Sinai. He uttered, “Blessed be HaShem” because of the great miracles and kindness HaShem had bestowed  upon the Jews.

The rabbis tell us that the angels may not recite the Name of HaShem without three words of praise. Jews may not utter the Name of HaShem without two words of praise. Yisro praised HaShem with one word of praise: Blessed by HaShem.

Moshe himself welcomed his father-in-law, and all of the Jews went to greet Yisro and everyone had a sumptuous and holy encounter. At the holy encounter which was then held, Moshe is not mentioned. He was not participating in the joyous meal, but was serving the meal. Later Yisro saw that Moshe was constantly answering the difficult problems Jews had to understand the laws of the Torah, and advised him to select many rabbis amoung the Jews who could assist in answering the halacha questions of Israel. Moshe agreed. Thus, Yisro, from this beginning of the Sedra, and the subsequent mighty kindness of HaShem to speak to Israel and give the Ten Commandments which contained the entire 613 commands of the Torah, Yisro is about the kindness of HaShem, with only some side mention of justice.

There is, for instance, the third of the tenth commandments, “Do not raise up the Name of HaShem for nothing.” Kli Yokor says that this is the strictest of the Ten Commandments. “Raise up” is as one raises a tree. The tree has many parts. As it is lifted, the trunk of the tree, the branches of the tree, the leaves of the tree, and the roots of the tree rise up, and clods of soil may rise as well. This means, says Kli Yokor, that the command not to raise up the Name of HaShem is a threat to all Jews of the most severe level. All Jews know the basic holy Names of HaShem. And Jews are often guilty of criticizing other Jews with these Names. But that is a violation of the third of the Ten Commandments. Why is it the strictest of the Ten Commandments? Because HaShem forgives Jews who sin to Him and repent. But He does not forgive a Jew who sins against his fellow Jew. When a Jew uses the holy Name of HaShem in his attack on a Jew who may be guilty of something, the sin raises up not only the sinner as in other crimes, but raises up all Jews in the world. This is the strictest of the Ten Commandments.

Mishpotim is a series of very serious judgments how Jews behave towards others. All kinds of Jews are singled out and told what judgments pertain to them. This is justice, a serious kind of justice, perhaps not as terrible as the Third of the Ten Commandments regarding the misuse of the Holy Names of HaShem. But they do result in strict fiscal and other judgments.

The opposite results of being faced with mercy or Din are clear from the first few passages in the Torah. The story of Creation begins “In the beginning HaShem created the Heaven and the earth.” HaShem here is ELOKIM which is the force of justice not mercy. Some passages later the entire Creation story is started over again, this time with the phrase “HaShem Elokim” meaning the HaShem of mercy who is the HaShem of kindness. Rashi tells us that HaShem changed the Creation story because a world of justice would be too hard for people to survive the sins people do. So HaShem began the Creation story with justice but changed it to mercy touched with justice.

This is the secret behind the strangest story in the Torah, the war between HaShem and the Moon, which the Moon lost but so did HaShem, who had to repent because He made the Moon small. This is the strangest teaching in the Torah which is almost ridiculous. An angel beats down HaShem who of all things has to repent?

But the angel is a woman and women are very close to justice more than men. The gemora says that HaShem trusts women more than men. Just as men are mercy, so women are justice. And if someone is justice, HaShem trusts them. But justice means that people, especially men, who are prone to taking it easy with the Torah, can be destroyed and that would be the end of the world. So HaShem ‘repented’ meaning, He had changed the world from justice to mercy and justice, so that sinners won’t be struck down and the world would disappear. For this He ‘repented’. But we find in our prayers that we ask HaShem to restore the Moon to her original power to compete with her light as the power of the sun. The time will come with the light of HaShem will fill the world and evil will disappear. Then the Moon will be vindicated and HaShem will accept it.