Parashat Mishpatim

Exodus 21-24

Many are the words that are used in this portion of the Torah to define, refine and clarify the Aseret Hadibrot (the Ten Commandments) of the previous parashah. It seems as though this portion is an explanation, clarification, or midrash to the Aseret Hadibrot. Mishpatim clarifies the relationships that must be established between the members of the society that is established at the foot of Mount Sinai. It is about a people free from the slavery of Egypt, but that will be subject to greed, envy, selfishness, and many others. To prevent all this, or to learn what to do in case of making a mistake, Rashi concludes that the 613 mitzvot will be included in the stone tablets where each of the Aseret Hadiberot will be inscribed, of which, according to Maimonides, there will be some that we will be obliged to do. to comply, and others not. Where will those 613 mitzvot be?

In the interpretation, which already begins here in Mishpatim, an interpretation that continues to this day in each one of us. An interpretation that, as Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Z''L said, is necessary, but always supported by tradition.