Mishpatim 5775 - English

In honor of Alberto Nisman z”l

Mishpatim are the legal mandates from Moses Torah that constitute the basis of secular Hebrew law.

A verse of primordial importance in this section is: "You shall not revile the judges (Elohim)” (Ex. 22:27) A legal system can only be effective if the authority of those who administer justice is respected within a peaceful and civilized society.

It is truly significant that the term used to refer to the judges here is “Elohim”, meaning God, just as our sages explain in the midrash, “When I judge my creatures, I am called Elohim” (Tanjuma Shemot 20).


The centrality of justice in Jewish thought and practice is well known: “For judgment is God’s.” (Deut. 1:17)

Along with truth and peace, it is one of the pillars of the world, like Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel wrote, “The judge (Elohim) gives out justice among the divine assembly.” (Sl. 82:1)

From the beginning of our millennial history, we are warned about the dangers of twisting justice and distorting judgment.  It is nothing less than the very foundation of the monotheistic faith!

The honorability and impartiality of the magistrates are the fundamental requisites that sustain the ethical and legal system extoled by the Torah.

One might ask about the reach of this system: must this ideal justice be applied only among our people, meaning only our fellow citizens, or perhaps it should extend also to foreigners?

In this sense, the tendency is more than inclusive, and we see the Torah instructing over and over again to protect the foreigner that lives in the land, of how he must be treated with consideration and never oppressed, be it by word or action.

A people that experienced the shame of subjugation and slavery as foreigners, who came to know -in their own flesh- the magnitude of suffering, could never allow a Jew to take advantage of the ignorance or ingenuity of someone new.  On the contrary, we are ordered to treat him with kindness and understanding, just as it would be expected from a good host towards his guests.

From this and many other mishpatim, laws and ordinances from the Torah, we derive that the maximum objectives of the Jewish judicial system are the community’s social balance and the moral perfection of its members.  Through these, we instill the most basic concepts of decency and responsibility.

Milleniums have passed, but the motto of tzedek tzedek tirdof, “Justice, justice shall you pursue” (Deut. 16:20) is still a demand that transcends time and space, a divine mandate pointing towards a dignified and authentically human existence.

Rabbi Daniel Kripper