The seven Aliyahs of Mishpatim
This is a challenging parsha. There are over 50 mitzvot here. I think I covered only half !!
top right – That ear. Thousands of years ago our ancestors like their contemporaries had indentured servants but they were to be freed after six years unless they wished to stay as servants and then they had to publicly have their ears pierced at a doorpost to evidence their self-chosen servitude. And the Hebrews were the first of the tribes to require respect for parents with severe punishment for a child who attacks their parents. Above is the freeing of women in servitude.
top left – Responsibility is a major theme here. If it is your bull who gores another you are responsible particularly if it has done this before. If you dig an unprotected pit and someone else’s donkey falls in, you are responsible. If you hurt a pregnant woman in the midst of a fight with another you are responsible for her and the possibly wounded child. If you are caught as a thief, you will be punished. But the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth was interpreted as what it was worth.
top center – Rape is punishable. A judge must decide honestly who may be guilty for a death – here of an animal – the question of if you were its guardian for another, what is your responsibility if something bad happens to the animal under your care. Sex with animals is a no-no! and witchcraft as well. But to care for the stranger is even more important for we were strangers once as well.
bottom right – If your enemy’s animal is weighted down, you must help him and the animal. We are told to resist false witnesses or follow the ignorant mass.
bottom left – We shall not take bribes nor mistreat the stranger. And we shall celebrate the three festivals of Pesach, Succot and Shavuot.
bottom center – Moses is about to go up Mount Sinai for forty days. An angel will be a mediator for us, and Hashem’s truth will shine like a sapphire crystal. Moses tells Aaron and his sons and Joshua to watch over the Hebrews whom he blesses with blood spread on their altars as their enemies flee.
center center – Offerings of various animals honoring the sabbath as the most important of all our holy days.