Right & Wrong

This week's Torah portion is Mishpatim - laws or statutes.
What a bummer! After the amazing miracles during the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai in last week's portion, where G-d spoke "face to face" with the Jewish nation, this week we're mired in the nitty-gritty details of the various laws of the Torah. Couldn't we have had a few miracles or spiritual experiences in between at least to help soften the landing into reality? Our Sages teach that this perspective couldn't be further from the truth: The entire purpose - the essence - of G-d's revelation at Sinai, of this once-in-history spiritual experience, was to actualize the mitzvot in our everyday lives. To bring G-d's Infinite, sublime will into the details of our physical lives. Let us now explore how important these laws are, not only to G-d, but to our lives & society around us as well.

There's a story I heard of a Jewish girl who was attracted to the religious ways of the Eastern traditions. After joining a group in her hometown, she moved to India to explore a more intense discipline. A week turned into a month and into a year. At a certain point, this girl was asked by the monk whether she was willing to cast away her previous life and connections, and move off with her new group and into a new stage of living and dedication. Before saying yes, the girl thought it best to visit home one last time to say goodbye. Upon arrival, her worried family soon learned of her wishes. As much as they tried to dissuade her, nothing worked - her mind was made up. Sure they weren't religiously observant Jews, but they didn't want to lose their daughter to a monastery! The night before her departure back to India, this girl's dad asked her with a tinge of hope, if she would join him at a Torah class at the nearby synagogue. "Sure, why not?" she said. To the father's chagrin, the class given by the Rabbi focused on detailed laws of Torah's view of moral decision making. For example: "If one finds a lost item, he or she must look to return it to its rightful owner." The next day, the girl said goodbye to her stricken parents, and was off to India. Weeks later, the girl was traveling with her group, led by her monk. All of a sudden, in the corner of her eye, the girl spotted her leader picking up a golden watch, placing it in his pouch, and walking on. Curious, the girl caught up to him and asked quietly what her master intended to do with the watch. "Keep it!" Said the monk. "Since I was the one who stumbled upon it, it means that it was destined for me." Shocked, the Jewish girl thought back to that last Torah class she had attended, with the simple laws she had heard from the Rabbi regarding the Torah's view of morality. Unable to shake it, the girl began to explore the Torah & ultimately returned home.

Now whether this story is true or not, it illustrates the concept of moral relativism that I'm trying to bring out. The morality we humans can come up with is sometimes great! But oftentimes (see most of history), nations decide their own views of what's right & wrong. At Mount Sinai (where G-d also spent 40 days & nights explaining the Oral Torah to Moshe), the Torah was given to us to explain the detailed approach to living a G-dly life in a G-dly world. The only reason why today the Torah seems to just be a reminder for the moral lessons we already know (like the equal freedom and rights for all people, etc.) is because the Torah has had such an effect on modern western society! (See more here).

True love is in the details. When one shows his or her's attention to the desire of the other, that the corner wall be painted turquoise instead of light green, than one shows their true love for the other's inner desire. May we work in our own lives to pay more attention to the inner will of our Creator, perfecting this world to its last detail.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel