Mishpatim: “And they ate and drank”

(Exodus 24:11)  

Shevat 23, 5785/February 21, 2025

Following the grandeur of the Mount Sinai theophany and the dramatic receiving of the Ten Commandments amidst the flashing of lightning, the entire people's vision of  the roaring "thunder and torches, the sound of the shofar, and the smoking mountain," 

(Exodus 20:15), followed by G-d's endorsement of an earthen altar upon which Israel will bring offerings, it is time to get down to business. It's brass tacks time. Parashat Mishpatim opens with the Torah's civil code for Israel. By no means draconian, and intentionally nuanced, it serves as the basic code of Jewish civil law to this day. 

Of course we are commanded to "love your neighbor as yourself," (Leviticus 19:18) but it is our civil code, known in Hebrew as Mishpatim, that restores order and harmony when, as is only natural for us mortals, things go wrong. Torah encourages us to constantly strive to be better people, but hardly expects us to achieve perfection. Hence, the civil code. 

Only when we have established some rules for regulating our behavior as a society can we begin to strive for a greater relationship with G-d. This is clearly hinted at by the Torah's mention of the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, immediately following the conclusion of the civil code. (Exodus 23:14-19) 

What binds the civil code to the festive agricultural pilgrimages are the sabbatical year and the Shabbat itself. Rest for the land every seven years and rest for man every seven days is nothing less than the breath of G-d which informs and inspires and gives life to the nation of Israel on the land of Israel. 

Only when this principle of rest and recognition and respect for G-d's creation is achieved can we be blessed with the freedom to ascend to Jerusalem three times a year and "appear before the Lord, HaShem." (ibid 23:17)

From an ox which gores (ibid 21:28) to standing in HaShem's Presence in the future Holy Temple, parashat Mishpatim covers much ground in breakneck speed and seems to be trying to bite off more than it can chew. 

What exactly is the connection between fencing in our ox and assuring that it can't escape and gore a neighbor, to appearing before HaShem three times a year. What is the connection between an "eye for an eye" (ibid 21:24) and bringing the "first fruits of your land to the House of G-d, your G-d," on Shavuot? (ibid 23:19)

Torah seems to be dealing with two distinct realities: on the one hand, the mundane, profane day to day business of man, and on the other, man's requirement to stand in HaShem's presence and acknowledge His reality. 

Ever since leaving Egypt and beginning her journey Israel has already experienced a number of direct encounters with G-d's presence, described by Torah as witnessing "the glory of HaShem." Upon entering the Sea of Reeds Israel "saw the great hand of HaShem." (ibid 14:31) When Israel grumbled with hunger in the wilderness, "the glory of HaShem," who heard their complaints, "appeared in the cloud." (ibid 16:10) 

And, of course, at Mount Sinai Israel was overwhelmed with flashing visions of HaShem's presence. But Israel was not destined  to live in a reality of such dramatic highs and lows forever. The mishpatim - the civil code was determined to normalize Israelite society and teach Israel to care for herself and not be constantly relying upon G-d to rescue her from danger. 

So how do we in a "normal" society reach out and pursue our relationship with our Creator? Do we need to drop everything and enter into a separate dimension disconnected from our daily lives? Are we to be monks, distancing ourselves from the bustling throng of humanity?

This is precisely what the Torah does not propose. Instead G-d chooses to teach us the opposite lesson through the incredible event which brings Mishpatim to a close: 

"Then Moshe and Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascended; and they saw the G-d of Israel — under whose feet was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity. Yet G-d did not raise a hand against the leaders of the Israelites; they beheld G-d, and they ate and drank." (ibid 24:9-11) 

G-d grants this chosen group of notables an unprecedented vision of His glory. Did they actually see with their eyes "the G-d of Israel?" No. But they did see with their mind's eye a vision of G-d's glory, of His immanent Presence, and how G-d's Presence, as they understood it, was inherently in touch with and connected to the sapphire brickwork of Creation - the reality within which mankind - we the people - dwell. 

They understood in this fantastic vision that there is no disconnect between our seemingly mundane existence and the glory of G-d. Our day to day lives, regulated by our rules of conduct toward one another are a necessary aspect of our relationship to HaShem. 

G-d thought to punish the seventy notables for the audacity of their vision, (the very vision that He granted), yet he did not raise His hand, precisely when He saw the visionaries eating and drinking! It was their very act of eating and drinking that gave G-d comfort. 

This was proof that His children would be able to merge and make one their physical needs and their spiritual aspirations. Is this not why we make a blessing before eating and a blessing after eating? 

Are we not acknowledging HaShem's presence in our lives and catching a glimpse of His glory every time we utter a blessing before eating, or setting out on a journey, or taking in the fragrance of a flower, or witnessing the flash of a bolt of lightning, or lighting candles before Shabbat, or experiencing G-d's world and performing His commandments as we do hundreds of times throughout our day? 

Perhaps we don't describe out daily visions of HaShem as "the G-d of Israel — under whose feet was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire" but our daily encounters with HaShem, if we pursue and become cognizant of them, are truly no less fantastic or far reaching. The ability to experience the glory of HaShem in a morsel of food or upon the face of your neighbor as you pass by in the street  is the very challenge that Torah wants us to meet.