Decisive Sentences

What is the reason jews do not eating milk & meat together?

Angels in gaza

On Justice and the Right of Appeal – part II

Judges and Police

Mishpatim God’s Nudge

How Does a Heter Iska Work?

Andy Gross, a businessman who is proud that he is now observing mitzvos, is on time for his appointment. After a brief greeting, I ask him what brings him to my office on this beautiful morning. “I recently learned that even though the Torah prohibits paying or receiving interest, there is something called a heter iska that legalizes it. How can we legitimize something that the Torah expressly prohibits?” Indeed, Andy’s question is both insightful and important, and deserves a thorough explanation. Why don’t you join us by reading the attached article?

The Laws of G-d Are Truth!

One of the Torah's guidelines for our everyday lives found in this weekly portion is a special instruction as to how to lead the public when there are differences of opinion: "Do not follow a majority for evil… [but otherwise,] follow the majority" (Sh'mot 323,2)... With this, our holy Torah teaches us an important chapter in democracy...

Who Needs Torah-Based Civil Law??

This week's Torah reading of Mishpatim appears to be a major departure from the stories of our Patriarchs and the stories of Divine miracles that we have read until now, in that it is largely a list of civil laws: Who is responsbile for which damages under what circumstances, who pays if one ox gores another, how much a thief must compensate his victim, lost objects, majority rule, milk and meat, and much more. One of the questions we must ask is: Why did the Torah make rules for civil law in certain areas, and not leave them up to the will of the people in each society?

Healing the Heart of Darkness

What happens when an anti-semite discovers he's A Jew, and What does this have to do with our Parshah?

Living by Torah

The Torah presents us with great moral principles and a profoundly unique value system. These are meant to propel us through life and make us feel that we are members of a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

May a Dayan Help the Poor in Beit Din?

We will try to explain in brief why the halachic system of litigation is preferable to the adversarial system, which is practiced in the government courts in Israel.

See you in Court

Parshat Mishpatim, the Torah portion called "laws" also calls judges "elohim" - God, masters or lords. What does this signify?

Why Not Move the Aron? “Hineni”

We will try to look at yet another aspect of our great regard for the aron (ark) and its powerful religious significance.

The Morality of Conquest

Israel National Torah

How it can be "moral" for the Jewish People to have entered the Land of Canaan, killed its inhabitants, conquered the Land, and called it the Jewish homeland.

Anointing Oil

Who may be anointed with the shemen hamish’cha? What are the ingredients of the shemen hamish’cha? Where is the shemen hamish’cha poured?

Every Dog Has Its Day

"And people of holiness shall you be to me The flesh of an animal that is found torn in the field shall not be eaten; it should instead be passed to a dog." What could this possibly to do with the mandate to be holy?!

Vision and Details

Our parsha takes us through a bewildering transition of the Israelites leaving Egypt. Suddenly, we now find ourselves faced with a law code covering a bewildering variety of topics. Why here?

National Spiritual Impact of Justice

Right after the giving of the Torah and before the many halachot that appear in our parasha, the Torah declares: "These are the statutes that you shall place before them" (Shemot 21:1), which is the source of the halacha that one must adjudicate in beit din (rather than non-Jewish or secular courts). This special location gives special importance to the place of Jewish monetary law in our national and individual lives.

The Jewish Laws

After the granting of the Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, this is followed with a long and detailed list of instructions, commandments, and laws. The mere existence of such a list presupposes the willingness of the population to follow these laws and instructions.