Parshat Shavua

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.

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

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

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.

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?

"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?!

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?

There is no such thing as an 'incurable' disease.

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.

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.