BackUnderstanding Discussion in the House of Torah Learning
By: Rabbi Barak Bar-Chaim
If one enters a Beit Midrash (a house of Torah learning), one will likely hear discussions about monetary cases, such as: “Two people are holding on to a garment (and come to court). This one says it belongs to me and this one says it belongs to me. Both parties take an oath that they own at least half the garment and then split the garment.” (Baba Metziah 2a) The Talmud discusses a scenario where one person is holding on to more of the garment than the other person. Does that change the law? Similarly, the Talmud discusses numerous other related scenarios.
One may naturally wonder what on earth these discussions have to do with religion and the service of Hashem. This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Mishpatim, deals with many of the Torah’s civil monetary laws. The first verse begins: “And these are the laws that you shall place before them.” Rashi notes that the conjunction “And” connects this verse to the verses of the previous Torah portion, Parshat Yitro. Parshat Yitro contains the revelation at Mt. Sinai and concludes with the laws regarding the temple altar. Rashi, drawing from our sages, explains the connections as follows: 1) Just as the Ten Statements were revealed by God to Moshe at Mt. Sinai, so too all the civil laws mentioned were Divinely revealed to Moshe at Mt. Sinai by God Himself, 2) The juxta positioning of the Torah’s civil laws to the temple altar is to teach us that the high court must gather on the temple mount to discuss and issue rulings, and 3) When Jews are involved in legal disputes, they must use Rabbinic Courts, not secular courts (even in cases where the ruling would be the same in both court systems).
All of Rashi’s comments above point to one unified thought—we do not view the Torah’s civil laws as simply providing a civilized way for humanity to live with one another. The civil laws of the Torah are a revelation of God’s Will. With this understanding, one can more deeply comprehend Rashi’s insights that the Torah’s civil laws are in fact Divine revelations, that Jewish Court (Sanhedrin) must reside on the site of the temple, and that resolving disputes among Jews in secular courts would denigrate the Torah’s Godly civil laws. When people occupy themselves with the study of the civil laws of the Torah, they are understanding the Divine Will and, thereby, connecting to God Himself.