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ROBIN SACK MEYEROWITZ
Special to The Jewish News
Sunday, February 10th 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
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M
ishpatim is a won-
derfully rich parsha.
It contains so much
essential Torah legislation,
ranging from laws protecting
slaves and women, even a fun-
damental law of kashrut —
"do not boil a kid in its
mother's milk." These laws
reflect the moral as well as
legal aspects of Jewish
jurisprudence.
In ancient days, laws protec-
ting the weakest and most
vulnerable elements of socie-
ty were revolutionary. In do-
ing so, the Torah accepts
human fraility; it under-
stands our need for slavery
and our requirement for
meat. But it carefully
mitigates the most brutal,
violent aspects of human
behavior. Following Jewish
law keeps us moral, protects
the unprotected, brings us
closer to God and our fellow
Jews. It makes us more
human.
Even the famous verse, "an
eye for an eye and a tooth for
a tooth" appears in this par-
sha. The Torah's implication
is clear. We are not to unders-
tand this verse literally (as it
was carried out in ancient
Iraq). Rather, it means
monetary compensation for
criminal offenses.
After all these laws are
enunciated in Mishpatim,
Moshe reads a statement of
ratification of these laws,
known as the "Book of the
Covenant," or Sefer Ha-Berit.
Moshe commits these laws to
writing and reads them at a
public gathering to all the
people. They, in turn, respond,
"We will do, and we will obey"
Na'asei V'neshma. The rabbis
teach us: When the Torah
says "all the people," it doesn't
simply mean the elders of the
group or just the men — but
(read my lips) all the people.
Every Israelite was involved
in the ratification and assum-
ed individual responsibility
for maintaining these laws.
The idea of individual com-
mitment and responsibility is
a distinctly Jewish concept.
In Judaism, no one can pray
or act in your stead. It is not
our rabbis' job to keep Jewish
laws for us. It is the respon-
sibility of each and every one
of us.
The people responded:
Na'asei V'neshma, which
literally means "we will do
Robin Meyerowitz is a Jewish
educator living in Southfield.
and then we will unders-
tand." The rabbis tell us this
means an instant and instinc-
tive response to carry out the
will of God. The rabbis see
these words as the utmost
submission to God and to his
covenant.
In modern 1991, this is an
extremely difficult concept to
assimilate. To submit to the
will of God seems to run con-
trary to the basic precepts of
American society, i.e. free
will, self-determination,
pluralism, etc.
When I was growing up —
in a relatively secular world
— I was taught to think for
myself, to become an indepen-
dent woman and not to sub-
mit to anyone's will. When I
first became religious and I
Mishpatim
Shabbat Shekalim:
Exodux 21:1-24:18,
30:11-16,
Kings 1 11:17-12:17.
contemplated the teaching
Na'asei V'neshma, I found it
difficult to accept, let alone
comprehend. How am I to
keep the laws of Shabbat
before I fully understand
them? Is that an act of
hyprocrisy or gutless submis-
sion to someone else's moral
scheme? I wanted to be con-
vinced that keeping kosher
was the right thing to do for
me. I had always believed in
God, but blindly following his
will was the antithesis of
everything I had been taught
as a modern Jewish
American woman.
After 13 years of religious
life, I have learned Na'asei
V'neshma requires not mere-
ly a leap of faith but a leap of
action. It was only after keep-
ing Shabbat and holidays for
years that I truly began to
understand the beauty and
special rhythm that defines
my life as a religious Jew.
Every fall, I feel refreshed
and renewed on Yom Kippur.
I look forward to sitting in the
crisp, autumn air in my suk-
kah, which is filled with the
aroma of holiday foods and
falling leaves. On Purim, my
children and I joyously deliver
shlach manot to all our
friends and neighbors. On
Pesach, I look foward to sit-
ting down (finally) at the first
Seder — to a thoroughly clean
house — and singing Hallel
with my husband. It is a thrill
to measure my children's
growth physically and moral-