The Broad Lessons of Mishpatim

Parshat Mishpatim contains many laws related to interpersonal responsibilities, such as business ethics and damages. These topics are more fully explored and explained in the Nezikin section of the Talmud. According to his son, Rav Moshe Feinstein believed that young children should constantly learn the Gemarahs (and Mishnayot) from Seder Nezikin during their youth. Rav Reuven asked his father why they should learn these particular Talmudic sections.  Rav Moshe answered that if they learn in different ways that one may not steal, then hopefully when they leave the Yeshiva they will not steal.  However, if monetary laws are not constantly reviewed, then it will be very difficult for them to be honest as adults.

Most of us do not own oxen that do damage. But these laws from Parshat Mishpatim teach us the premium that the Torah puts on personal responsibility, a lesson that is relevant for all of us.

While all of the laws in Mishpatim are relevant, there is an especially rich tradition of finding additional applications and lessons from the law of Bor Bireshut HaRabim, a pit created in a public domain (21:33-34):

“When a man opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, the one responsible for the pit must make restitution; he shall pay the price to the owner, but shall keep the animal carcass.”

The story is told how the Alter of Slabodka once saw a young man pick up a printed sheet from the road, look at it and then throw it back down. When the Alter asked about it the young man explained that as he was walking he saw something with Hebrew letters.  He thought that the sheet might contain sheimos, Torah words, and require genizah, respectful disposal. Upon further inspection, he realized that the page contained mundane matters so he threw it back down. The Alter of Slabodka was angry at this response. He said to the young man, “Just as the Torah finds liable the person who causes his friend to fall, so too is a person liable if he causes his fellow to bend down unnecessarily. Once you picked up the paper you should have discarded it so that no one else would be bothered in the future with the same situation.” The Alter's lesson is important for all of us: if you see trash on the floor, pick it up and dispose of it as an expression of your respect for your fellow human being who will have to pick it up if you don't.  

A homiletic interpretation of “Bor Bireshut Harabim” was offered by Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, whose yartzeit was the 25th of Shevat: “Your face is a reshut harabim (public area), so you always have to smile; otherwise, it’s a bor bireshut harabim (a pit in a public domain).”   Let us utilize the laws and lessons of Parshat Mishpatim to sensitize us to the lengths that our responsibilities towards our fellow Jews are meant to extend.