Parshat Mishpatim 5777-Matan Torah and Brit Torah

(based on a shiur given by Rabbi I Bernsten zal in London in 1992)

We read two accounts of the events on Mt Sinai.

A)   Ch.19

ז  וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה, וַיִּקְרָא לְזִקְנֵי הָעָם; וַיָּשֶׂם לִפְנֵיהֶם, אֵת כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ, יְהוָה.

7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

ח  וַיַּעֲנוּ כָל-הָעָם יַחְדָּו וַיֹּאמְרוּ, כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-דִּבֶּר יְהוָה נַעֲשֶׂה; וַיָּשֶׁב מֹשֶׁה אֶת-דִּבְרֵי הָעָם, אֶל-יְהוָה.

8 And all the people answered together, and said: 'All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.' And Moses reported the words of the people unto the LORD.

B)    Ch.24

ו  וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה חֲצִי הַדָּם, וַיָּשֶׂם בָּאַגָּנֹת; וַחֲצִי הַדָּם, זָרַק עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ.

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he dashed against the altar.

ז  וַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית, וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם; וַיֹּאמְרוּ, כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-דִּבֶּר יְהוָה נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the hearing of the people; and they said: 'All that the LORD hath spoken will we do, and obey.'

Rashi:Ch.24 v.1

ואל משה אמר. פָּרָשָׁה זוֹ נֶאֶמְרָה קוֹדֶם עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת, בְּד' בְּסִוָן נֶאֱמְרָה לוֹ עֲלֵה

 AND UNTO MOSES HE SAID — This section was spoken before the Ten Commandments were given (i. e. אמר is the pluperfect-see Ktav Vekabala); it was the fourth of Sivan when “Come up” was said to him (Shabbat 88a).

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From the sources above we can see that ch.24 in our parsha is actually relating an event which took place before ch.19 of last week’s parsha. What is the event of this week’s parsha which also took place at Har Sinai and why are the two events separated into two distinct parshiot and not all together in parshat Yitro?

Also,why is parshat Mishpatim put in between these two parshiot? What is the significance of this insertion of mainly civil laws at this point?

The whole panorama is explained to us in a magnificent comment of the Griz Halevi(Rabbi Velvel Soloveichik zal-the uncle of Rav Soloveichik zal of YU).

He comments that the phenomenon of two parshiot here is required because they are accounts of two separate events which took place at Har Sinai. The first event is the actual receiving of the Torah as found in ch.19. The second event is known as ‘Brit Torah’ –we entered into the covenant of Torah with God to obligate ourselves and our descendants for all time. This dichotomy is quoted in the Mechilta on Sefer Shemot and we see that we entered Brit Torah first and then on the next day we received the Torah.

Also these two sections are halachically separate as well, in that ch.24 became the prototype for the procedure for someone converting to Judaism(TB Yevamot 47a) which involves the blood of the brit milah and the blood of the special korban which the convert has to bring(this is not required today as we are unable to offer korbanot).

We are also commanded in Parshat Vaetchanan not to forget any of the events of the giving of the Torah, and the Ramban classifies this as one of the 613 mitzvot.The events to be remembered are in ch.19. This is called ‘Ma’amad Har Sinai’. In ch.24 we are speaking about the Brit Torah, to learn the rules of conversion which is a totally separate item.

Now we can approach the text of ch.24 and contrast it with ch.19. In Parshat Yitro it says only”naaseh” whereas in ch.24 it adds “naaseh venishma’. What is this additional word of ‘venishma’?’ Naaseh’ means to keep the Torah and venishma is ‘acceptance of the covenant’.(See Targum Onkelos, who translates venishma as ‘Unekabel’ which means ‘we accept the covenant upon us for all time’).This is why there is an extra word of commitment here to accept Torah by way of an oath for all times and this is meaning of ‘venishma’. In the beginning of ch.24 there is also an acceptance of the Torah with the word ‘naaseh’ alone, as this was said before the covenant was explained to them by Moshe, and ‘venishma’ is not yet the correct or relevant response. (This idea is also in the above Mechilta.)

When we look in the Gaon of Vilna’s commentary on the siddur, we see that he explains the beracha on the Torah as meaning” Asher bachar banu…’which refers to the covenant of Torah, as seen in ch.24, and then we say ’venatan lanu et Torato’ which refers to receiving the Torah, as seen in ch.19.

Now we can understand why Parshat Mishpatim is in between these two accounts. In ch.19 it says:

ז  וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה, וַיִּקְרָא לְזִקְנֵי הָעָם; וַיָּשֶׂם לִפְנֵיהֶם, אֵת כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, אֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ, יְהוָה.

7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.

This ‘devarim’ refer to the instructions needed to receive the Torah.

However, in ch.24 it says:

ג  וַיָּבֹא מֹשֶׁה, וַיְסַפֵּר לָעָם אֵת כָּל-דִּבְרֵי יְהוָה, וְאֵת, כָּל-הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים; וַיַּעַן כָּל-הָעָם קוֹל אֶחָד, וַיֹּאמְרוּ, כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר-דִּבֶּר יְהוָה, נַעֲשֶׂה.

3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said: 'All the words which the LORD hath spoken will we do

Here as a preparation for the brit Torah Moshe tells them also ‘mishpatim’. The mefarshim explain that this is a reference to parshat Mishpatim which comes before this pasuk. Moshe went up to Mt. Sinai and was told to tell the people the mishpatim , to enter into this covenant with God. Why was this necessary? It was important to effect the conversion, as mentioned before, by informing the people of a cross section of mitzvot between man and God and man and man, as we do with every convert up to the present day. This is the purpose of the mentioning of the mitzvot as found in the end of Parshat Yitro and throughout parshat Mishpatim, following the rule which we then establish for every future conversion to Judaism.

Rav Velvel has given us a complete picture of the two components of receiving the Torah and has explained the placing of parshat Mishpatim in between these two events. I would like to add that there is also an extra dimension conveyed in the Brit here in that the mitzvot between man and man are put on an equal footing to those between man and God. Rav Y.Hutner zal explains this in terms of the sprinkling of the blood at this moment of covenant ,which he shows, is done with exactly half of the container on the alter and half towards the people. (see Rashi  ch.24)). This equates the two aspects of mitzvot upon which the covenant is made and it tells us that each are equally as important in our religious requirements. The blood to the  alter symbolizes mitzvot between man and God and the blood to the people  is a symbol of the mitzvot between man and man.

This can also explain the break in chronology here, with the Maamad Har Sinai being described before the Brit Torah , even though the covenant of Torah happened earlier on. The covenant is the act which goes from Mt Sinai to all generations and is fitting to follow the description of the actual events of receiving the Torah. Although we remember these events every year on Shavuot, it is the covenant which binds us to these events and concepts on a daily basis. This becomes our ‘take away’ from Mt Sinai and it is placed later to become the parsha which links us to the Torah for all times and in all circumstances. It is the ‘permanent’ after the ‘temporary and it has to come later on in the Torah to become a bridge between Mt Sinai and the rest of Jewish history. This is truly a fundamental insight into our Jewish existence and survival.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Ian Shaffer             Cherry Hill NJ