Drash Cards for Mishpatim (5772)

by Marc Mangel

• The Jewish legal systems focuses on:

• The Hebrew bondsman, Hebrew bondsmaid, murder and manslaughter, honor to parents, compensation for injuries, the non-Jewish bondman, the goring animal, the unmarked pit, theft, compensation for damages, theT unpaid consignee, the paid consignee, the borrower and hirer, the seducer, sorcery, bestiality, idolatry, exploitation, respect for authority, donations to Levites, forbidden meat, truth in justice, behavior toward enemies, the sabbatical year, mixing milk and meat.

• YIKES!!

• The principles articulated in the Torah leads to analysis in the Talmud of practice, which leads to contradictory opinions. But how do we foucs?

• Ch 34, v 7: God preserves acts of kindness for thousands of generations (at least 2000) but

• Ch 20, v 5: Remembers sins of the fathers up to the third or fourth generation.

• Since 2000/4 = 500

• “God’s measure of kindness is 500 times greater than his measure of punishment. Understand this trait and work on it ” (Rav Avraham, son of Maimonides)

• What kind of world would we love in if we were 500, 50, or even 5 times kinder than nastier? sincere than insincere? selfless than selfish?

• Indeed traits to work on!