Below is a collection of Parashat Mishpatim resources created by The Lookstein Center staff or contributed to the site by Jewish educators.

This is a growing collection. Check back soon or write to us at content@lookstein.org if you didn’t find what you’re looking for. 

Return to Sefer Shemot Resources

PARASHA POINTS

  • This parasha is packed with mitzvot.
  • God promises to send His “messenger” to pave the way for Israel to enter their promised land and warns of the dangers of adopting the idolatrous practices of the Canaanites. 
  • Moses arranges a ceremony to seal God’s covenant with the people, after which he ascends the mountain.

MAJOR MITZVOT

  • Israelite servants were to work for six years and then be set free. They may only remain if they choose so freely.
  • It is forbidden to hit or curse one’s parents.
  • If damage is done by someone’s property (pet, an obstacle that they placed in the public domain, an untended fire, etc.) the owner is responsible for the damages.
  • Someone watching someone else’s property has responsibility if it gets damaged, lost, or stolen.
  • Israelites may not charge interest on loans to other Israelites.
  • Judges must treat everyone equally. Bribery is strictly forbidden.
  • Outsiders who join the Israelite nation must be treated with extra care.
  • There are three annual holidays (the shalosh regalim)
  • The seventh year is sanctified (shemitah)
  • One may not cook a goat in its mother’s milk (kashrut)

EDUCATIONAL THEMES

  • Revering parents is equated with revering God.
  • We have a responsibility to make sure that no damage happens to fellow Israelites.
  • Human life is valued above animal life and property.
  • Responsibilities toward people and responsibilities toward others are part of a single package. One cannot be an upstanding Israelite without a combination of the two.

NOTABLE QUOTES

  • Describing the theory behind paying for wounding another:
    עין תחת עין
  • The ill effects of bribery:
    כי השחד יעור פקחים ויסלף דברי צדיקים
  • The pilgrimage festivals (shalosh regalim):
    שלש רגלים תחג לי בשנה
  • Moses on the mountain:
    ויהי משה בהר ארבעים יום וארבעים לילה

DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Question #1: How do you know who is in the wrong in different situations? Imagine you’re walking in the halls at school, and you trip and fall over someone’s school bag which was left on the floor. You complain to them, “Why did you leave your school bag on the floor where someone could trip?” They respond, “Why didn’t you watch where you were going?” Who is at fault? Why? Parashat Mishpatim is filled with laws about the relationships between people. Although it doesn’t list school bags left on the floor, it does discuss someone who digs a hole and doesn’t cover it. If an animal falls into the hole and dies, the person who dug the hole is responsible. Do you think it is similar?

Look inside the text (Shemot 21:33-34),

כִי יִפְתַּח אִישׁ בּוֹר אוֹ כִּי יִכְרֶה אִישׁ בֹּר וְלֹא יְכַסֶּנּוּ וְנָפַל שָׁמָּה שּׁוֹר אוֹ חֲמוֹר – When a man opens a pit, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

 בַּעַל הַבּוֹר יְשַׁלֵּם כֶּסֶף יָשִׁיב לִבְעָלָיו – the one responsible for the pit must make up for it; he should pay the price to the owner of the animal.

Question #2: Parashat Mishpatim has many laws about our relationships with each other. We read that if you find the ox or donkey of your enemy which is lost, you have to return it to him. How do you deal with lost or missing objects? What do you do when you find a watch someone has lost on the lunchroom table? What if you’re in a hurry to go out to recess, and you think probably someone else will find it and deal with it? What do you do if you know it belongs to someone who has been mean to you?

Look inside the text, (Shemot 23:4),

כִּי תִפְגַּע שׁוֹר אֹיִבְךָ אוֹ חֲמֹרוֹ תֹּעֶה הָשֵׁב תְּשִׁיבֶנּוּ לוֹ – When you encounter your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering, you must take it back to him.

Question #3: One of the curious laws about slavery is that the slave can choose to remain with his master rather than going free in the seventh year, but there is a special ritual that must be performed. Laws are often legislated to protect people. Does a person have the right to reject that protection, or should society insist that they be protected? If someone is in an abusive relationship, and although miserable, claim that they want to remain in that relationship, should their friends (or the authorities) encourage/insist that they get out for their own protection?

Question #4: The Torah warns us not to be unkind to the stranger, for we were once strangers ourselves in Egypt. Is there an obligation to be nice to the stranger, or just not to be unkind? Is it possible to draw a line distinguishing between being nice and avoiding being unkind? How far must we take this obligation? Does this apply to every individual, or to the community as a whole? How well does your community accept people who are different?