Appreciating the Importance of “Bein Adam Lechaveiro”
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5769
Every year, Parshat Mishpatim provides us with an opportunity to focus on the importance of being honest, ethical and appreciating the need to treat our fellow Jews and all human beings with the respect that they deserve. Every year, I try to take advantage of the opportunity.
That message could not be more relevant today – as Jewish Philanthropy reels in the wake of Madoff and Israeli politicians continue to disappoint on that score. Natan Sharansky often reminds us that: he is the only Israeli politician who was in jail before he came to office.
This year, I would like to approach the topic by debunking a very common misconception regarding one of the most famous and quoted phrases in the Torah: Naaseh Venishma.
We are taught from a very early age that the Jews accepted all of the Mitzvoth and told Hashem: we will do and we will listen. Or, as it is generally taught, we will do without question and only then will we try to understand.
While there are many Midrashic explanations and interpretations, I will focus on the text to understand to what Naaseh Venishma is textually referring, and will then apply that understanding to our annual message for Parshat Mishpatim.
For our textual understanding, we need to widen our viewing angle and look at the structure of the revelation at Sinai and the story’s continuation into our parsha.
Before the 10 Commandments, Moshe ascends the mountain and is then sent back down to be with the people when they receive the Dibrot (Commandments). After the Dibrot, the people are afraid and they ask Moshe to get the message from God and relay it to them. Moshe approaches the arafel (the dense smoke) and God tells him as follows: these are the things that you should tell the Jews. That is how last week’s parsha ends. Today’s parsha begins with the continuation of that story. There were things that Moshe should tell the Jews and these are the laws that he should put before them.
To be clear the people are not hearing these laws; Moshe is hearing the laws and then he will teach them to the people. That includes the bulk of our parsha: chapters 21, 22 and 23.
What you expect to find after the laws are done is: Moshe follows Hashem’s command and tells the people all that God had told him.
Instead we read as follows in Chapter 24:
- And he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship from far away.
- And Moses alone shall come near the Lord; but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.
- And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord has said will we do.
Verses 4-6 detail a ritual slaughter and sprinkling of the blood and then we read:
7. And he took the Book of the Covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, All that the Lord has said will we do, and obey. (Naaseh Venishma)
Moshe tells the people and they accept it. Naaseh Venishma. But before we get to that phrase, we must look at verses one and two. Remember: Moshe had approached God and was given all this information. Before we are told that Moshe departs God or relays the info, we again read of God instructing Moshe to ascend to him. (verses 1&2) Isn’t Moshe already there? Why should he be told to approach again?
That question, combined with a few other factors, led Rashi to conclude that this episode in the first 11 verses of chapter 24 actually occurred before the 10 Commandments.
The Ramban argues and believes that all events occurred in the order in which they appear in the Torah, i.e. after Moshe already heard the Mishpatim from Hashem.
This morning, I am interested in the meaning of chapter 24, verse 7: All the words which the Lord has said will we do and obey. (Naaseh Venishma) What words are they referring to?
According to Rashi- this episode happened before Sinai, and so must be referring to what they learned at Marah or the 7 Noachide commandments’, or both. After hearing that, the Jews said Naaseh Venishma. I must admit: that interpretation sucks all of the life and meaning from the phrase.
One of the advantages for me of the Ramban’s approach is that All the words which the Lord has said will we do, and obey then refers to the 10 commandments and all of Parshat Mishpatim.
That famous national acceptance (Naaseh Venishma) refers to the 10 commandments and to the section of laws governing the behavior between man and his fellow man.
This was the first set of laws accepted by the Jewish people. That is powerful. A covenant is sealed over these laws. They are that important and that critical to our national mission.
It is hard to formulate this in many different ways, because the lesson is so simple and so basic. The lesson bears repeating every year, because not all Jews have learned this lesson. There are unfortunately many who see religion only in the realm of the ritual and not in the realm of the interpersonal. This is a disease that afflicts all stripes and streams within the Jewish community.
The Talmud at the end of Makkot tells us that there are 613 mitzvoth, and then proceeds to teach us that the prophets later divided them into different categories and captured their essence in far fewer. David broke them down to 11, then Isaiah to 6, Micah to 3, then Isaiah again to 2, and Amos captures it in 1.
The most amazing part of the analysis is that nearly every one of these categories deals with being just, honest, fair, kind and compassionate.
According to this Gemara, this is the essence of the Torah. It is that important.
