Congregation Netivot Shalom

Rabbi Shalom Bochner
Parashat Mishpatim, 5769
Feb. 21, 2009

Exodus 21:1 - 24:18

"Vi eleh HaMishpatim asher tasim leifneihem"
"And these are the civil judgments that you are to set before them."

With these words the Torah tells us that last week's parshah, the group revelation at Mount Sinai accompanied by special effects and out-of-body experiences, may be the high point in our divine relationship, but it is not the finale.  By starting with "Vi", "and" our tradition informs us that both what we read last week, and what is read this week are part of this continuing teaching and encounter with G-d. And while last week's 10 Sayings are more famous then much of what is in this section of the Torah, this is no less important, no less relevant, and no less worthy of close study even though we may not be debating if these particular words should grace courtrooms across the country.

Mishpatim are what the rabbis understood as common law, rules that govern our society. The laws as presented here are much more detailed and lengthy then last week in Parshat Yitro.  The mitzvot of this week's parshah teach us that even the practical, perhaps especially the practical, is holy.  God is in the details; the messy details of our daily lives.  Holiness is not only found in our holidays and intimate relationships, it is in our treatment of our workers, our neighbors, our oxen, our enemies, our society.

There was a popular book a few years ago called "Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten". Perhaps, there should be a revised version: "Almost Everything Important I Learned in Parshat Mishpatim". Just a few examples:

• A known killer ox is the responsibility of the owner.
• Holes dug in the ground must be covered; the property owner is responsible for damage caused by an uncovered hole.
• Fires started on private property that damage public or other people's private property are the responsibility of whoever started the fire.
• Judges should not be cursed.
• Do  not follow the majority to do evil.  Or in other words we can't use as an excuse "But everyone else is doing it!"
• Lost animals must be returned even if they belong to our enemy.
• We have to help overloaded animals, even those belonging to our enemy.
• Don't accept bribes.

At the end of the parshah, all of the people accept these laws, and a Brit, a covenant is made with G-d.  Then the text moves from this extensive list of legislative material to story line, and a bizarre and powerful story line it is.

Exodus Chapter 24:9-1 reads:  "Moses went up, along with Aaron, Nadav, and Avihu, and seventy of Israel's elders.  They saw the G-d of Israel and under G-d's feet was something like a sapphire brick, like the essence of a clear blue sky.  G-d did not send forth G-d's hand against the children of Israel.  They had a vision of G-d and they ate and drank."

While most of the translations say they they beheld a vision of G-d, the text states with no ambiguity that they saw G-d. Somehow my own Hebrew School education skipped one of the most interesting passages in the entire Torah. These lines do not get the attention that they deserve.  These lines do not only suggest, they demand some questions:

• What does it mean to see G-d when G-d tells Moses in a few chapters that no one can see G-d and live?
• What does it mean, under G-d's feet?
• What is the sapphire brickwork?
• What does it mean that G-d did not send forth his hand?
• And perhaps most strange, what does it  mean "they ate and drank"?

I picture Nadav turning to Avihu and saying "Hey, there's G-d, pass me the chips."

To understand these lines we need a Torah commentary written by a mystic, someone learned in the Kabbalistic tradition. Thankfully we have such a source.  Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, may his memory be for a blessing, not only wrote "Inner Space, Jewish Meditation", and translated Sefer Bahir and Sefer Yetzirah, he also created The Living Torah commentary which includes pictures, maps, and charts and extensive footnotes that are particularly useful when encountering a mystical section of the Torah.  So let me just share some of Aryeh Kaplan's footnotes on this section.

"under G-d feet"  The Zohar explains that just as feet come in contact with the ground, so allegorically, G-d's "feet" are the attribute that comes in contact with the level below. They are therefore seen as the means of prophecy.  Moreh Nevukhim says that G-d's "feet" denote the ultimate essence of creation; the Targum says their vision consisted of the feet of the Throne of Glory.

"sapphire"  According to the Book of Ezekial, the Throne of Glory was seen as made of sapphire. Sforno explains that  sapphire is blue, and it may be that they saw a vision of the sky as being below G-d. Others say that the sapphire mentioned here is ultimately transparent.  Bachya says that this stone is related to vision. Others say that this sapphire is like a "third eye" through which mystical vision is attained.

The Hebrew word for sapphire, Sapir,  is where we get the English word for Sapphire, and also directly related to the Hebrew words for book, counting, telling, sephirot, sphere, ...

"brick"  Rashi explains that this brick showed G-d's closeness to Israel, since the brick symbolized that God had in mind the bricks that the Israelites had been forced to make.  According to Sifri this was the brick out of which the Tablets of the Law would be carved. The Jerusalem Talmud says that they saw brick working tools.  Ibn Ezra translates this verse as '"something like the whiteness of sapphire", Sforno as the "transparency of sapphire".  Ralbag says their vision may have been that of pure empty space. "unleash G-d's power"  or literally, G-d did not send forth G-d's hand.  Sforno says this means G-d did not grant prophecy at this point.  Baaley Tosafot explains "did not send forth G-d's hand to conceal G-dself"

"ate and drank"   Not surprisingly there is much commentary on this phrase and much of it is contradictory. Rashi says that it was disrespectful.  Ralbag says that they lacked true meditation. Abarbanel says that they did not need meditation.  Ramban and Sforno says that they made a feast later to celebrate.  In Ezra says that they ate the peace offerings mentioned previously in the text.  Malbim says "They saw the Divine, but they could still eat and drink"  Ibn Ezra says unlike Moses who went forty days without food and water when he saw the Divine, they still had to eat and drunk. The Zohar perhaps deserves the last word on this:  the vision of the Divine nourished them like food.

Rabbi Dovid Zeller, may his memory be for a blessing, taught that for Judaism, the peak experience is not like being on a mountain peak, it is like a quick peak behind the curtain, the veil that separates the physical and the spiritual worlds.  It is the "ahah" experience where we see and understand how it all works.  It is the moment of revelation they may last half a second, but the effects last a lot longer.  And when we try to describe the experience, often words fail us.  "It was something sorta like...". This parshah describes a quick peak experience.

Blue bricks against a blue sky are not visible. It is not what they saw, but how they saw it. For a moment, they understood and felt G-d's presence.

G-d is always present, but the world of our senses does not usually detect holiness. We are distracted by the world of things, smells, tastes, colors, textures. Yet, behind and above, within and beyond the physical world, G-d is the force that makes existence possible.

Our ancestors saw G-d. They felt the force that allows for existence to unfold. They saw a blue sky of blue bricks. They had a peak experience at the foot of the mountain peak. And they ate and they drank.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Bochner serves as the Director of Life Long Learning at Congregation Netivot Shalom.