Parashat Mishpatim

We’ve made it to February. The beginning of 2025 has seemingly stretched on forever. Our emotions were up and down. If January is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, it could be an unpredictable year. I have decided that while I’m not choosing to disconnect completely from the news, I am choosing to direct much of my attention elsewhere so as not to become undone or overwhelmed. I am choosing to find bright spots in the world where I can make a difference. This week’s parashah, Mishpatim, offers us a direction in how to do just that. The portion talks about retribution, what to do if another has been wronged, and to look out for those in need. It gives us a moral compass for how to act in society. One section in particular stands out: “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, do not act toward them as a creditor; exact no interest from them. If you take your neighbor’s garment in pledge, you must return it before the sun sets: it is the only available clothing – it is what covers the skin. In what else shall your neighbor sleep?” (Exodus 22:24-26) 

These verses seem like common sense. Those who are in need generally have very little, and very often the clothing worn during the day doubled as additional protection at night. If you take it, you leave them with nothing; essentially punishing them twice. This is not the only time that God tells us to look out for the stranger and the needy among us; looking out for the stranger is mentioned at least 36 times in Torah. There are so many around us who feel as though they don’t fit in, who don’t have resources, support, family, or unconditional love. When we choose to focus on helping someone else, we not only help another, we also feel better. As Pirkei Avot (2:16) teaches, it’s not incumbent upon us to finish the task, neither are we free to sit back and do nothing.

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