PARASHA: “Mishpatim” (Judgments) EXODUS 21:1-24:18 “Bringing to light the meaning of some difficult commandments"
This parashah involves the giving of a variety of commandments, that Elohim gave to Moshe to give/write down, and teach to “b'nei Israel” the first has to do with servants and their treatment. The system of slavery in Israel back in Biblical times was very much different than the cruel slavery of Africans here in the United States, starting from the 1600s, into colonial days, up until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
Unfortunately, the slave owners used the bible as a “reason” to own slaves, as they said, “The Bible permits slavery!” Yes, but only in extreme circumstances when one could not pay one's debts. And the person was only a slave for 6 years, in year 7, the master had to release the slave, and give the slave gifts of oil, wine, and wheat, so he or she could start life over again.
The slave could not be abused like slaves were whipped and abused under American slavery. But if the slave wished to remain with the master, the master could make a hole in the slave's ear and put in a ring, indicating that the slave was a slave for life, (being the choice of the slave) but “life” was up to 50 years, until the year of “Jubilee” if the slave chose to be with his or her master for “life” and the year, let's say was “40” then, “Life” was 10 years more, and then the slave would be released.
It is interesting to read that the scripture says in Exodus 21:6 “Then his master will bring him before Elohim and shall bring him to the door or the doorpost and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl”
The word, Elohim, can not only mean “God” but also, “Those who represent God” perhaps Levites, officials of the Tabernacle, the temple, city, etc. The word “Master” is a form of “Adonai” in this part, it is spelled; “Adonav” (his master). The doorpost was the official place of doing business, like at the county clerk’s office. So, the person who loved his master made his love for him official, before “Adonav” (His master) before “Elohim” (God himself and before those who represent Him.
If the slave was hurt in any way, say the master hit the slave and knocked a tooth out, or put an eye out, the slave was to be released immediately, and with compensation. Not so in America during the years of slavery.
Rav Shaul/Paul the Apostle talks about being “bond slaves” to Messiah Yeshua, and that is our state. Would we want to be “released” from following HIM? Would we want to be under a “different master?” There are only two that claim our lives; Yeshua or HaSatan. We were “bought with a price” the price of blood, and we were released from Satan's bondage, to follow and subject ourselves to a new master, “Adonai” which means; “my master” We are “servants” to the Most High God. The Hebrew word for “Slave” and “servant” is the same word: “Eved” slaves/servants were not considered “objects of purchase” or “property” they were considered “human beings” just like we are considered in the eyes of YHVH his “servants’ “children” “adopted sons and daughters”. Do not sons and daughters serve their parents?
”An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe; (21:24....) if you read on, we see that it doesn't mean, “if you knock out my tooth, I have a right to knock your tooth out too” or “if you blind me in on eye, I have the right to put out your eye” or in modern terminology, “If you break my stereo, I have the right to go into your house and smash your stereo” how I ask you, does that solve the problem? It doesn't, it just creates more problems. If we look at this situation in light of scripture, it is saying in other words; “just compensation for hurt or damage received”
How would that work? If I broke your arm accidentally or on purpose, I would be responsible for taking you to the doctor and paying the medical bill, and even, paying you “lost wages” if you couldn't work. It doesn't mean that the other guy could break “my arm too”. If you broke my stereo, then I would expect you to either pay to have it fixed or buy me another one of equal value, (arm for an arm, stereo for stereo, etc.)
We continue to read about many rules, commandments, and judgments, that make very good sense, even today, yet many of these judgments are not practiced today, everyone is off to the lawyers for a lawsuit. My opinion is that if the legal system today, was set up to reflect the Biblical standards of criminal justice in accordance with God's Word, there would be a lot less crime. The criminals would think twice before committing crimes. An example would be the following; A man goes to prison for stealing a car, sells it, and spends the money, so the prisoner has to work in prison and the money he would make would be sent to the victim to compensate the loss.
His sentence would end only when the sum is completed. Or...the court system would pay the victim the money lost in the theft, and the thief would have to work to pay back the court. This type of punishment would reflect more the Torah standard of criminal justice.
We come now to Exodus 23:19. “You shall bring the first fruits of thy land unto the House of YHVH, thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk”
One commandment does not even reflect the other. It would be like saying, “turn out the lights when you leave the house, hey, don't forget to check the mailbox for mail”. What has one got to do with the other? G-d is saying here to bring your tithe to the House of YHVH but then goes on to a different subject. Would this; “seething a kid in its mother's milk” be taken literally? In order to break this commandment, one would have to take a kid goat, butcher it, cut up the meat, then take the mother goat, milk her, then boil the meat in the mother's milk. Who would go to the trouble to do all that? Today, when people make stew, the meat is usually boiled/seethed in water with condiments, not in milk. But if we look at this commandment in a derashic sense, (the moral and spiritual sense) we could get this understanding;
It may be all about the separation of life and death, of the clean from unclean (Tamei from tahor) good from bad. In “Basar v'chalav” (meat and milk) we can see that the word “Chalav”(milk) spelled in Hebrew is “Chet, Lamed, Beit (ch+l+v) yet the word “fat” is also spelled (ch+l+v) yet pronounced “Chelev” They are related, “milk” is a form of “fat”, and the fat of an animal was offered up on the altar to YHVH, as a “sweet savor” a “pleasant smell” unto YHVH, this was part of the worship service.
We worship G-d with our full “heart” and the word “Ch+l+v” contains the letters “lamed” and “beit” (l+v) (Lev) which means “heart” Milk symbolizes “life” a baby is nurtured by its mother's milk to live, to have life. Yet the flesh (Basar) symbolizes death, as a believer, to be in the “flesh” is the opposite to being “in the spirit, full of life”. Once the animal is cut up, if not used, the flesh sits and rots, flies come around, and it becomes “Tamei” (unclean) when we are in the “flesh” we are in a way of speaking, “unclean” spiritually, until we confess our sins, and become as “milk” (full of life) again, walking in the spirit, and, like the fat of a clean animal, being a “sweet savor unto YHVH .
This is just one way one can look at this prohibition of boiling a kid in its mother's milk, from a Derashic (moral and spiritual) standpoint. (watch “Basar v' Chalav/Meat and Milk” on YouTube “Kehilah Melech Yisrael”)
”if you meet an enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you will bring it back to him again” (Ex 23:4) This is one way to make your enemy, your friend, make peace with him. Would not this be for today as well, of course, it would! It may not be an ox, maybe his wallet with his ID and money. “Do not oppress the stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt?” other bibles say “foreigner” the USA used to welcome all immigrants, but now many are being oppressed, being deported, being cheated in wages, we must turn this around and start helping those who come to this country to seek a better life, thus turning a curse into a blessing.
If you read from chap 21 to 24 and look carefully at the commandments/judgments, you will see that most make perfect sense even in our modern days. God's Word is right on the money!
Shalom,
From Ben Avraham
The dawning of a new Sabbath day. Outside the studio window of KYST-920 AM on the dial. 2/18/23 6:30 am
This parashah involves the giving of a variety of commandments, that Elohim gave to Moshe to give/write down, and teach to “b'nei Israel” the first has to do with servants and their treatment. The system of slavery in Israel back in Biblical times was very much different than the cruel slavery of Africans here in the United States, starting from the 1600s, into colonial days, up until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.
Unfortunately, the slave owners used the bible as a “reason” to own slaves, as they said, “The Bible permits slavery!” Yes, but only in extreme circumstances when one could not pay one's debts. And the person was only a slave for 6 years, in year 7, the master had to release the slave, and give the slave gifts of oil, wine, and wheat, so he or she could start life over again.
The slave could not be abused like slaves were whipped and abused under American slavery. But if the slave wished to remain with the master, the master could make a hole in the slave's ear and put in a ring, indicating that the slave was a slave for life, (being the choice of the slave) but “life” was up to 50 years, until the year of “Jubilee” if the slave chose to be with his or her master for “life” and the year, let's say was “40” then, “Life” was 10 years more, and then the slave would be released.
It is interesting to read that the scripture says in Exodus 21:6 “Then his master will bring him before Elohim and shall bring him to the door or the doorpost and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl”
The word, Elohim, can not only mean “God” but also, “Those who represent God” perhaps Levites, officials of the Tabernacle, the temple, city, etc. The word “Master” is a form of “Adonai” in this part, it is spelled; “Adonav” (his master). The doorpost was the official place of doing business, like at the county clerk’s office. So, the person who loved his master made his love for him official, before “Adonav” (His master) before “Elohim” (God himself and before those who represent Him.
If the slave was hurt in any way, say the master hit the slave and knocked a tooth out, or put an eye out, the slave was to be released immediately, and with compensation. Not so in America during the years of slavery.
Rav Shaul/Paul the Apostle talks about being “bond slaves” to Messiah Yeshua, and that is our state. Would we want to be “released” from following HIM? Would we want to be under a “different master?” There are only two that claim our lives; Yeshua or HaSatan. We were “bought with a price” the price of blood, and we were released from Satan's bondage, to follow and subject ourselves to a new master, “Adonai” which means; “my master” We are “servants” to the Most High God. The Hebrew word for “Slave” and “servant” is the same word: “Eved” slaves/servants were not considered “objects of purchase” or “property” they were considered “human beings” just like we are considered in the eyes of YHVH his “servants’ “children” “adopted sons and daughters”. Do not sons and daughters serve their parents?
”An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe; (21:24....) if you read on, we see that it doesn't mean, “if you knock out my tooth, I have a right to knock your tooth out too” or “if you blind me in on eye, I have the right to put out your eye” or in modern terminology, “If you break my stereo, I have the right to go into your house and smash your stereo” how I ask you, does that solve the problem? It doesn't, it just creates more problems. If we look at this situation in light of scripture, it is saying in other words; “just compensation for hurt or damage received”
How would that work? If I broke your arm accidentally or on purpose, I would be responsible for taking you to the doctor and paying the medical bill, and even, paying you “lost wages” if you couldn't work. It doesn't mean that the other guy could break “my arm too”. If you broke my stereo, then I would expect you to either pay to have it fixed or buy me another one of equal value, (arm for an arm, stereo for stereo, etc.)
We continue to read about many rules, commandments, and judgments, that make very good sense, even today, yet many of these judgments are not practiced today, everyone is off to the lawyers for a lawsuit. My opinion is that if the legal system today, was set up to reflect the Biblical standards of criminal justice in accordance with God's Word, there would be a lot less crime. The criminals would think twice before committing crimes. An example would be the following; A man goes to prison for stealing a car, sells it, and spends the money, so the prisoner has to work in prison and the money he would make would be sent to the victim to compensate the loss.
His sentence would end only when the sum is completed. Or...the court system would pay the victim the money lost in the theft, and the thief would have to work to pay back the court. This type of punishment would reflect more the Torah standard of criminal justice.
We come now to Exodus 23:19. “You shall bring the first fruits of thy land unto the House of YHVH, thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk”
One commandment does not even reflect the other. It would be like saying, “turn out the lights when you leave the house, hey, don't forget to check the mailbox for mail”. What has one got to do with the other? G-d is saying here to bring your tithe to the House of YHVH but then goes on to a different subject. Would this; “seething a kid in its mother's milk” be taken literally? In order to break this commandment, one would have to take a kid goat, butcher it, cut up the meat, then take the mother goat, milk her, then boil the meat in the mother's milk. Who would go to the trouble to do all that? Today, when people make stew, the meat is usually boiled/seethed in water with condiments, not in milk. But if we look at this commandment in a derashic sense, (the moral and spiritual sense) we could get this understanding;
It may be all about the separation of life and death, of the clean from unclean (Tamei from tahor) good from bad. In “Basar v'chalav” (meat and milk) we can see that the word “Chalav”(milk) spelled in Hebrew is “Chet, Lamed, Beit (ch+l+v) yet the word “fat” is also spelled (ch+l+v) yet pronounced “Chelev” They are related, “milk” is a form of “fat”, and the fat of an animal was offered up on the altar to YHVH, as a “sweet savor” a “pleasant smell” unto YHVH, this was part of the worship service.
We worship G-d with our full “heart” and the word “Ch+l+v” contains the letters “lamed” and “beit” (l+v) (Lev) which means “heart” Milk symbolizes “life” a baby is nurtured by its mother's milk to live, to have life. Yet the flesh (Basar) symbolizes death, as a believer, to be in the “flesh” is the opposite to being “in the spirit, full of life”. Once the animal is cut up, if not used, the flesh sits and rots, flies come around, and it becomes “Tamei” (unclean) when we are in the “flesh” we are in a way of speaking, “unclean” spiritually, until we confess our sins, and become as “milk” (full of life) again, walking in the spirit, and, like the fat of a clean animal, being a “sweet savor unto YHVH .
This is just one way one can look at this prohibition of boiling a kid in its mother's milk, from a Derashic (moral and spiritual) standpoint. (watch “Basar v' Chalav/Meat and Milk” on YouTube “Kehilah Melech Yisrael”)
”if you meet an enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you will bring it back to him again” (Ex 23:4) This is one way to make your enemy, your friend, make peace with him. Would not this be for today as well, of course, it would! It may not be an ox, maybe his wallet with his ID and money. “Do not oppress the stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt?” other bibles say “foreigner” the USA used to welcome all immigrants, but now many are being oppressed, being deported, being cheated in wages, we must turn this around and start helping those who come to this country to seek a better life, thus turning a curse into a blessing.
If you read from chap 21 to 24 and look carefully at the commandments/judgments, you will see that most make perfect sense even in our modern days. God's Word is right on the money!
Shalom,
From Ben Avraham
The dawning of a new Sabbath day. Outside the studio window of KYST-920 AM on the dial. 2/18/23 6:30 am
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