Mishpatim

Embark on a journey of Jewish learning and discovery, exploring the depth of our Mishpatim resources, where tagged items including audio, programs, and podcast episodes await your exploration.

Mishpatim: Divine Justice, Human Mercy

Rabbi Jay Kelman

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot” (Shemot 21:24). Perhaps no Biblical verse has generated as much controversy regarding its true meaning. As is well known, traditional Jewish exegesis has…
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Mishpatim: Talking Points

Rabbi Jay Kelman

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me". This popular aphorism reflects the notion that it is physical harm to others that is most dangerous. As we all know this is a simplistic and ultimately dangerous notion…
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Mishpatim: Say What You Mean

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Modern man loves his freedom. No one is going to tell him how to act. This is why giving criticism, even when constructive, is so hard and usually ineffective. It is no coincidence that the obligation to rebuke a person committing a wrong is…
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Mishpatim: Follow the Leader

Rabbi Jay Kelman

"Do not be a follower of the majority for bad, do not respond to a grievance by yielding to the majority to pervert [justice]" (Shemot 23:2). In the next verse we read "Do not favour the poor". Today's world so often supports…
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Mishpatim: More Than Slavery

Rabbi Jay Kelman

While there are various themes that run throughout Sefer Shemot, that of slavery is perhaps the central one. This notion is presented, with differing foci, throughout the book and actually carries over to the remaining books of the Chumash. Sefer…
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Mishpatim: It's Not Who You Know

Rabbi Jay Kelman

Knowing the right people is, more often than not, the key to success in the modern world. We in North America refer to “connections”, but in Israel it's called by a less diplomatic but more honest name, protektzia. While this is true in…
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