The Path Of Truth

The juxtaposition of Yithro and Mishpatim comes to tell us that this great gift of the Torah was given to the Jewish people on condition that we keep the laws. Keeping the laws requires a combination of the people being law-abiding citizens and judges who judge wisely and fairly.

Rabbnu Bahya states that when the Jewish people said Na’aseh VeNishma (we will do and we will hear), G-d told them that the entire Torah was given to them. The Tanhuma says that G-d was telling them that if you wish to exist in this world, you must keep the laws and do justice. Ribbi Eliezer said that if justice is done here on earth, then G-d does not need to do justice in Heaven. If, on the other hand, we do not judge correctly here, then it is done in Heaven.

As long as a dayan judges in a just manner, the Shekhinah (G-d’s holy presence), rests on the Jewish people. The opposite, G-d forbid, is also true.

In Ben Ish Hai Derashoth, Hakham Yosef Hayyim tells a story that he was told about his grandfather, Hakham Moshe Hayyim, which demonstrates the capability of a good judge. This took place in Baghdad, which is Babylon. Once, two people came to him for a Din Torah. His grandfather understood that the one who was denying everything was willing to lie under oath. So Hakham Moshe Hayyim said to him, “Do you think that I am going to make you swear on a Sefer Torah? Believe me, you are going to swear on the Shenei Luhoth Habberith (two tablets of stone).” So he instructed the shamash of the Beth Din to immerse himself 10 times in the mikveh and then bring to him the Shenei Luhoth Habberith for the man to swear on.

The man became extremely nervous because he assumed that he would be presented with the holy tablets of stone to swear on. He assumed that when the Jewish people went into exile in Babylon they took them with them, and they remained there. He became so frightened that he said that he would pay, but would not swear.

Hakham Moshe Hayyim told him that he had committed to swear and that he would have to do so. The man broke down and admitted that he had lied and told the whole truth. What he did not realize, of course, is that Hakham Moshe Hayyim was referring to the book Shenei Luhoth Habberith by the Shelah Hakadosh, and not the tablets of stone.

In Kether Tzaddik Hakham, Yehuda Ftaya quotes the Ohel Ya’akov, who was the Maggid of Dubna. He said that there are two types of communities and cities. There are those cities where the people are good and wholesome, seek justice, and love peace. There are also places where people fight, argue, and create controversy and general lawlessness. When it comes to justice, the difference between the two is as follows: The city that chases after peace only requires one dayan, because the people themselves, are generally eager to reach a compromise. They rarely have the need to fight it out in court.

However, the second type of city, the one in which there is much controversy and strife, needs multiple judges and many others two convince them to go to court to settle their disputes, since they cannot settle on their own.

He says that when it comes to going to court to settle a dispute, there are also two types of people. The first, and certainly most common, is that each side claims that the money or object in dispute is theirs. Another type is where they go to court, not out of animosity, but in order to allow the court to decide the ownership of an item, since neither party wants to take that that does not belong to them. In this case, the first party says, “In my opinion, this item belongs to my friend.” The other says, “Not so your honor; in my opinion this item belongs to my friend and not to me.”

In Vayikra Rabba, Razal tell the following story about Alexander the Great. They say that he went to a country that they call Afriki. They greeted him with apples, pomegranates, and bread made of gold. He asked them, “Do you eat gold in your country?” They responded, “Isn’t it like this in your country?” - meaning, “Aren’t there artisans in your country who do the same thing? Why did you have to come here to see our work?” Alexander replied, “I didn’t come here to see your craftsmen; I came to see your justice system.”

Two people came before the king of the country for a court case. One said that he purchased a ruin and demolished it and discovered a large treasure hidden underneath. “I went to the man from whom I purchased it and told him to come and take his money, because what I purchased from him were ruins and not treasure,” he said.

The other man refused to accept it, saying that just as the other was afraid to be guilty of stealing, so too was he. He continued, saying that when he sold the property to the man, he sold him the ruins and everything in the parcel of land that went with it.

The king asked one of them, “Do you have a son?” The man replied in the affirmative. He then turned to the second and asked if he had a daughter. He also answered in the affirmative. He then instructed to have them marry each other and the treasure would be theirs.

Alexander the Great was amazed. The king asked him why he was surprised. Had he not judged correctly? Alexander the Great replied that, on the contrary, he had judged correctly. The king asked him what he would have done had such a case occurred in his own country. Alexander the Great replied that they would have cut off both their heads and the treasure would go to the king’s house.

The king asked Alexander of Macedonia, “Does the sun shine in your country?” and he answered, “Yes.” “Do you have rain in your country?” He answered in the affirmative. He continued, “In that case, perhaps there is an animal in your country, and in its merit you are being saved.”

This story clearly illustrates the contrast between the two countries. In one country, the king takes what he wishes, and the country is so corrupt that the other king suggested that it might be in the merit of an animal that the sun shines there. Apparently, they did not have any merits of their own. In the other country they fight because they don’t want to take something that does not belong to them or benefit from it.

So when the Jewish people said we will do and we will hear, they were accepting all the Torah. The nations of the world, who asked what was in it before refusing it, understood the concept that it would mean accepting everything. For instance, when the nation of Esau was told that the Torah contained “do not kill,” they understood that it was more than that. It contained a host of other commandments, including not embarrassing your fellow man, which is compared to killing him.

By accepting the Torah in Parashath Yisro, we committed to keeping all the laws in Parashath Mishpatim and elsewhere. We must strive to be at all times, like the seller and purchaser of the broken down ruins, who went to court to make sure that they were not personally guilty of even a hint of stealing. We must not deviate from the path of truth because it to our personal advantage to do so.

---

Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe is a renowned author and lecturer, whose Shiurim continue to inspire thousands around the world. Many can be seen at www.NonstopTorah.com. His daily Torah Minutes are eagerly anticipated by thousands every morning. They can be seen at www.ATorahMinute.com. Rabbi Menashe is the spiritual leader of Midrash BEN ISH HAI. More information is available at the Midrash website,  www. Midrash.org.