Mishpatim (parsha)

Mishpatim (—Hebrew for "laws," the second word of the parashah) is the eighteenth weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the Book of Exodus. The parashah sets out a series of laws, which some scholars call the Covenant Code. It reports the people's acceptance of the covenant with God. The parashah constitutes . The parashah is made up of 5,313 Hebrew letters, 1,462 Hebrew words, 118 verses, and 185 lines in a Torah scroll (, '' Sefer Torah'').

Jews read it the eighteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in February or, rarely, in late January. As the parashah sets out some of the laws of Passover, Jews also read part of the parashah, , as the initial Torah reading for the second intermediate day (, '' Chol HaMoed'') of Passover. Jews also read the first part of Parashat Ki Tisa, , regarding the half-shekel head tax, as the maftir Torah reading on the special Sabbath Shabbat Shekalim, which often falls on the same Sabbath as Parashat Mishpatim (as it does in 2023, 2026, 2028, and 2029).

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''.

First reading—Exodus 21:1–19

In the first reading, God told Moses to give the people laws concerning Hebrew indentured servants and slaves, homicide, striking a parent,. kidnapping, insulting a parent, and assault..

Second reading—Exodus 21:20–22:3

The second reading addresses laws of assault, a homicidal animal, damage to livestock, and theft.

Third reading—Exodus 22:4–26

The third reading addresses laws of damage to crops, bailment, seduction,. sorcery,. bestiality, apostasy, wronging the disadvantaged, and lending.

Fourth reading—Exodus 22:27–23:5

The fourth reading addresses laws of duties to God, judicial integrity, and humane treatment of an enemy.

Fifth reading—Exodus 23:6–19

The fifth reading addresses laws concerning the disadvantaged,. false charges,. bribery,. oppressing the stranger, the sabbatical year for crops (, '' Shmita''), the Sabbath,. the mention of other gods,. the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (, ''Shalosh Regalim''), sacrifice (, '' korban''),. and First Fruits (, ''Bikkurim'')..

Sixth reading—Exodus 23:20–25

In the short sixth reading, God promised to send an angel with the Israelites to bring them to the place God had prepared. God directed the Israelites to obey the angel, for if they did, then God would be an enemy to their enemies. The Israelites were not to serve other gods, but to serve only God.

Seventh reading—Exodus 23:26–24:18

In the seventh reading, God promised reward for obedience to God. God invited Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders to bow to God from afar. Moses repeated the commandments to the people, who answered: "All the things that the Lord has commanded we will do!" Moses then wrote the commandments down. He set up an altar and some young Israelite men offered sacrifices. Moses read the Book of the Covenant aloud to the people, who once again affirmed that they would follow it. Moses took blood from the sacrifices and dashed it on the people. Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders of Israel then ascended, saw God, ate, and drank. Moses and Joshua arose, and Moses ascended Mount Sinai, leaving Aaron and Hur in charge. A cloud covered the mountain, hiding the Presence of the Lord for six days, appearing to the Israelites as a fire on the top of the mountain. Moses went inside the cloud and remained on the mountain for 40 days and nights.

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:

In ancient parallels

The parashah has parallels in these ancient sources:

Exodus chapters 21–22

The laws in the parashah find parallels in several ancient law codes.

In inner-biblical interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:

Exodus chapters 21–23

Benjamin Sommer argued that borrowed whole sections from the earlier text of .

Exodus chapter 21

The parashah opens in with the words, "these are the ordinances (, ''ha-mishpatim'') that you shall set before them." then echoes, "Moses came and told the people . . . all the ordinances (, ''ha-mishpatim'')," and then "all the people answered with one voice, and said: 'All the words that the Lord has spoken will we do.'"

In three separate places—; ; and —the Torah sets forth the law of "an eye for an eye."

Exodus chapter 22

admonishes the Israelites not to wrong the stranger, "for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Similarly, in , the 8th century BCE prophet Amos anchored his pronouncements in the covenant community's Exodus history, saying, "Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt."

admonishes: "If you take your neighbor's garment in pledge, you must return it to him before the sun sets; it is his only clothing, the sole covering for his skin." Similarly, in , Amos condemned people of Judah who "recline by every altar on garments taken in pledge."

Exodus chapter 23

Passover

refers to the Festival of Passover. In the Hebrew Bible, Passover is called:
*"Passover" (, ''Pesach'');
*"The Feast of Unleavened Bread" (, ''Chag haMatzot''); and
*"A holy convocation" or "a solemn assembly" (, ''mikrah kodesh'').

Some explain the double nomenclature of "Passover" and "Feast of Unleavened Bread" as referring to two separate feasts that the Israelites combined sometime between the Exodus and when the Biblical text became settled. and indicate that the dedication of the firstborn also became associated with the festival.

Some believe that the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" was an agricultural festival at which the Israelites celebrated the beginning of the grain harvest. Moses may have had this festival in mind when in and he petitioned Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to celebrate a feast in the wilderness.W. Gunther Plaut, ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary'', page 464.

"Passover," on the other hand, was associated with a thanksgiving sacrifice of a lamb, also called "the Passover," "the Passover lamb," or "the Passover offering."

, , and an
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and direct "Passover" to take place on the evening of the fourteenth of Aviv ( Nisan in the Hebrew calendar after the Babylonian captivity). , , , and confirm that practice. , , and , , and direct the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" to take place over seven days and and direct that it begin on the fifteenth of the month. Some believe that the propinquity of the dates of the two Festivals led to their confusion and merger.

an
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link the word "Passover" (, ''Pesach'') to God's act to "pass over" (, ''pasach'') the Israelites' houses in the plague of the firstborn. In the Torah, the consolidated Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread thus commemorate the Israelites' liberation from Egypt.

The Hebrew Bible frequently notes the Israelites' observance of Passover at turning points in their history. reports God's direction to the Israelites to observe Passover in the wilderness of Sinai on the anniversary of their liberation from Egypt. reports that upon entering the Promised Land, the Israelites kept the Passover on the plains of Jericho and ate unleavened cakes and parched grain, produce of the land, the next day. reports that King Josiah commanded the Israelites to keep the Passover in Jerusalem as part of Josiah's reforms, but also notes that the Israelites had not kept such a Passover from the days of the Biblical judges nor in all the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah, calling into question the observance of even Kings David and Solomon. The more reverent , however, reports that Solomon offered sacrifices on the Festivals, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And reports King Hezekiah's observance of a second Passover anew, as sufficient numbers of neither the priests nor the people were prepared to do so before then. And reports that the Israelites returned from the Babylonian captivity observed Passover, ate the Passover lamb, and kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy.

Shavuot

refers to the Festival of Shavuot. In the Hebrew Bible