In this week’s portion, Mishpatim, we encounter a significant extension of the 10 words of revelation from last week. Much of the portion is so casuistic and codified that it is often referred to as the Covenant Code. It reflects the Torah’s raison d’etre more broadly: As the creation of a societal blueprint and compact for the community that will be established in the Promised Land. The portion also reflects the pre-modern intersection of civil and ritual law, understood as a single body of divine wisdom and guidance for human behavior. But more compellingly for us citizens of modernity, it is a reminder that the essence of law is less about constraint of freedoms than respect for boundaries, and that such structure more effectively aids us in cultivating priorities than in cowing us into obedience.
