It is an understandable mistake to assume that the revelation of the 10 commandments in last week’s Parashat Yitro reflects the totality of that seminal moment. But God’s Top Ten Words are only a beginning, followed immediately by an expansive overview of what’s known as the Covenant Code in this week’s Parashat Mishpatim. Rooted in other ancient Near Eastern legal codes and endowed with a Jewish gloss, the text covers a host of civil regulations that seem far from the ritual obligations most associated with sacred texts. The lesson is clear: God envisions a society in which holiness imbues even the most seemingly mundane-yet-necessary elements of daily life. For if we can elevate the quotidian, we bring the world that much closer to a fulfillment of its moral and spiritual potential.
