Parashat Mishpatim: Torah for Real Life

Parashat Mishpatim is the eighteenth portion from the beginning of the Torah, and it deals with life itself. In the previous portion, Yitro, the people of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and heard the divine voice proclaim, “I am the Lord.” They were at an extraordinary spiritual level, witnessing divine revelations and transcendent experiences.

Yet immediately afterward, the Torah turns to life itself, beginning to address seemingly earthly matters such as the laws of servants, civil damages, and interpersonal obligations.

Why Begin with the Less Pleasant Parts of Life?

Why does the Torah choose to begin the study of mitzvot related to the less pleasant aspects of life? The people of Israel were still under the powerful impression of the revelation at Mount Sinai. Why not begin with more elevated and spiritual commandments such as building the Tabernacle, the laws of offerings, or the festivals?

The question becomes even stronger when we consider that many of the laws in Parashat Mishpatim were not even relevant during the Israelites’ stay in the desert. No one at that time owned servants, fields, or vineyards.

Torah Is Not Only for Spiritual Highs

This is precisely the story of the Torah.

The Torah of Israel is not meant only for exalted moments and spiritual peaks, but for life itself. It teaches us how to act in the small, everyday moments: in the field and the vineyard, when dealing with theft, with people who have fallen into servitude, with those who cause harm, with those who need loans, and with all matters between one person and another.

That is why the very first subject after the revelation at Sinai is Parashat Mishpatim, a portion devoted to real life, in all its complexity.

The Law of Double Payment

Let us examine one commandment: “When a man gives his fellow money or vessels to safeguard, and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is found, he shall pay double” (Shemot 22:6).

Here the Torah establishes that a thief is obligated not only to return what was stolen or its monetary value, but also to pay a penalty: double payment. He must repay the owner twice the amount he stole.

Today, in practice, we do not impose double payments. But even if this law is not applied practically, what deeper message does it teach us?

A Metaphor for the Inner Life

Let us read this verse as a metaphor for our lives.

“When a man gives his fellow money or vessels to safeguard.” The Creator entrusts every human being with “money and vessels to guard.” God gives each of us a body, a soul, spiritual strength, talents, family, and opportunities. Everything. God asks us to nurture what we have been given and to protect it from countless internal and external forces that threaten to damage it.

We possess money — longings and desires for many things, as well as vessels — the tools to fulfill those longings. These powers can be used for good or misused.

Within each of us there is an inner “thief,” plotting to steal these gifts and use them according to his own agenda. This thief represents the evil inclination, which constantly seeks control over a person’s body, soul, and life.

A person plans to do good deeds, to fulfill mitzvot, to bring satisfaction to the Creator, and then the thief arrives and steals all his plans.

Failure, Shame, and Despair

How do we usually respond to such thefts? How do we relate to our failures and setbacks?

Some people fall into sadness and despair. Others experience deep inner shame at having been defeated. These feelings often cause people to give up entirely on future struggles and challenges.

The Torah offers a proposal that cannot be refused.

First, look for the thief. Study yourself, and understand what is happening inside you. Learn the structure of your inner world. Identify the breach through which the thief entered. Which trait needs repair? Where are your weak points? Where should you place stronger guards? What must you change so that you are not robbed again?

Once you find the thief, you gain double.

The Inner Meaning of Repentance

This is where we reach the depth of the mitzvah of teshuvah, repentance.

Judaism teaches that instead of wallowing in guilt and despair, a person must identify and confront his inner thief — the forces in his life that seek to pull him off course. When he does so, he receives double what was taken from him in the first place.

Psychologically, this means that the experience of falling and then recovering allows a person to deepen his spiritual life twice as much as if the thief had never appeared at all.

From Failure to Merit

“Great is repentance, for intentional sins are transformed into merits” (Yoma 86b), the Talmud declares.

When a person fails, but then confronts the thief and reclaims ownership of his life, his earlier failures grant him a new perspective and a deeper inner elevation that would never have existed without the failure. Through the demanding and courageous work of repentance and self-examination, the sin itself is redefined as a merit.

This is because without the failure, a new person would never have been created. The fall, and the repair that follows, creates a stronger, more resilient human being.

Of course, we must emphasize that a person should do everything possible to prevent any thief from entering his territory in the first place. But if our physical impulses overpower us for a moment, the Torah teaches us not to despair.

Catch the thief, and extract double from him.