Parashat Mishpatim: Why Even Rational Laws Come from Sinai

“And these are the laws that you shall place before them.” The connecting vav in the word “and these” immediately draws our attention. Rashi explains: “Wherever it says ‘these,’ it disqualifies what came before; ‘and these’ adds to what came before. Just as the earlier commandments were given at Sinai, so too were these given at Sinai.”

The connecting vav teaches that the laws Moshe now teaches the Children of Israel were also given to him at Sinai.

Why Might We Think These Laws Did Not Come from Sinai?

The Sfat Emet explains the deeper meaning. Parashat Mishpatim deals primarily with rational laws governing relationships between people. The novelty of “and these are the laws” is that even laws that appear purely logical, that human reason alone would seemingly obligate, even without the Torah, are nevertheless from Sinai. As Rashi teaches, “Just as the earlier commandments were from Sinai, so too are these.” We are expected to observe these laws primarily because God commanded them at Sinai, not merely because we understand them intellectually.

Within the laws of the Torah, even those that appear rational, there exists something far deeper than social necessity or orderly governance. The Talmud teaches: “Any judge who judges a case with absolute truth, even for a single hour, is considered by Scripture as though he became a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the act of Creation” (Shabbat 10a).

Completing the Work of Creation

We know that God created the raw material of the entire universe on the first day, yet the world still existed in a state of chaos. Ramban and the Or HaChaim explain that while everything was created on the first day, it was not yet ordered. During the remaining days of Creation, God organized reality by separating light from darkness, land from sea, and so on.

Even at the end of the sixth day, God deliberately left aspects of chaos in the world so that humanity could participate in perfecting creation and become partners in it.

Human Responsibility in Ordering the World

There are many elements of reality that emerge in an unrefined state, and human beings are charged with bringing order — not only in agriculture and the physical world, but even more so in the spiritual realm. One such example is conflict between people. Disputes and disagreements reflect disorder within creation, and it is our responsibility to correct this imbalance. The Torah is the blueprint of the world. Through it, God structured reality and taught us how to continue refining and organizing it in every domain, especially in relationships between people.

A Judge as a Partner in Creation

A judge who rules truthfully becomes a partner with God in Creation. By restoring justice and order, the judge continues the divine act of organizing the world.

The Talmud states: “And it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day — why the extra ‘the’? This teaches that God made a condition with Creation: if Israel accepts the Torah, the world will endure; if not, I will return you to chaos” (Shabbat 88a). The “sixth day” refers to the sixth of Sivan, the day the Torah was given. The Torah is the ongoing force that sustains the order of Creation.

A person who approaches the legal system as merely a social or civic institution may preserve outward order, but such a system lacks connection to the divine structure established by the Creator. It is not a continuation of the cosmic order rooted in Sinai.

The Covenant and “We Will Do and We Will Hear”

The Be’er Moshe of Ozherov sharpens this idea. The Torah describes how Moshe formed a covenant with Israel:

Moshe told the people all the words of God and all the laws. The people answered in unison, “All the words that God has spoken, we will do.” Moshe wrote the words of God, built an altar, erected twelve pillars, offered sacrifices, took half the blood and placed it in basins, and sprinkled half on the altar. He then read the Book of the Covenant aloud, and the people declared, “All that God has spoken, we will do and we will hear.”

Rashi notes that this passage occurred before the giving of the Torah at Sinai.

From “We Will Do” to “We Will Do and We Will Hear”

Before the division of the blood, the people said “we will do.” After the blood was divided — half placed in basins and half sprinkled on the altar, they said “we will do and we will hear.” What changed?

Throughout the Torah, the idea of half appears repeatedly: the half-shekel donation, the ingredients of the anointing oil, the High Priest’s daily offering, and more. The concept of halves expresses partnership.

The division of the blood symbolizes partnership between Israel and God. Blood represents life itself. Half was given to the people and half to the altar, the place that connects heaven and earth. Humanity was created incomplete, and the other half that completes us is the Torah. Without it, the world returns to chaos.

The Deeper Meaning of “Rational” Commandments

Every commandment that appears rational has spiritual roots far beyond the limits of human intellect. When a person observes the laws of the Torah not only because they make sense, but because God commanded them, that person repairs creation and brings it toward its ultimate purpose. As the Talmud teaches, such a person becomes a partner with God in the work of heaven and earth.

Who would not want to be a partner in the work of the Creator? Is there any partnership greater than that?