Leadership & Authority

In 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait to solve Iraq's financial problems, the world was outraged. That kind of move was not considered cool anymore. Something had changed in our moral perceptions.

Abraham In Parshat Mishpatim we witness one of the great stylistic features of the Torah, its transition from narrative to law. Until now the book of Exodus has been primarily narrative: the story of the enslavement of the Israelites and their journey to ...

If you strike your slave's eye or tooth, the Torah decrees, the slave goes free. What relavence does this law have in a society that has abandoned the practice of slavery?

What symbolism does this hold?

The first mitzvah in the portion of Mishpatim is that of freeing slaves.

G-d wants us to be free to serve Him, and not to any other entity

If G‑d does not want slavery, if He regards it as an affront to the human condition, why did He not abolish it immediately? Why did He allow it to continue, albeit in a restricted and regulated way?

Of all the laws in the Parshah—and there are many—why begin with the “regressive” topic of slavery?

Yes, there's tension here, and as every good dramatist and massage therapist knows, tension is a good point to play with

The very first law the Torah records after the account of the giving of the Torah is the law of the Jewish bondsman. This is most puzzling for a number of reasons including the fact that the Torah discourages the ‘acquisition’ of servants, and in fact his...