Mishpatim – Why So Many Rules?

By Rabbi Freedman.

Hollywood will never produce a movie about Parashat Mishpatim. The big screens may feature all of Genesis and the first half of Exodus, as these parts of the Torah pulsate with timeless tales. But all that crashes to a halt with Mishpatim, which introduces laws – lots more laws. Indeed, the rest of the Torah is devoted more to laws than narrative.

Why does Judaism have so many rules anyway?

The best answer I’ve read comes from Rabbi Daniel Gordis’ book Becoming a Jewish Parent. While he is now known primarily as a writer and thinker about Israel, he was first a rabbi writing about Jewish life writ large. Geared for new parents who want to create a vibrant Jewish home, he writes a full chapter about our relationship with Judaism’s rules and Mitzvot.

Gordis writes: “So why the rules? Because ultimately the rules show that we’re serious. If we tell our kids not to hit other kids, but we don’t enforce it, we let them know that we really don’t care. The point is simple: What’s important has rules…The same with our Jewish lives. If we want to create a tradition of everyone being home for a Friday night Shabbat dinner together, then that’s the rule…If we’re serious about standards in Jewish life, then Jewish life has to have rules…It’s the regularity of the practice that makes it serious. And it’s seriousness that will ultimately communicate that we want this to be part of their core selves. Rules create regularity.”

I will add that rules, or Mitzvot, animate values. Just like muscles need to be strengthened by exercise, values need to be activated by habits. Values are determined by actions, not thoughts. For example, if one thinks going to the gym is one of her values but she never actually goes, then she doesn’t really value it. 

The same is true with Tzedakah. The more and/or more frequently one gives Tzedakah, the more she values it. A person who tells herself she’ll give when she feels like it may or may not give. But a family with a rule where the children must give a portion of their allowance to Tzedakah; a family with a rule where one night of Hanukah the children forego their gifts and donate to others instead; a family with a rule where the adults donate 10% of their income to Tzedakah in the Mitzvah of Maaser Kesafim – this family will give charitably, this family will truly value Tzedakah. Habits create values. And rules create habits.

Of course rules are hard. Kids and adults find rules difficult. And parents find enforcing rules challenging. But a firm commitment creates a structure within which values are identifiable and practicable. 

This week we read of the Israelites’ unwavering commitment to the rules of the Torah. They said, “Naase VNishma! – We will surely obey!” (Ex. 24:7). In the end, their commitment did waver, as people are people and are thus fallible. But their embrace of these rules opened them up to a life filled with meaning, traditions, and values. So may it be with us.