Exodus Cycle Three Mishpatim 21:1 to 24:18

Mishatim

Rabbi Akiva says this of Exodus 21:1…

The teacher must whenever possible explain to the student the reason behind the mitzvoth (Bab. Talmud).

Please note that Rabbi Akiva does not infer many reasons for the (many) mitzvoth, simply one. And it’s this one reason that interests me. It’s so distant it’s hard to reach, so intimate it’s frightening, but stay tuned. It’s landing soon right in our heart. What I mean is we can sense it, feel it, understand it but we can’t hold it in our hand yet. It’s not yet the building. It’s the code. It’s the blue-print. It’s the additional code (Sfas Emes) coming in closer. It’s the potential coming into realization (Sfas Emes). As we read in Tanhuma Mishpatim 1:8 (of line 23:20) the place which I have prepared is the Temple in Jerusalem directly opposite the Temple in Heaven. It’s prepared. We aren’t quite there yet. So, then how do we access it?

The good news is that since it’s a blueprint it’s material. Therefore, technically we can grip onto it. Finally, attaining this grip can help us to be the solid core of Hashem…and therefore the mishpatim…and therefore ourselves in the image of God.

So then, here are some questions we might want to ask. What is this blueprint made of? What do we need to be aware of so we can grip onto something only prepared? How does the blueprint look so we can make sure we’re reaching for the right one?

Well, first, I think we need to be aware that on it there is a very delicate balance of human time as it connects with God-space. Every seven years we let the land lie fallow. Every seven years we let our Hebrew slaves free. There’s a seventh year merge here. What I mean is that a human remains a human and the land remains the land….yet even in material form all returns to God-ownership as a home-coming. It is within the power of every Jew to bring about constant renewal (Sfas Emes).

Next, on our blue-print there are strong warnings against material dependency. There are detailed instructions on slavery and manumission…the freeing of slaves. For after all, what is slavery but the clinging of human to human for material gain? Many of us are slaves in some way. Slaves to our computers, to our houses, to our clothing. After a while, such clinging becomes dangerous, blind. It escalates into the murder of consciousness, the stealing of truth, the dishonoring of our most intimate selves., of each other. Without purification and renewal we forget. We break the covenant. That’s why (scholars have written) Jeremiah’s words on slavery were chosen for this haftorah section. They connect the idea of letting go (of the material) to the covenant. Human rights is the result. So is wholeness. Forgiveness.

Next, on this blue-print we see colors. Red and blue. There’s the red-blood-offering of the covenant as it is sprinkled on us. We offer ourselves in full service to God. We will do and we will obey. We hear the mishpatim…all of Torah… as it is read aloud to us. We pray and offer-up our material selves to God. It’s half the blood of the sacrifice on us…half the total power needed for the full dedication and full renewal. But it is earth-blood, right here in our bodies. It’s what we can do now, give our 613 bones and sinews to the Holy One to reflect the 613 mitzvoth (Sfas Emes)).

Finally, on the blueprint we see ourselves in movement upward. We bring so much to God we physically move up a mountain of transformation. And there we find the clarity and purity of God under His feet. It’s the blue clear center of all vibrational pull. It is at His lower-most point and at our highest. It is the place of connection. This means that He is capable of earth-time and we, as we manifest the full sacrifice, are capable of embodying that blue purity and bringing it to earth.

Sometimes in life we feel there are too many rules. Too many boundaries holding us back. We ignore them to deal with life's problems and then suddenly we are blind sided and we have lost the blueprint. There is a reason for holy rules though and it is called the time of truth, enlightenment. It presents itself on this same blueprint which is there not so we won’t make mistakes but because we do, because we are human. It is there s we can find our way when we are lost. Best to keep it within reach.

So may we have compassion for each other as we grow closer and closer to the mountain of transformation. May we realize that the one reason for the mitzvoth includes the one community as we free each other from our bonds. May we keep working to manifest our potential as we actively and knowingly move from being the light of exquisite reflections to being the actual embodiment of God. May we know to let go and simply see each other in the love of the radiance. May we keep this blue-print within reach.