Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1- 24:18; 30:11-16
I was speaking with a friend recently who was looking for suggestions of exotic locations that he might go to on vacation. He told me he was seeking a spiritual retreat, a place where he could escape the humdrum of every day life and experience some spiritual and emotional intensity. This sounded fantastic! I, too, began to fantasize of a wonderful escape where I might have that supreme spiritual high. Some other-worldly, intense, holy getaway or even a moment where I might truly experience God’s presence. I began to desire a Moses-at-the-burning-bush moment. Or even a standing-at-the-foot-of-Mt.-Sinai moment. But the more I fantasized, the more I realized that these moments are truly rare, and not really necessary. I think we often think that spiritual moments have to be breathtaking or bordering on overwhelming. When we have one it can be transforming, but we cannot always live on spiritual highs. We need something that sustains us through our day to day life and trials. Thankfully, Judaism gives us that sustenance.
This week’s portion, Mishpatim, is a collection of laws and commandments dealing with our daily lives. We find laws regarding marriage, employment, capital offenses, financial dealings, and diet, among many others. This portion reminds us that we can experience holy and “spiritual” moments every day through our deeds. We can find God in the world by working to make the world a better place than it is now, not only in grand ways but even in the mundane aspects of our lives. Rabbi Brad Artson offers that these laws teach us to look for God not with closed eyes but with hands engaged; not with a mantra, but with involvement. Judaism places great emphasis on the marriage of philosophy and action. When these are combined this is truly where humans and God meet.
It is true that having spiritual highs can keep us invigorated and refreshed. But we cannot always live in those places. As Artson explains, we must transfer an aspect of those peak experiences into the remotest aspects of our daily lives. When we do this we can carry the light of mitzvot, strengthening us and all those we encounter.
Shabbat Shalom,
Cantor Korn
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