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Why don't we make brachos on interpersonal mitzvos like charity or visiting the sick? The shiur develops the principle that bein adam l'chavero means others have actual rights upon us, not just that they receive our actions. Making a bracha would signal we're acting only for God's sake, violating the person's right to feel genuinely cared for.
Rabbi Zweig begins by addressing several perplexing questions about Parshas Mishpatim: Why do Jewish courts emphasize compromise when the Torah (תורה) provides detailed laws? Why is the supreme court located on the Temple Mount? What distinguishes 'Mishpatim' from regular mitzvos? And why categorize mitzvos as bein adam l'makom versus bein adam l'chavero? The core insight emerges through understanding what bein adam l'chavero truly means. It's not merely that another person happens to be the recipient of our action - even animals can be recipients. Rather, bein adam l'chavero means the other person has actual rights and claims upon us. When we help someone, we owe it both to God and to them personally. This is why we never make brachos on interpersonal mitzvos - doing so would communicate that we're acting solely for God's sake, making us 'tov l'shamayim v'ra l'briyos' (good to Heaven but bad to people).
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Parshas Mishpatim
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Why does the Torah describe Israel camping at Sinai in singular form while using plural verbs for accepting the mitzvos? The key insight reveals that true Jewish unity isn't achieved through shared religious fervor, but through the mundane ability to live peacefully as neighbors without territorial or personal conflicts. This everyday unity, focused outward rather than on personal concerns, was the essential foundation that merited receiving the Torah.
