Parshas Mishpatim: Teaching Responsibility Through the Laws of the Hebrew Servant

Rabbi Zweig opens by noting that Rashi (רש"י) emphasizes the word "v'eileh" at the beginning of Parshas Mishpatim, indicating that the social justice laws were given at Sinai just as the Ten Commandments were. The question is profound: why did these specific laws need to be part of the Sinai event itself, when other mitzvos were given throughout the forty years in the desert? The shiur argues that the Sinai experience is not complete with the Ten Commandments alone—the mishpatim are integral to understanding that the Torah (תורה) is not about controlling behavior through terror, but about teaching responsibility. The Torah's first social justice law concerns the eved ivri—the Hebrew servant who is sold for six years after committing theft. This seems an odd choice: it's a law that only applies in the Land of Israel, affects very few people, and appears less important than laws of murder, adultery, or assault that follow later. Moreover, the logical order seems backwards—the Torah discusses the sale of the thief before explaining the laws of theft and restitution that appear thirty verses later.