IF I borrowed an IPad and realized that somehow it got damaged while in my possession, am I responsible or not? What about if it ended up getting stolen or lost while in my possession? Would my responsibility change if I was just doing you a favor and looking after it for you while you went to the beach?
How about if I decided to plant a tree next to the sidewalk and left an open hole while I went to get the tree from Home Depot, and then a pedestrian fell and hurt themselves as a result of the hole, what are my responsibilities?
What about if my calm dog attacked and injured another person's pet or the mailman, am I responsible and what do we do with the dog?
Does it matter what we eat and consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or can we just eat whatever we like?
These questions along with dozens of other topics and real life situations are the practical and real life follow up of this week's Torah Portion after last week's reading of the Ten Commandments. This week's portion of Mishpatim contains a wealth of detailed laws that mostly involve laws of justice, workplace ethic, and responsibilities between people in monetary matters and damages. In fact there are at least three full Talmudic tractates that debate, discuss and deal almost exclusively with the application of the laws in this week's portion.
While an IPad or my favorite pet are not mentioned by name, and instead an ox or garments are mentioned, it is the basic law and value that remains timeless in its meaning and eternal in its application.
Immediately after receiving the Torah and experiencing the tremendous revelation of Mount Sinai, the Jews were not given to much time to relish the intense spirituality of the moment. Instead they are immediately taught by Moses, the practical and real life application of all the details that the Ten Commandments and the Mission Statement of the Jewish people is all about. Judaism never was just about prayer, synagogue and the High Holidays, instead Judaism reflects a way of living that in addition to being rooted in a divine plan, represents a way of living that is comprehensive and wholesome. Judaism is about extending our spiritual values and principles far out of the synagogue and realm of spirituality and deep into the gritty details of daily living. In fact, as much as we connect to G-d through prayer and spirituality, to an even greater degree we enhance that connection when we live up to expressing its values in our dealings with our neighbor, in the way we uphold and maintain justice, in safeguarding private property, and in the simple choices of what we will eat for breakfast each day.
Our choice of food and manner of eating, or our taking responsibility when we side swipe a car in a parking lot, are as spiritual if not greater than the greatest prayers on Yom Kippur. This is not to minimize the importance of prayer and spirituality, rather living it in a comprehensive manner is the ultimate purpose and outcome of the prayers and spiritual actions.
To sum it up, Mishpatim, the portion of the week that is full of laws and values, is about taking the loftiest ideas and beliefs of Judaism and incorporating them into living a comprehensive honest, ethical, positive and G-dly lifestyle.