Parshat Mishpatim: “Asher Tosim Lifneihem” – Placing the Torah Before Them
This week we begin Parshat Mishpatim. The opening verse reads:
“V’eileh hamishpatim asher tosim lifneihem”
“These are the laws that you shall place before them.”
At first glance, the wording seems unusual. One would have expected the Torah to say asher telamdem—that you should teach them—or asher tagid—that you should tell them. What does it mean to place laws before the people? Laws are taught, not placed.
Rashi explains that Hashem instructed Moshe Rabbeinu not merely to repeat the laws once or twice, but to present them fully—together with explanation, interpretation, and reasoning. “Asher tosim lifneihem” implies arranging the Torah before them like a prepared table. This is why the code of Jewish law is called Shulchan Aruch—a set table. The meal is not served in raw ingredients; it is prepared and ready for understanding and application.
The Torah was not meant to be delivered in fragments. It was to be clarified, organized, and articulated so that it could be internalized.
A Parallel Expression: “Asher Sam Moshe”
A similar phrase appears later:
“V’zos haTorah asher sam Moshe lifnei Bnei Yisrael”
“This is the Torah that Moshe placed before the Children of Israel.”
Again, the wording is striking. It does not say Moshe “taught” the Torah, but that he placed it before them.
This connects directly to our verse. Hashem commanded Moshe to “place” the laws before the people, and Moshe fulfilled that charge by presenting Torah in a complete, explained, and accessible form.
Explaining vs. Not Adding
There is an apparent tension in the Torah’s instructions to Moshe. Before Matan Torah, Hashem tells him:
“Koh tomar l’Beis Yaakov v’sagid l’Bnei Yisrael”
Speak gently to the women; articulate the strict details to the men.
This implies elaboration and explanation.
Yet shortly thereafter the Torah says:
“Eileh hadvarim asher tedaber el Bnei Yisrael”
“These are the words that you shall speak”—with Rashi explaining: do not add and do not subtract.
How can both be true?
The explanation is that there was a general instruction for Moshe to explain, expand, and clarify the mitzvot. However, in those specific verses preceding Matan Torah, he was instructed to transmit the message exactly as given—no additions, no elaboration. The limitation applied only to those particular verses, not to the entire Torah.
Thus, in Mishpatim, “asher tosim lifneihem” returns to the broader mandate: Torah must be explained and articulated, not merely quoted.
The Power of Physical Mitzvot
At Matan Torah, something revolutionary occurred. Before Sinai, the Avot served Hashem through intense spiritual effort. Avraham Avinu reached exalted levels through personal refinement and devotion.
After Sinai, a new power was given: through performing a physical mitzvah, one could draw down the highest Divine light. Putting on tefillin, wearing tzitzit, performing any mitzvah—these simple physical acts now have the capacity to connect to the Infinite.
Why was this not available earlier?
Because the world—and the Jewish people—required refinement. The experience of exile and redemption, particularly the refining process of Egypt, prepared the world to receive Torah in a way that would fuse spirituality with physicality. Once refined, the physical world itself could become a vessel for holiness.
From that point onward, the Divine and the physical were no longer separate realms. A simple physical act could achieve what once required profound spiritual ascent.
What Does It Mean to “Place” the Torah?
When the Torah says Moshe “placed” the Torah before the people, it suggests more than instruction. Moshe infused the Torah with the capacity to transform reality. He did not merely teach concepts; he transmitted the power of Torah to affect the physical world.
Thus, “asher tosim lifneihem” means presenting Torah in a way that enables it to be lived—so that even the most ordinary action can draw down the highest levels of Divine light.
A simple mitzvah is never simple. It carries within it infinite spiritual potential.
Through Torah and mitzvot, the Infinite is drawn into the finite—into this physical world.