Torah & Tea – Parshas Mishpatim
22nd of Shevat – In Memory of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka
Divine Providence: today’s Torah & Tea is Parshas Mishpatim, and it is also the 22nd day of Shevat — marking the 30th yahrzeit of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the daughter of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe and for over sixty years the wife of the Rebbe.
When do you really see who a person is?
Not in routine.
Not when everything is calm.
You see a person in a time of crisis.
In ordinary times, when life is flowing smoothly, you don’t always see the depth of devotion, the inner strength, the wisdom, or the partnership within a relationship. But in moments of crisis — that’s when character comes through.
The Rebbetzin was a very private person. She never stepped into the spotlight. She avoided recognition. When she needed to call the Rebbe’s office, she would simply say:
“This is Mrs. Schneerson from President Street.”
No titles. No fanfare.
Yet in three major crises in the Rebbe’s leadership, she came through in a decisive and powerful way.
The First Crisis – The Rebbe Becoming Rebbe
After the passing of the Previous Rebbe, the Chassidim turned to the Rebbe to assume leadership. The Rebbe refused. For an entire year he would not accept.
Chabad stood at a crossroads. What would be the future?
It is told that the one who finally prevailed was the Rebbetzin. She argued that the thirty years of mesirus nefesh — total self-sacrifice — of her father could not end there. “It cannot go to waste.”
She insisted.
And she prevailed.
Today we know what that meant for world Jewry. That was crisis number one.
The Second Crisis – The Heart Attack on Simchat Torah
The second crisis was both physical and spiritual.
On Simchat Torah, ten years before the Rebbetzin’s passing (Tashל"ח), during hakafot, the Rebbe suddenly turned white. He was in terrible pain. Doctors later described it as an extremely severe medical episode.
Joy was central to the Rebbe’s life. In Tanya we learn how essential joy is in serving Hashem — and how the deepest joy often comes after confronting pain.
A person who never experiences difficulty doesn’t fully appreciate happiness. But one who struggles and then emerges — the joy is deeper.
The Rebbe carried the pain of the Jewish people. He read their letters, felt their suffering, absorbed their troubles. His Simchat Torah joy was not naïve joy. It was joy that emerged despite the tzoros. That made it powerful.
That night, doctors insisted the Rebbe must go to the hospital. The Rebbe refused. He insisted treatment be brought to 770.
Doctors warned: “You will be responsible for his life.”
The Rebbe at one point lost consciousness. The rabbis and secretaries were torn. Listen to the doctors? Or listen to the Rebbe?
The final decision went to the Rebbetzin.
In a moment of enormous pressure, she said:
“If this is what the Rebbe wants, this is what should be done.”
An ICU was set up in 770. In hindsight, the Rebbe was right. He was granted many more years of leadership.
In crisis, her clarity and strength emerged.
The Third Crisis – The Library Case
The third crisis was spiritual: the court case over the Schneerson Library.
A family member claimed the books were private property. The matter went to secular court. It was a painful ordeal.
During a deposition in her home, the Rebbetzin was asked:
“Do these books belong to your father personally, or to the organization?”
Her answer was brilliant:
“It’s not a question who the books belong to. The question is who my father belonged to. My father and his books belonged to the Chassidim.”
That statement became pivotal. The court ruled in favor of Chabad.
Again — quiet in routine, powerful in crisis.
From the Rebbetzin to Mishpatim
Now let’s turn to the parshah.
The very first law:
“V’eileh hamishpatim… Ki tikneh eved Ivri — When you acquire a Hebrew slave.”
Why begin here?
The Jewish people had just left Egypt — a house of slavery. Why talk about slaves?
There are two ways a Hebrew slave could come about:
-
He stole and cannot repay — Beit Din sells him.
-
He is destitute and sells himself to survive.
Yet at that moment in history, the Jews were wealthy from Egypt. Slavery was not immediately relevant.
So what is the Torah teaching?
How to Treat a Slave
The Torah places enormous restrictions:
-
He serves only six years.
-
In the seventh he goes free.
-
He must be treated like a hired worker.
-
You feed him the same food you eat.
-
You give him the same wine you drink.
-
If there is only one pillow — he gets it.
One rabbi asked: Why should the slave get the pillow?
Answer: If you only have one pillow, don’t buy a slave.
The Torah introduces these laws immediately after leaving Egypt to teach sensitivity. You know what it means to be oppressed. Never degrade another.
Machatzit Hashekel – You Are Only a Half
This Shabbat we also read about the half-shekel.
Why a half?
Because no Jew is complete alone.
When you are the “master,” remember: you are only a half. The other person completes you.
The Tosafot note that the half-shekel atones for the sale of Yosef. Each brother received a small portion — roughly equivalent to a half-shekel.
They thought they could manage without him.
In the end, Yosef saved them.
The descent to Egypt began with brothers thinking they were whole without the other.
The Torah begins Mishpatim with “eved Ivri” — Ivri reminds us of Yosef, called a “na’ar Ivri.” Before Matan Torah we were called Ivrim. It hints to that earlier mistake — thinking we can stand alone.
We cannot.
Modern Slavery
Today we are not sold in markets.
But we are enslaved.
To schedules.
To phones.
To pressure.
To constant distraction.
We say: “I have no time.”
The Torah says:
Six years you work.
In the seventh — you must go free.
If you refuse to go free, the Torah says the ear is pierced with a martzeia.
The word martzeia equals 400 — hinting to the 400 years decreed in Egypt.
If you cannot free yourself even when it is time, you are still an “eved Ivri” — you never left Egypt.
A true “eved Yisrael” does not accept other masters.
The Rebbe’s Advice – Twenty Sacred Minutes
Dr. Ira Weiss, who treated the Rebbe after the heart attack, once shared a personal dilemma. Professionally he was accomplished, but his family life was suffering. He was constantly interrupted by calls.
The Rebbe told him:
“I have a similar challenge. Every day, I sit with my wife for twenty minutes over tea. Those twenty minutes are holy. No phone. No interruptions. Like Shabbat.”
That was the Rebbe’s advice.
Create sacred time.
The Montefiore Story
Sir Moses Montefiore closed his business every Friday at 2 p.m. No matter what.
One Friday, a messenger insisted he read an urgent business letter. He refused. “If it is not pikuach nefesh, I will not read it.”
After Shabbat, the investor embraced him. It had been a test. Others had bet Montefiore would compromise for money.
He won the bet — and gained greater trust.
That is freedom.
Fill the Jar Correctly
A professor once filled a jar with golf balls, then marbles, then sand, then coffee.
The golf balls are the important things — family, Torah, Shabbat.
If you fill your life first with sand — trivialities — there is no room for what matters.
No matter how busy you are, there must always be room for a “cup of coffee.”
The Message
“Ki tikneh eved Ivri.”
Yes, we must work. We must function in the world.
But:
-
Don’t mistreat others.
-
Don’t think you are whole alone.
-
Don’t sell your soul to pressure.
-
Don’t forget to go free.
Every week there must be a Shabbat.
Every day there should be a small Shabbat.
A moment of soul. A moment of family. A moment of Torah.
In the merit of the Rebbetzin — who showed quiet strength and clarity in moments of crisis — may we learn to choose wisely when our moments come.
May Hashem free us from our inner enslavements, allow us to serve Him with purity and joy, and may we merit to be reunited with the Rebbe and Rebbetzins with the coming of Moshiach, במהרה בימינו.