Introduction

Welcome to this week’s Torah Tea on Parshas Mishpatim. In this session, we review two talks from the Rebbe in Likkutei Sichos, Volume 16—Mishpatim 1 and Mishpatim 2.

The first explores the relationship between faith and logic in serving Hashem. The second examines the laws of the Hebrew slave and what they teach us about freedom, responsibility, and our ultimate servitude to Hashem.

Part I: Faith and Logic — “V’eileh Hamishpatim”

The Torah begins the parsha with the words:

“V’eileh hamishpatim asher tasim lifneihem”
“And these are the laws that you shall place before them.”

Rashi notes that the word “V’eileh” (“And these”) connects what follows to what came before—Matan Torah in Parshas Yitro. Just as the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai, so too these civil laws were given at Sinai.

Three Categories of Mitzvot

The Torah contains three general categories of commandments:

Mishpatim – Logical laws (e.g., not stealing, not causing damage).
Edot – Testimonies (e.g., Shabbat, Pesach, Purim).
Chukim – Statutes beyond logic (e.g., Kashrut, not mixing milk and meat).

At first glance, Mishpatim are rational laws we might have arrived at on our own. Yet even within this parsha, which is titled “Mishpatim,” we find mitzvot that seem to belong to the category of Chukim—such as the prohibition against cooking a kid in its mother’s milk.

Why are non-rational laws included in a section devoted to rational laws?

Naaseh V’Nishma: Beyond Logic

At Sinai, the Jewish people declared:

“Naaseh V’Nishma” — “We will do, and then we will understand.”

This was not a logical statement. Normally, one first understands and then commits. Here, the Jewish people committed before understanding.

The Midrash even describes Hashem holding Mount Sinai over their heads, compelling acceptance. On a deeper level, Chassidus explains that this represents an overwhelming revelation of Divine love. The experience was so powerful that they were drawn into commitment beyond reason.

Yet the Torah does not end with that emotional, transcendent experience. Immediately afterward comes:

“V’eileh hamishpatim.”

The message is clear:

First, build your life on Emunah (faith).
Then, bring that faith into understanding and logic.

Judaism does not demand blind faith alone. Nor does it rely solely on intellect. The ideal path is:

Emunah – unwavering belief.
Understanding – intellectual engagement.
Integration – even the supra-rational mitzvot begin to “make sense” within one’s worldview.

When faith is deeply internalized and studied, even Chukim feel natural. They may remain beyond full explanation, but they are no longer foreign.

As someone once said after beginning to attend shul regularly:
“I still have questions—but it just feels right.”

That is the transformation from external observance to internal connection.

Part II: The Hebrew Slave — Freedom and Servitude

The parsha then begins its civil laws with:

“Ki tikneh eved ivri” — “When you acquire a Hebrew slave…”

A Hebrew slave serves six years and goes free in the seventh.

Two Ways One Becomes a Hebrew Slave

A person becomes impoverished and sells himself.
A thief who cannot repay what he stole is sold by Beit Din to compensate the victim.

Interestingly, at the time of the Exodus, the Jewish people were wealthy and sustained miraculously. This law was not immediately practical. Why, then, does the Torah begin here?

Because this mitzvah teaches a foundational lesson about identity.

The Drilling of the Ear

If the slave chooses to remain after six years, his ear is pierced by the doorpost.

Why the ear?

Because that ear heard at Sinai:

“You shall not steal.”
“For the Jewish people are My servants.”

If someone chooses servitude to another human being over Divine servitude, that ear must be marked.

The message:
We are servants of Hashem alone.

Slavery Then and Now

While we may not have Hebrew slaves today, many of us feel enslaved:

To our jobs
To financial pressure
To obligations
Even to our electronic devices

Six days a week, we run. We chase. We worry.

Then comes Shabbat.

Just as the Hebrew slave goes free in the seventh year, we go free on the seventh day. Shabbat restores perspective. It reminds us that we are not slaves to work, money, or technology—we belong to Hashem.

Shabbat re-centers the week.

A Lesson in Dignity

The Torah requires extraordinary sensitivity toward a Hebrew slave. The Talmud teaches that if the master has only one pillow, the slave receives it.

The Rebbe explains:
If you only have one pillow, you should not be purchasing a slave. The Torah’s laws are not just regulations—they teach moral refinement.

Summary

Parshas Mishpatim teaches that Judaism begins with faith but does not end there. We accept Hashem beyond reason—Naaseh V’Nishma—yet we are commanded to engage our intellect and internalize that faith. When properly integrated, even supra-rational mitzvot feel meaningful and natural.

The laws of the Hebrew slave remind us that we are servants of Hashem alone. Though we may feel enslaved to life’s pressures, Shabbat restores our freedom and dignity. True freedom comes not from independence, but from knowing Whom we serve.