In the words of the Etz Chayim commentary, beginning with
this week’s Parasha, “the tone of the Torah changes. Up to this point, it has
been a narrative, with occasional references to laws. . . . Now the emphasis is
reversed. From here on, the Torah will present the rules by which the Isralites
are to live, with occasional narrative breaks.”
This week’s Parasha is mostly a compendium of case laws
regarding how to treat one’s neighbor. There are laws regarding slavery,
damages for injury to self or to property, laws about thievery and kidnaping,
about how we are required to treat those at the margins of society. There are
also ritual laws regarding Festivals and worship. The Parasha concludes with a
fascinating scene in which Moses concludes the covenant between God and the
Israelites, and it ends with Moses heading up the mountain for 40 days.
The Etz Chayim commentary also asserts that these laws
reflect that “Our standards for how we treat others must be based not on
social-utilitarian concerns, the desire for an orderly society, but on the recognition
of the image of God in every person and the presence of God in every
relationship.” How does the God-centered context of the Torah, especially given
last week’s drama at Mount Sinai, and the last chapter of our Parasha, color
how we understand these laws? Do they simply reflect a desire for an orderly
society, or is there something more?
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