We will do and we will hear

(Exodus 24:7)

Shevat 24, 5778/February 9, 2018

It has been a roller-coaster ride for the children of Israel ever since they left Egypt. They have faced extreme hardships, hunger and thirst and the unprovoked ambush by Amalek. These lows have been balanced out by the crossing of the Sea of Reeds, the manna and, of course, the ultimate heights of the Sinai revelation. This week's Torah reading, Mishpatim, takes us on yet another roller-coaster ride, not so much in the material sense, but very much so in the metaphysical or spiritual sense.

Mishpatim is the continuation of the Sinai experience. We are still standing at Mount Sinai and G-d is still communicating the entirety of Torah to Israel. Following the ten commandments and then the eleventh commandment to build an earthen altar, Mishpatim opens with commandments concerning a Hebrew bondsman, a type of indentured servant. The Hebrew bondsman, (eved Ivri, in Hebrew), serves a master for six years and on the seventh he goes free, unless he opts to stay with his master, in which case he remains an eved Ivri for the rest of his life. His oath of loyalty is marked by a ceremony in which "his master shall bring him to the judges, and he shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever." (Exodus 21:6)

The Torah continues to relate an extensive body of mishpatim, (Torah commandments of a civil, societal nature), concluding with a number of commandments concerning the pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. Following this transmission of Torah commandments, we are told that Moshe "took the Book of the Covenant and read it within the hearing of the people, and they said, 'All that HaShem spoke we will do and we will hear.'"(ibid 24:7) At this point, Torah takes a dramatic turn, and Moshe leads the children of Israel in erecting twelve monuments representing each of the twelve tribes, and an altar, upon which offerings are brought. Moshe formalizes the new covenant formed between G-d and Israel by sprinkling blood from the altar upon the children of Israel, and then "Moshe and Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended, and they perceived the G-d of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity." (ibid 24:9-10)

The transmission of Torah is performed first by G-d speaking directly to Israel, and followed by G-d speaking directly to Moshe, who, in turn, repeats G-d's words directly to Israel. Therefore, the receiving of Torah is acquired via the process of hearing. In this light, we are afforded a glimpse into the significance of parashat Mishpatim's opening verses which concern an eved Ivri (Hebrew bondsman) who rejects his own freedom and independence, and eternalizes this choice by having his ear pierced, and Israel's later acquisition of freedom from servitude for all time, by saying out loud, "All that HaShem spoke we will do and we will hear," meaning, we will accept G-d's covenant with a complete and unqualified embrace, and we shall devote ourselves to understanding how to best express G-d's will by performing His commandments. The Hebrew bondsman symbolically deafened himself to the ultimate message of Torah, that of complete freedom by hearing G-d's word, internalizing Torah, and attaching our own will to G-d's will by performing His commandments, ("we will do and we will hear"). Instead, by mutilating his ear, he has attached his will, first and foremost, to that of another human being.

The Torah reading of Mishpatim presents us with both our options, attachment to G-d's will, or attachment to the will of another, before calling on us to make our final decision. The Hebrew bondsman, by choosing to remain forever at the behest of his master no doubt purchases for himself a lifetime of material security. His most basic needs are provided for and his life choices are made for him. It's the choice of the here and now, choosing what we see before us, our material reality and embracing it as our only reality, rejecting the potential of a life lived in attachment to G-d. The Hebrew bondsman has dismissed his inner voice, the gift of free choice granted to Adam in Eden, and has chosen to not hear G-d's first question of Adam, "Where are you?" and instead to have his ear pierced by another.

When Israel proclaimed "we will do and we will hear" they were as one answering G-d's question to Adam with a resounding "we are here with You!"Immediately upon hearing and internalizing G-d's voice, G-d then opens Israel's eyes and reveals before them a vision of His presence, a perception of "the G-d of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity." By truly hearing G-d's voice our eyes have been opened and we see G-d's presence in our world, all around us, in everything we do, even as we eat and drink, as the verse proceeds to tell us. Ironically, by committing ourselves to a life of mutual respect and responsibility toward one another, as described in the civil-oriented commandments of Mishpatim, we ourselves open the door to the overwhelming presence of G-d in our lives. This is the world that the Hebrew bondsman misses out on, but it is our world and our life to,live, if we choose freedom and state "All that HaShem spoke we will do and we will hear!"

-The Temple Institute