Mishpatim
Exodus 21:1 – 24:18
Immediately following the Ten Commandments, God delivers a comprehensive code of civil and criminal law governing Israelite society. The ordinances cover the treatment of Hebrew servants, personal injury, property damage, lending, justice for the stranger, the widow, and the orphan, as well as the sabbatical year and the three pilgrimage festivals. Moses reads the Book of the Covenant to the people, who declare 'All that Hashem has spoken we will do and we will obey.' The covenant is sealed with a blood ceremony, and Moses ascends the mountain to receive the tablets of stone.
Key figures
- Moses — Transmits the laws to the people, reads the Book of the Covenant, ascends Sinai
- Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders — Accompany Moses partway up the mountain and behold a vision of God
- Joshua — Moses's attendant who accompanies him partway up the mountain
Famous verses
- 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
- 23:2 You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; and you shall not testify in a dispute by inclining toward the majority to pervert justice.
- 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the hearing of the people; and they said: "All that Hashem has spoken will we do, and we will heed."
Haftarah: {'ref': 'Jeremiah 34:8-22, 33:25-26', 'connection': 'Jeremiah rebukes the people for re-enslaving Hebrew servants they had freed, directly violating the laws of Mishpatim regarding the release of slaves.'}
Total gematria: 384,325.