Educational Insights from Parashat Mishpatim — Every Jew Has a Unique and Designated Role

One of the foundations that every Jew must understand and know already as a child, and certainly as a young adolescent, is this: he has an essential and unique role in the world that no one else can fulfill except him! And if there were another person in creation who could fulfill it, then there would be no place for him in the world.

Every morning we begin our day by saying: “Modeh Ani… rabbah emunatecha,” and seemingly one should have said “rabbah emunati ,” meaning — my faith as a Jew in You, Creator of the world, is great. If so, what is the meaning of “emunatecha” — “Your faith”?

However, our Sages taught us that “emunatecha” means that I must thank the blessed Creator for the trust He placed in me by granting me another day of life, in which I can fulfill my role, my mission, and my purpose in the world. For this reason, a person must understand how important it is for him to recognize his strengths, for only in this way will he truly know which gifts he received from the Creator and through which he can carry out the task placed upon him.

From our parashah we will learn the importance of this matter.

Regarding a Hebrew servant it says: “וְאִם אָמֹר יֹאמַר הָעֶבֶד אָהַבְתִּי אֶת אֲדֹנִי אֶת אִשְׁתִּי וְאֶת בָּנָי לֹא אֵצֵא חָפְשִׁי. וְהִגִּישׁוֹ אֲדֹנָיו אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים וְהִגִּישׁוֹ אֶל הַדֶּלֶת אוֹ אֶל הַמְּזוּזָה וְרָצַע אֲדֹנָיו אֶת אָזְנוֹ בַּמַּרְצֵעַ וַעֲבָדוֹ לְעֹלָם” — “But if the servant shall say, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go free,’ then his master shall bring him to the judges, and he shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.”

Rashi cites there the words of the Midrash:

“And why was the ear singled out to be pierced, rather than any other limb of the body? Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai said: This ear, which heard at Mount Sinai ‘You shall not steal,’ and then went and stole — let it be pierced.”

Many commentators ask: If the Torah views enslavement, or the theft that led to it, so severely, then seemingly the law should require the servant to be pierced already at the beginning of his period of servitude. Why do we wait six years before the piercing? After all, the reason for the piercing is that he went and acquired a master for himself, thereby violating the command “For the children of Israel are servants to Me.” If so, we should pierce him immediately when he is sold, and not wait six years?!

Furthermore, why is his punishment carried out specifically by piercing, and not by striking or the like? And why specifically in his ear, rather than another limb?!

Even in light of the teaching of our Sages cited above, there remains room to wonder: regarding anyone who commits a transgression, we could say, “An ear that heard at Mount Sinai not to do this, and did it, should be pierced.” Why, then, was the servant specifically singled out for this act? For example, one could likewise stand every Jew by the mezuzah and pierce his ear for any transgression: “This ear, which heard at Mount Sinai ‘Do not bear a grudge,’” “Honor your father”… Why, then, is the servant uniquely subject to this piercing?

In order to resolve this, let us begin with a question: what is a “servant”?

The person who is ultimately sold as a servant has undergone a painful process of financial decline, called “one who sells himself,” or moral deterioration, “one sold by the court,” whose peak is the renunciation of the most precious asset a person has — independence!

Afterward, the Torah details the unique laws that make a Hebrew servant a rare case of dependency. “One who acquires a servant,” our Sages teach, “acquires a master for himself.” He becomes a dependent, benefiting from various conditions. When we descend into the details of the laws of the servant, we find that his conditions are extremely favorable. It is doubtful whether many workers in our time have such rights as the Torah grants the Hebrew servant.

In Parashat Behar (Vayikra 25:36), the Torah warns: “לא תעבוד בו עבודת עבד” — “You shall not work him with slave labor.” That is, one may not treat a Hebrew servant in the way one treats a Canaanite slave. One may not impose upon him any task that involves disgrace and humiliation; so Rashi explains there: that he should not carry his master’s garments after him to the bathhouse, nor put on his shoes for him. These tasks involve no physical hardship, but they do contain a certain humiliation, and the Torah forbade imposing them upon the servant. The list of the servant’s rights is long, to the point that the servant’s lodging and food must be identical to those of the master. As our Sages expounded on the verse: “כי טוב לו עמך” — “for it is good for him with you”: with you in food, with you in drink. This is in addition to the master’s obligation to provide sustenance for the servant’s wife and children as well.

The Renunciation of Independence

In light of this, we almost do not understand why the Torah calls this person by the title “servant.” And finally, at the end of six years, he receives the right to go free — without conditions of good behavior.

But here something surprising sometimes happens:

The servant refuses to be released!

In many cases, his situation in his master’s home is incomparably better than what he had before, and he simply prefers the economic stability offered by servitude over the uncertainty that the future holds for him. Therefore he declares: “I will not go free!”

Indeed, we too sometimes feel complete identification with the unfortunate servant, whose fortune improved when he found such a merciful, kindhearted master.

To our great surprise, it turns out that the Torah does not see things this way. In the face of such a declaration from the servant, it exposes him to public disgrace: “And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl.” And the question is so obvious: why?

The Awl as an Allusion to Exile

Tosafot (Kiddushin 22b) cite a Midrash explaining the essence of the piercing:

“The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I decreed upon Israel a servitude of four hundred years, and afterward I skipped over the end for their sake and shortened the servitude; and this one went and enslaved himself — let him be pierced with an instrument whose numerical value is four hundred, namely the ‘martzea,’ the awl.”

As we mentioned above, our Sages explain the reason for this piercing: “This ear, which heard at Mount Sinai ‘You shall not steal’ and stole; this ear, which heard at Mount Sinai ‘For the children of Israel are servants to Me’ and went and acquired a master for itself — let it be pierced.”

When the Instruments of Listening Are Damaged...

When an ordinary person sins, Heaven forbid, or suffers from moral distortion, he is in a bad state — but one that can be repaired. If he is exposed to the appropriate message, he may understand the error in his conduct and improve his ways.

One condition is essential for this: - listening!!!

Hearing and listening penetrate and create reflection, “change,” for even the most influential and effective words will not help someone who does not hear them.

When it comes to a servant, a serious problem arises. Even if he expresses willingness to listen, the words will fall on barren ground. He cannot shape his ways and his conduct, because all roads lead to his master: the master controls his daily schedule, his habits, and even his private life.

At the beginning of the sale, we still hope that this is a temporary matter that will end in six years, when the servant will internalize the mistake he made and turn to a path of repair and service of Hashem.

Slave Labor Entails Casting Off the Yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven

However, at the end of six years it becomes clear that the servant prefers the comfort inherent in servitude — the provision of all his needs together with freedom from decision-making and from responsibility for his fate. This person essentially loses the chance to realize his abilities and repair himself. He may be a decent servant, but he will never again be able to live his life purposefully and properly as it could have been.

This is a person who deserves piercing!!!

And as the Sfat Emet wrote:

“For he thought that he could accept servitude without thereby being severed from the service of the Holy One, blessed be He; but after he came to know the taste of servitude to flesh and blood, through which one casts off the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, he has no right to say ‘I love’ and so on…”

Why does slave labor entail casting off the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Because of the loss of the ability to listen!!! A servant disregards from the outset words directed to him, because he understands — and rightly so — that he is no longer master of his fate and responsible for his way of life. For this terrible renunciation, he is pierced.

The Laws of the Servant Teach About the Service of Hashem

From now on we will certainly understand why the Torah chose to begin specifically with the matter of the sale of a servant. It is a deep and fundamental topic that contains a message and from which the root of all observance of the commandments emerges: the hearing of the ear!!

Not a meaningless hearing of sounds, clicks of the tongue, and syllables, but an essential hearing that includes understanding and internalization, that enables one to grasp and know the essence of life, to know and understand the greatness of a free person who is bound, by his own awareness and will alone, to the blessed Creator, and not, Heaven forbid, to his impulses and inclinations, to false and foreign opinions, and to his personal desires. Like that servant who in his foolishness preferred to lose his personality and nullify his mind and will before his master, a master of flesh and blood. In doing so, he in fact lost his unique and designated role in this world.

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The following story will show us how greatly a role and a sense of meaning can transform a child’s soul:

The Power Within a Role

This concerns a boy who, due to a certain problem, needed to study in an institution in the northern region that suited his needs. However, he adamantly refused. His parents, at a loss, poured out their distress before the Gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zatzal, who asked to speak with the boy.

When the boy arrived, after a brief introductory conversation, the rabbi turned to him warmly with a request: “Could you help me?” Upon hearing this, the boy’s eyes lit up, and the rabbi continued: “By virtue of my role as a halachic decisor, I receive questions from all over the country and from all over the world. Therefore, I need a representative on my behalf in every place to help me with directing the questions and conveying the answers. In the northern region I currently have no representative, and I want to appoint you. As for your studies, do not worry; I checked and found an educational institution where you will be able to stay during this period, until I find someone else….”

Of course, the young man secretly hoped that the rabbi would not find him a replacement…

For two consecutive years he did not agree to return home, claiming that he was the “moreh hora’ah” of the place.

Beyond the wisdom of our master, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, who understood how to speak with the boy in order to reach him according to his capacities and circumstances, there is a tremendous lesson here. When a young person understands that he has a role and purpose in life, he musters tremendous strength to cope and succeed even in very complex matters.

Every Jew has a special imprint and form; this is his role and his purpose. Therefore, he must leave his own imprint, and not use the imprints of others, for someone else’s imprint is counterfeit for him.

In Midrash Rabbah on Megillat Esther, it is told in praise of the greatness of Mordechai the Jew, who stood like Avraham Avinu, alone against the entire world, in order to publicize faith. He is called in the verse: “איש יהודי” — “a Jewish man,” and about this our Sages say: “Do not read ‘Yehudi,’ but ‘Yechidi’ — unique.” (Midrash Rabbah, Megillat Esther, chapter 6).

The essence of every Jew is that he is a unique individual. He has a role that is special only to him, and he also has trials that are special only to him. Last week we read: “לא תחמוד בית רעך, שורו וחמורו וכל אשר לרעך” — “You shall not covet your fellow’s house, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your fellow” (Shemot 20:14). This is the command: do not covet what your friend has, neither materially nor spiritually; you are two different worlds. Each of you has different trials and different tools. Coveting must be far from you.

The Maharal (Netzach Yisrael 11) explains this as follows: The Holy One, blessed be He, calls us: “בני בכורי ישראל” — “My son, My firstborn, Israel”; in a family there is only one firstborn son. This is the degree of closeness of Hashem, blessed be He, toward every Jew. He is considered a firstborn son, an only son. Every Jew is an only son to the Holy One, blessed be He.

May we merit to instill this in our sons and our students...

Rabbi Michael Zechariah

Spiritual director at the Torat David Yeshivah Gedolah and chairman of the Legion of the King organization