So last week we read the magnificent story of Matan Torah (the giving of the Ten Commandments) at Mount Sinai. We were dazzled by the miraculous appearance of the Shechinah, with fire, lightning, smoke, fog, shofar blasts, and voices. In this week's Parsha, we hit reality, down to earth. We are immediately commanded to establish the court system with its judges, laws, punishments, fees, and death penalties. What can we learn from the fact that this issue of "Mishpatim" (laws) comes right after the revelation at Mount Sinai? Rabbi Natan, Rabbi Nachman of Breslev's devoted student, explains (in Likutei Halakhot, Choshen Mishpat, Hilchot Dayanim, Halakha Daled 1-2,6) something amazing. He explains, in a Hassidic way, that the purpose of the judges is to do exactly what Matan Torah did – making and revealing Torah out of everything in this world. Their mission is to continue the Torah into every aspect and situation of life. How does this occur? Let's imagine two people arguing about a business dispute, or perhaps a real estate lease, or maybe a car (or donkey or bull) accident. In their minds, their whole dispute has nothing to do with the Torah; in fact, it might have been one big bittul Torah (waste of time). But the truth is, that everything in this world comes from the Torah. On the surface, it seems that the whole incident has nothing to do with Hashem. But the truth is that many things in life also depend on the intentions and thoughts behind the actions. Why am I doing business? Why did I want to sign that contract for that new apartment? What did I have in mind when I hired that worker? Here come the Dayanim (judges) of the judicial legal system. Their mission is to uplift everything that happened and show how it all is Torah. Rabbi Natan from Breslev explains that the two sides coming to court did not connect their business to the Torah, and therefore they are "punished." Now they must come to the Dayanim, describe in detail what happened, the whole case, the circumstances, what each side said or did. After hearing all this, the Dayanim need to rule the Din Torah (the Halakhic ruling). By doing so, they are actually revealing, retroactively, the Torah that is inside the business that took place. They are teaching and showing us that everything in this world has Hashem's presence (Elokut), only it needs to be exposed. This is precisely what happened at Mount Sinai. Hashem revealed to us and showed us how central the Torah is in this world. This is the reason the judges are called "Elohim," which means "Masters" or "Lords." This phrase, mentioned three times, teaches us (Sanhedrin 2b) how many judges are required in a Beit Din (court). The laws and the legal system's main purpose is to reveal Hashem's presence (Elokut) in every issue and matter in this world.
