This parsha begins, "Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them." Rashi comments on "which thou shalt set before them," and says (in my words): "Be careful not to just teach and learn this Torah in order to memorize it, but rather make effort to 'understand the reasons of the thing and its explanation.' " So, I have gathered some threads that seem to run through this parsha that I notice especially because they are relevant to a current lesson coming my way. Something many people who love me have noted, including myself, is that I need to not be so hard on myself. Maybe you can relate?
Mishpatim, ordinances. This parsha begins with a lot of laws and some very strict judgement and justice, and then there is a point near midway-through that the laws seem to take on a much more revealed kindness, compassion and love, and these carry on for quite a while. The first pasuk (verse) I noticed that changed in this way was, "And a stranger shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him: for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (22:20)." What I am hearing from this pasuk is kindness, empathy and humility. How? It seems to me that Hashem is saying, "People you meet who are different from you, whose behavior you may not agree with -- please remember to be kind with them, to love them and be gentle and patient with them, and know that you aren't better than them because of where you've grown-to now. Once, you were in their shoes, and I loved you and took care of you and was patient with you and forgave you. Please do the same with these children of Mine too." We are all changing and growing all the time, and there's endless room for all of us to keep growing.
Now, Rashi also points out the connection between the end of the previous parsha, Yitro, and the beginning of our parsha. The last parsha ended with descriptions of Temple offerings at the Altar, and this parsha begins with laws which were decreed in the Sanhedrin. He says that the reason these two are connected is to tell us that the Sanhedrin should be adjacent to the Altar. The hint I see in this is that we must be careful when we judge, using our thoughts (courts), to remember to love, using our hearts (the altar).
There are many places in the Torah where we see this message. One of the most prominent of which is the Shema. In the Shema, we say, "Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad." We learn in our tradition that the name "Hashem" is more representative of G-d's love and kindness and compassion, and that "Elokeinu" is more a representation of G-d's attribute of justice and judgement. So, one of the important things that the Shema reminds us of, is that Hashem, who loves us sooooooooooooooooooo much, is the same One who judges us -- that the hard times that come from that judgement also have their root in G-d's awesome love, which we recognize at sweet, joyous moments like weddings (which we keep having lots of around here). Love involves firmness and justice; justice is a part of love. Hashem is One. So, too, Hashem wants us to learn that when we seek justice, when we judge, it needs to be coming from our hearts, in love.