Enayim L'Torah Parshat Mishpatim

Piercing Our Ears

David Silverberg

Of all body parts, the ear was chosen as the location for the sign of an eved nirtza, the servant who has voluntarily chosen to remain with his master. Chazal explain that the servant's ear is pierced because the servant betrays, as it were, the ear which heard at Sinai "for they are my slaves" and chose to serve another man.

Rav Moshe Feinstein (Kol Ram, vol. 2), however, adds a further dimension to the significance of the ear with regard to the eved nirtza. The ear symbolizes obedience and subservience, one's openness and readiness to listen and obey. The pierced right ear represents the servant's having placed himself in a position of absolute submission to an authority figure, where his ear has, in effect, become the most significant organ in his body.

Rav Moshe focuses on this quality of the sense of hearing once again later in the sedrah, with reference to the celebrated declaration of "Na'aseh V'nishma." Rav Moshe suggests that the greatness of this proclamation lies in the second half of the expression, in the Jews' willingness to listen, to keep their ears attentive to the words of the Torah. Bnei Yisrael declared that their "na'aseh," their mode of behavior, will be dictated by "nishma," their willingness to listen to and accept the laws of the Torah unconditionally.

If, indeed, "nishma" in this context implies unwavering subservience to Hashem, then further significance may be found in the order of "na'aseh v'nishma." Recall that Chazal describe how Bnei Yisrael earned special "crowns" for declaring "na'aseh" prior to "nishma." Perhaps Bnei Yisrael proclaimed that even after "na'aseh," after they have established for themselves their routine of behavior as they saw appropriate, they were still prepared to listen. Their ears would always be open and willing to hear more, to learn more, to rethink and fine-tune their understanding of the Torah. They would never become too confident or comfortable with whom they are and thus refuse to explore further. They understood that at every stage of life one must always be listening, ready to hear new ideas, prepared to challenge himself and question his thoughts and behavior.

Just as the eved nirtza lives with his ears pierced, ready to obey his master's command at every moment, so must we, lehavdil, keep our ears open to the D'var Hashem. Very often, we tend to allow "na'aseh" to obstruct the airways of "nishma." We lock ourselves into certain ideas, modes of behavior, darchei halimud, or positions of hashkafa and refuse to explore further. Growth in Torah is a dynamic process. That which one learns today builds upon that which he has learned yesterday, and that which he learns today will be further refined and developed in the days, weeks, and years to come.

We are bidden to recall Matan Torah every day. Each morning we must declare once again, "Na'aseh V'nishma" and reinforce our commitment to continuing the ongoing process of learning and listening. As we open our eyes we must also open our ears, applying ourselves to the perpetual pursuit of perfection in our Avodas Hashem.

There’s a Hole in Your Ear, Dear Liza

Yosef Zahtz

The day finally arrived. Shimon walked over to his dear friend Reuven and said, "Reuven, it’s time to go." Reuven got up and walked over to his wife to say goodbye but she was crying so much, she couldn’t speak. He hugged his two little daughters and began to walk out the door and down the steps. When he reached the bottom of the steps, Reuven had changed his mind. He ran back up the steps, into the house, yelling, "I can’t leave! I must stay with my family!" Amidst tremendous joy, Shimon and Reuven left the house, and walked over to the court. At the door, Shimon called for the judges, and in their presence, he punched a hole in Reuven’s ear with a spike.

Does something strike you as being odd in the above story? (While it may never have occurred, it is entirely possible that similar events did happen.) Why should a master pierce his slave’s ear? Rabban Yochanon ben Zackai (Kiddushin 22b) seems to provide us with an answer. The ear, according to him, is the organ which heard G-d proclaim on Mount Sinai, "Ki Li Bnei Yisrael Avadim" - "Israel is My servant" and shall not become slaves to My own servants. This man, who chose to become a slave and ignore G-d’s command, deserves to have his ear pierced.

Ben Ish Chai points out that the verse quoted wasn’t said on Mount Sinai. Because of this, he understands it as referring to the first of the Ten Commandments, where G-d recalls how he took Israel out of Egyptian slavery. While this may explain why a slave gets his ear pierced, it does not explain why a thief or murderer does NOT get his ear pierced. After all, the same logic should apply, and since these prohibitions were also commanded at Mount Sinai, why should they not receive the same punishment? What is so special about the first commandment?

In the Talmud (Shabbos 105a) the same R’ Yochanon asserts that the first word of the Ten Commandments, "Anochi" is an abbreviation for "Ana Nafshai K'sivis Y'havis" - "I [G-d] gave myself over within scripture." R’ Yochanan understood Sinai as more than a promulgation of legal codes - G-d actually revealed himself within the Torah. Since that moment, when the entire Jewish nation heard Him speak, within each Jew resides an awareness of G-d’s presence. This awareness allows a Jew to harmonize his own aspirations with G-d’s purpose. Since Sinai, each Jew has boasted his own spiritual compass.

In our Gemara, R’ Yochanan continues to expound the centrality of this idea in Jewish life. According to the medrash, the first two commandments, unlike the other eight, were spoken directly by G-d to Israel. With these first words G-d communicated Israel’s purpose and implanted within each Jew an awareness of his mission. R’ Yochanan emphasizes this point with his use of the words "ozen she'shama kolo" - as shama implies internalizing as opposed to merely hearing.

When a slave decides to stay with his master, he shows a complete disregard for a Jew’s mission in life. The Gemara tells of the luxury in which slaves lived. When a slave decides that he prefers a pampered life of materialism in servitude, ignoring his spirituality, he refuses his duty as G-d’s servant. That’s why we pierce his ear. We are trying to drive home to this slave, that while we understand why he doesn’t want to leave his wife and kids, he has nonetheless chosen the wrong lifestyle for a G-d fearing man.

We as religious people, must realize that the lifestyle we choose reflects our own mission. Choosing a life of materialism over spiritualism means ignoring G-d’s word within us.

The Moral Lesson in Paying Less

Pinchas Wechter

In this week’s sedrah we find the notion of Arba'a V'chamisha (21:37) -- if one steals and then slaughters or sells an ox or sheep, he must pay the animal’s owner four or five times its original value. Among the questions raised regarding this concept is its placement in the p'sukim. One might have expected the Torah to first relate the basic laws against theft (i.e. the requirement of kefel – double payment, the liability of a thief who does not take the extra step of sh'chita or m'chira, or who steals something other than an ox or sheep) before mentioning Arba'a V'chamisha.

The Torah Sh'leimah cites the Rambam to answer this question. The Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim explains that the Torah describes Arba'a V'chamisha first because it is a situation common in thefts of animals. The perpetrator of the theft will attempt to ensure that the animal’s original owner will not be able to seek it out. Therefore, the thief will sell or slaughter the animal. Thus, the Torah’s account accords with derech ha'olam - the way of the world.

A different answer lies in the Gemara Baba Kamma (62b), quoted by Rashi on chumash. The Gemara (62b) discusses the rationale behind paying only four times the original amount for a sheep, while for an ox restitution is five times the original amount. The Gemara records a dispute between R’ Yochanan Ben Zakai and R’ Meir. R’ Yochanan is of the opinion that in truth the payment should have been five for both the sheep and ox. But, because the thief had to carry the sheep on his shoulder when he stole it and thus suffer a measure of disgrace, he is forced only to pay four times the amount of the sheep. The ox, on the other hand, caused no embarrassment to the thief. Therefore, the original fine remains. On the other hand, R’ Meir is of the opinion that really both payments should be four times the original value. However, since the ox serves as an integral part of the original owner’s work force, we penalize the thief more, thus compensating for the loss of productive labor.

Based on this Gemara, the Chasam Sofer answers our question regarding the placement of Arba'a V'chamisha. The laws of Arba'a V'chamisha are detailed in the Torah first in order to prevent instances of stealing. R’ Yochanan teaches us that despite the thief’s deplorable efforts to rid himself of the stolen property, we take care to compensate him for any embarrassment he may have suffered, and we charge him only four times the original value. If a thief’s feelings are important to us, how much more so are those of our friends. How could we possibly think of stealing from them? By exhibiting consideration for the thief, the Torah hopes that we will learn to be considerate of others, thus solving the problem of theft before it even begins.

Contents | Archives | Subscribe Now | Editors & Credits | Back Home