JHI Dvar Torah on Parshat Mishpatim

PARSHAT MISHPATIM – REPEATED WRONGDOING

Parshat Mishpatim (23:1) contains the halacha (law of the Torah) that the courts do not accept the testimony of a person who had previously testified falsely before a court.

A first reaction to this halacha would likely be: “This is obvious! What could be more elementary and straightforward? A perjurer who lies to a court will likely repeat the wrongdoing. It is like one who kills while in the act of stealing - he will tend to do it again unless imprisoned.”

A classical Talmudic works that offer reasons behind the commandments of the Torah is the “Sefer Hachinuch” (literally, “The Book of Education”). It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain. When it comes to this halacha in Parshat Mishpatim, the Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah 75) offers a most unusual explanation. “Anyone who was not compassionate to himself and was not compassionate (to himself) about (stopping) his evil deeds will not be compassionate toward others, and it is thus not appropriate to believe him in this matter.” Undoubtedly, lying creates an inclination to lie again. But the Sefer Hachinuch is saying that mainly, it is the lack of compassion to one’s self that predisposes one to repeat the wrongdoing rather than the mere fact of having lied in this very same courtroom setting. This idea requires further explanation.

It is an accepted premise of Torah that man is a battleground between warring internal drives. The G-dly neshama (human soul) calls upon man to always act in an exalted and spiritual manner. Man also has animalistic drives that mitigate on behalf of physical pleasure-seeking. A third component of the human is the Satan that argues on behalf of physical sin, such as the type of eating and sex that is forbidden by the Torah. But the Satan also argues on behalf of non-physical sin, such as slander and apostasy. The exercise of bechira (free choice), which is unique to man, determines which of these inner urges one will follow. Man, however, does not clearly hear these different and warring internal voices. They operate within the subconscious mind where they go unseen.

The Sefer Hachinuch is saying that on a subconscious level, one who lies, first cruelly turned away from the personal and internal call of the neshama to remain honest. It was act of self-destructive cruelty that will likely be repeated.

Let us now examine two hypothetical situations: The first is that of a compulsive gambler who gambles away his every penny and incurs unpayable and ruinous debt. The second already mentioned example is that of the person who kills in order to steal.

Outwardly, it appears that the two cases are very different. In the first example, gambling confers so much pleasure, that the person seems willing to forego the benefits of financial solvency in order to gamble. For him, it is a tradeoff – it is akin to a person who parts with a sum of money in order to buy a pair of shoes. In the second case though, aside from stealing, the criminal committed a separate and distinct act of cruelty – killing the victim.

Based on the Sefer Hachinuch, it would be more correct to say that the two examples are mostly similar. Like the killer, the gambler commits a separate and distinct act of cruelty – in this case to himself. Albeit in the subconscious mind, he heartlessly ignores the call of the sacred neshama to act properly and instead, inflicts damage upon himself by gambling. Like the one who kills someone else, the gambler savages himself internally. This cruelty to self is what enables the wrongdoing of the excessive gambling, and it is what does most to create the likelihood that destructive wrongdoing will be repeated.

The idea of the Sefer Hachinuch is most relevant to the theoretical understanding human psychology – in particular, the psychology of wrongdoing.

This idea also has much practical application. For example, there are people who have a pattern of acting inconsiderately in the workplace, especially toward those lower down on the corporate ladder. Yet, they feel capable of ‘switching tracks’ and acting with gentleness toward their loved ones. They reason that people at work can be treated this way – almost everyone does the same. Loved ones, however, are different.

Based on the Sefer Hachinuch, it is likely that people are not capable of acting very differently while at home. One who speaks crudely or arrogantly toward underlings at work is, in effect, saying, “I will stomp and trample upon the neshama that tells me to always speak civilly to all people. Instead, I will act in an opposite manner.” The Sefer Hachinuch taught that a person who takes the self-destructive step of lying will be most prone to act in a similar destructive way toward others. Accordingly, the person who hurts himself this way at work will be strongly predisposed to hurt all others in a similar fashion.

The only way one can be somewhat assured of speaking lovingly at home is to always abide by the opening lines of the famous ethical letter of the Ramban (1194-1270), “Accustom yourself to speak gently to all people at all times.”


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