Emma Strauzer
This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim: Exodus 21:1 — 24:18
This week’s Torah portion, Mishpatim, includes the rules that Moses set before the Israelites. For example, we learn about the “eye for an eye” laws, which say that whatever damage you cause to someone else, that damage will be done to you. However, this was not taken literally; you would just have to pay a fine to compensate the person you hurt.
A few other laws that we learn from this portion are don’t kidnap, don’t insult your parents and how to treat your indentured servant. Indentured servants must serve the master for six years and in the seventh year they would go free.
Have you ever thought about what would happen if an Israelite daughter got sold instead of a son? I did, and I found out that if a daughter were to get sold, she would marry the master or his son, and they were never allowed to sell her to someone else. Even if the master didn’t want her as his wife, he would be responsible for setting her free. This was done to protect the women.
The message I see in this is that the Torah was written to help us to step up in life, and that following the Torah’s laws helps us to stay on the right path. Another example of this is when you have to pay a fine to compensate for someone’s injury that you caused. The Torah helps you to fix your mistake in order to learn that your actions have consequences and to try to make it up to the person you harmed.
This importance of following the right path also comes up in this week’s Haftarah. This is the story of King Jehoash and how he led the Israelites down the right path. When Jehoash was a baby, his grandmother, Athaliah, wanted to become queen. She murdered her grandchildren, but a priest named Jehoiada kidnapped Jehoash to save his life. The priest hid Jehoash in a cave for six years, and when Athaliah was impaled during the rebellion, Jehoash became king at just 7 years old. He ruled for 40 years and, with the help of the priest Jehoiada, followed the commands of God. As it says in 2 Kings 12:3: “All his days Jehoash did what was pleasing to God, as the priest Jehoiada instructed him.”
Under the guidance of Jehioada, King Jehoash takes a tax from each man in every family to help rebuild the House of God. With King Jehoash checking in on the repairs, they complete this task, which was difficult but worth it.
Just like King Jehoash had the help of the priest Jehoiada and the Israelites had the guidance of the Torah, God also gave us rules and leaders in order to keep us on the right path in life. So, when a leader comes and tries to help us stay on the right path, we should listen to their advice.
In my life there are a lot of people who show me the right path. My friends show me that true friendship is about trust and putting your whole heart into it. My parents show me that being a sibling comes with challenges, but at the end of the day my siblings and I will always be there for each other, no matter what happens. Finally, my teachers, whether it’s writing an essay or just talking in class, show me that doing the hard work might be challenging but it’s worth it in the end. And so, I hope everyone reading this has people who show them the right way in life, and that you take every opportunity to follow their advice.
Emma Strauzer is a seventh-grade student at Krieger Schechter Day School.
