A Taste of Torah - Mishpatim

This week's commentary is in honor of Amy, whose birthday Torah portion is Mishpatim, who studied law and advocates for reproductive choice, among doing all sorts of other wonderful things. Happy Birthday, Amy!

“Life for life, eye for, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise” (Exodus 21:23-25). Our Torah portion this week seems to put forward the idea that we can seek vengeance on others in the form in which they have hurt us. The texts seems to indicate that capital punishment, the death penalty, is acceptable. But our sages have realized the harshness with which this would come across. Or, as Martin Luther King, Jr., said it, “The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.” So, what do we make of this law?

Ibn Ezra, the 12th century Spanish commentator indicates that one would have to be ignorant to take these words literally. Instead, he teaches, there is a ransom for each of these categories. “Eye for eye” means that while the one who caused the damage deserves to have his eye gouged out, he is permitted to make a payment to make up for the harm he has caused.

Interestingly, one of the most contentious issues comes out of the words that lead up to this list. Here’s the text in its entirety: “When men fight, and one of them pushes a pregnant woman and a miscarriage results, but no other damage ensues, the one responsible shall be fined… But if other damage ensues, the penalty shall be life for life, etc.” (Exodus 21:22-23). It in this text that Jewish belief about abortion and reproductive choice are based. According to this text as a whole, a miscarriage is a loss of property, while a death (of the man’s wife) as a result of the fight, is a loss of life. Judaism teaches that life begins at birth, not at conception, so if the fight between the two men results in losing the pregnancy, a life has not been lost. From this text develops Jewish law around abortion. Jewish law understands the fetus as part of the mother until it is born. Accordingly, the rabbis understand that there are times when an abortion is necessary in order to save the life of the mother, whose life is more important that the fetus she carries.