Summary: Avital Hochstein. Our parashah, as per its name “Mishpatim,” meaning “laws,” is full of statutes, many of which have served as the basis of the Jewish civil law and procedure. Indeed, many laws can trace their origin to our parashah: What happens in a case of murder or in a case of robbery, labor laws, what happens when one person’s property damages someone else, what if the damaged party is a human being, and so on. Not only do we find the laws themselves, but also how to adjudicate them: the role of the court, the role of oaths, the prohibition on accepting bribes, and the demand for truthfulness on all sides.
