Mishpatim
Reflection by Lior Gross, Or HaLev Teacher
Can we let ourselves be more than one thing?
“This week in parashat Mishpatim, we read about restitution for harm.
וְאִם אָסוֹן יִהְיֶה וְנָתַתָּה נֶפֶשׁ תַּחַת נָפֶשׁ.
`If harm should occur, then you are to give life in place of life.` (Exodus 21:23)
According to the Talmud (Baba Kama), we are not to take this verse literally. And in the tractate of Sanhedrin we learn that every life is a unique universe. So how could you ever substitute one for another?
Instead, in our practice, we can notice the urge for retribution and hold it in one hand, while at the same time letting ourselves be a city of refuge and holding mercy in the other hand. Practice feeling these states in your body, so that when the hot steel of desire for revenge arises, it can be tempered by the cool waters of compassion.
And as we can hold compassion for ourselves, so too may we be generous in our understanding of Torah. What if the nefesh that's referenced in this verse is not just one person’s life for another? Nefesh is known mystically to be the first level of soul, connected to the blood and that which keeps us alive. With that in mind, `give life in place of life` then refers to the inner life of a single soul as a river of many currents: where there is life, where there is soul, give more, let there be more.
This could mean bringing enlivened awareness into the same space as our physical appetites. It could mean overflowing vibrant presence in the same place as desire for personal satisfaction. When we allow all of these valences of nefesh in the fertile soil of our awareness, we can notice the richness that takes root.
This week, may we recognize the multitudes we each contain, and embody the expansiveness to feel them all. Shabbat shalom."