Keeping The Peace

By Rabbi Joshua (peacefully known as The Hoffer) Hoffman z"l

Parshas Mishpatim begins with the words, 've-eileh hamishpatim,' meaning, and these are the laws. Rashi points out that the letter 'vav' – and - indicates a connection to what preceded. In the previous parsha, we are told of the presentation of the Decalogue to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai. The vav is thus telling us that just as the Decalogue was given at Sinai, so too were the Mishpatim, or the civil laws, given at Sinai. Rashi is, however, faced with the problem of the immediately preceding verse, which speaks of the altar, and therefore explains that this sequence comes to teach us that the Sanhedrin, the central Jewish court, must be placed next to the altar. What is the purpose behind this particular law? In a simple sense, we can say that since, according to the Mishnah in Middos, Sanhedrin must judge whether a kohein who serves in the Temple is, in actuality, a kohein, they must be available at the altar in order to render such decisions in their proper time. The Maharal of Prague, however, in his super-commentary to Rashi, Gur Aryeh, offers a more philosophic explanation.
The Maharal explained that just as the implementation of the laws by the Sanhedrin, meaning, the judging of disputes, instills peace between man and his fellow man, thus bringing them closer together, so too does the altar, upon which the korban - the sacrifice - is brought, brings man closer to God, as indicated by the fact that the word korban is related to the word kareiv - to come close. The Maharal's message, on another level, is that if we wish to be close to God, we must insure that we are close to our fellow man. If we do not maintain peaceful relations with our neighbor, who is made in the image of God, we cannot expect to be close to God Himself. On the other hand, if we are truly close to God, we will also be close to our fellow man, who was made in the image of God.

One problem with the Maharal's explanation is that it does not relate to the altar itself, but to the sacrifices that were brought on it. The Netziv, however, in his Ha'Amek Davar to Mishpatim, relates the vav in 'va'eileh' to the actual sacrifices that are brought on the altar, as mentioned in a verse previous to the last one in parshas Yisro. The Torah tells us (Shemos, 20:24), "In every place that I cause My name to be mentioned I will come and bless you," meaning that wherever God permits us to bring sacrifices, He will bless us. This means, says the Netziv, that sacrifices brought on the altar bring blessing. The Netziv cites a number of other places in the Torah that this connection is made as well. The Netziv does not elaborate on the blessing that sacrifices bring, but perhaps we can suggest, in a way somewhat similar to the Maharal, that sacrifices are an expression of love between man and God, as explained at length by Rabbi Menachem Kasher in an appendix to his Torah Shleimah on Vayikra. In bringing a sacrifice, man is saying that his very existence is a gift of God, and that he is willing to sacrifice it if the need arises. A truly loving relationship with God will necessarily transfer over to one's fellow man, as well, and the result will be a blessing. Since the greatest blessing possible is peace, the message of the Maharal and the message of the Netziv are essentially the same.