If you like “mitzvahs” (commandments), you will love Mishpatim as it contains the most mitzvot of any Torah portion. Every day this week Rabbi David Woznica will share his thoughts on one mitzvah.
He who steals a man—whether he has sold him or is still holding him—shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:16).
The eighth of the Ten Commandments—”you shall not steal”— combined with the clearly defined prohibition above, makes it undeniable that the Torah forbade the forms of slavery that permeated much of the world for centuries.
Many English translations substitute “kidnap” for “steal” in the Exodus verse above. The Hebrew word is gonev which means “steal” (same as in the Ten Commandments). Whether you understand the verse as “steal” or “kidnap,” the Torah is clear.
Also noteworthy is the universality of the commandment. The Hebrew word ish (translated as “man” in the verse) is the general term for person. The person’s religion, race, nationality, or ethnicity is irrelevant. Stealing or kidnapping any person is wrong.
Thousands of years after the Torah, it’s an ideal the world still has yet to learn.
— Rabbi David Woznica