Ecclesiastes teaches us: L’chol z’man, v’eit l’chol chafetz tachat ha-shamayim, everything has its time, and there is a season for every experience under heaven. (Ecc. 3:1)
This week in our portion, Mishpatim, we read the follow-up to the 10 commandments. Although in last week’s portion revelation is described and the first 10 commandments are read, we know that there are another 603 to go. And this week we receive another 53.
As reform Jews, commandments can be occasionally challenging. Many of us don’t see the same kind of obligation to mitzvot (divine commandments) and halacha (rabbinic law) that more traditionally observant Jews do. We tend to see the laws and practices of Judaism as separated into ethical and ritual, rather than obligatory and optional. For us, the ritual often inspires the ethical, but if it comes down to it the ethical takes priority over the ritual.
We see and speak about this practice in many ways. Take for example our insistence on tikkun olam, repairing the broken pieces of our world. Doing acts of service, giving back to our community, advocating for our values, and supporting the vulnerable are meaningful ways that we put our Jewishness into action – even if it means forgoing a worship service. Rituals such as Pesach seders, lifecycle moments, and Torah and Haftarah readings often become inspiration to drive us back into the world with a renewed sense of purpose, rather than standing on their own. We hold the ethical law of pikuach nefesh, saving a life (in body, mind, spirit, or memory), as crucial. And, we view a ritual law such as fasting on Yom Kippur as a personal choice.
It is for this purpose that we have created our own version of reform halacha, which creates ritual practice to inspire ethical behavior. Much of our community around the country uses Parashat Mishpatim, and the command in Exodus 21, as an inspiration for Repro Shabbat. In three verses, the Torah describes a case where two men are fighting and accidently injure a pregnant woman causing her to lose the fetus. The penalties of such an act are monetary only, a distinct difference from a person who ends another’s life, whether on purpose or inadvertently. Here the Torah gives a case study, concluding that a fetus does not have the same legal status as a person, and the rabbis and commentators of our tradition expand stating that life begins at birth, at the first breath, not at conception.
We live in a country where non-Jewish religious interpretations of this case have been folded into state and federal laws. These laws challenge our Jewish ethics and practices. They challenge access to healthcare, physical and mental, for every person and every gender. They challenge our understanding of gender roles and identities. They challenge our ability to repair the brokenness of the world, instead pulling communities further apart. Mishpatim and Repro Shabbat serve as reminders that our work for justice has only just begun.
And…
Mitzvot, Halacha, ritual, and ethics are not one-and-done behaviors or beliefs. They exist and guide us through every day of our lives. While Mishpatim serves as an excellent reminder and motivator, our work for justice—reproductive and otherwise—happens constantly. In fact, sometimes a reminder is best served when it is unexpected and outside of the regular routine. For that reason, we have chosen to observe Repro Shabbat in April, on the Shabbat that leads us into Passover. In the seder, we retell a story that opens with a corrupt political leader, Pharoah, imposing his will on the births and deaths of a powerless minority, the Israelites. Through purposeful leadership, communal effort, and divine support, the Israelites fight against the desolation of Egypt and enter a sacred covenant with God; another great reminder that as individuals and as a community we do indeed have the power to change an oppressive system that dictates if, how, and when, today’s generations create tomorrows.
This Shabbat, we celebrate the things and people that already make us strong. We celebrate the installation of Cantor Lianna Mendelson. We celebrate our community. We celebrate music, art, and creative expression. We celebrate the goodness in our world that draws us closer to one another. (You can even join us for dinner on Friday and trivia on Saturday to feel even closer!)
On Friday, April 11th, we’ll celebrate Repro Shabbat and renew our commitment to reproductive justice in this country and ethical expression through our Jewish rituals.
And every day, every Shabbat, every holiday, every random weekday, we will know that our Torah and the commandments that come from it – guide us in every way. We are taught that for everything there is a time, and we can create seasons for every purpose under heaven. A time for celebration and a time for justice.
Amen.