Mishpatim (משפטים – Laws / Judgments)
Exodus 21–24 • Jeremiah 34:8–22 (Ashkenazi addition: 33:25–26)
The parashah Mishpatim presents a structured body of civil and social laws that organize justice within Israel. The haftarah from Jeremiah underscores the gravity of abandoning a legal commitment and the spiritual consequences that follow.
Exodus 23:6
(Sefer HaMitzvot, Negative Commandment 273; Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Sanhedrin 20:4; Sefer HaHinukh no. 83)
לֹא־תַטֶּה מִשְׁפַּט אֶבְיֹנְךָ
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor.
In the 2nd century CE, Emperor Hadrian[1] undertook the transformation of Jerusalem into a pagan city and imposed severe restrictions on Jewish religious practice. These measures fueled the Bar Kokhba[2] revolt, whose tragic outcome led to an exceptionally harsh Roman repression. The consequences were profound: the mass exile of Jews and, after 135, the renaming of Judea as Syria Palaestina[3], intended to erase the Jewish identity of the land.
The Sanhedrin[4] then relocated to Usha, in the Galilee. There, the sages reorganized legal[5] and communal life, giving lasting structure to the people’s reconstruction.
Archaeological excavations at Usha, conducted since 2010 by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in collaboration with the University of Haifa, have uncovered a remarkable complex belonging to the 2nd‑century rabbinic center. Archaeologists have exposed residential quarters, craft workshops, and industrial installations. They have also uncovered the remains of a synagogue and study spaces, attesting to an active liturgical and scholarly life. Altogether, these discoveries confirm that Usha was a major communal, legal, spiritual, and social hub.
[1] Hadrian (76–138): Roman emperor whose policy toward the Jews included banning circumcision and several Torah practices, as well as transforming Jerusalem into the pagan colony Aelia Capitolina (c. 130). On the site of the destroyed Temple, he erected a temple dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus, still mentioned in the 4th century. After the revolt of 135, he forbade Jews from entering the city. These measures remained in force until his death in 138, when his successor Antoninus Pius (86–161), known for his moderation, relaxed several of them, notably the ban on circumcision for Jews.
[2] Bar Kokhba: Leader of the Jewish revolt (132–135), regarded by Rabbi Akiva as a potential Messiah. His defeat resulted in immense loss of life and unprecedented repression.
[3] Before 135, the region bore the names Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. After the revolt, Hadrian renamed it Syria Palaestina to erase its Jewish identity. In the Byzantine period, it was divided into Palaestina Prima (Judea and the coast), Secunda (Galilee and the Jordan Valley), and Tertia (the Negev and the southern Transjordan). The Arab period referred to it as Jund Filastīn (jund: a 7th‑century military district), and the Ottoman period as the Sanjak of Jerusalem (sanjak: administrative district). The name Palestine reappeared officially in 1920 with the establishment of the British Mandate.
[4] The sages of the Sanhedrin in Usha: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II (patriarch of the Sanhedrin, overseer of the takkanot of Usha), Rabbi Meir (disciple of Rabbi Akiva, major halakhic authority), Rabbi Yossi ben Halafta (legal authority and historian), Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai (disciple of Rabbi Akiva, major figure of the mystical tradition), Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua (highly respected master of the generation), Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai (leading posek), and the young Rabbi Yehuda haNasi, future redactor of the Mishnah.
[5] The takkanot of Usha—mentioned in the tractates Ketubot, Bava Kamma, and Bava Batra—establish several foundational principles of Jewish civil law: family responsibility, financial equity, property management, and social organization within the community.