Mishpatim: Does Justice Care About Our Intentions?

Parshat Mishpatim tells us what should happen if people get hurt because of someone else's actions – fighting, stealing, keeping dangerous animals around the house. In each case, the Torah explains what should happen to the offender, but what's interesting is that the same injury doesn’t always carry the same penalty. Sometimes it depends on the person's intentions: Were they actually planning to cause the harm or not?

In this week's episode, Rabbi Fohrman points out that one of those laws in Mishpatim looks like a clue to something he’s wondered about for a long time: a mysterious unsolved death back in Genesis. So he and Ari Levisohn dig into that case and share the evidence they discover, along with a theory about how it all fits together. Come along as Rabbi Fohrman uses his detective skills to explore a curious case of divine justice.

For a limited time, you can get a free copy of Rabbi David Fohrman’s renowned book The Queen You Thought You Knew when you sign up for an annual Aleph Beta premium subscription.

Interested in hearing the fuller version of Rabbi Fohrman's theory about Rebecca, Jacob, and the blessings? You can find it here.
Subscribe to our new podcast, A Book Like No Other, wherever you get your podcasts. To listen on Spotify click here, to listen on Apple podcast click here, and to listen on Aleph Beta click here.

What did you think of this episode? We’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts, questions, and feedback. Leave us a voice message – just click record, and let your thoughts flow.
Into the Verse is a project of Aleph Beta, a Torah media company dedicated to spreading the joy and love of meaningful Torah learning worldwide. If you’re enjoying this podcast, help support our work by subscribing to Aleph Beta.
For past episodes of Into the Verse, go to our website, alephbeta.org, where a premium subscription gets you access to all of our past episodes and our full library of over 1,000 videos and podcasts on the parsha, holidays, and so much more!
Follow us on your favorite social media.