“And these are the laws which you shall set before them (Exodus 21:1)
The phrase “and these” (ve’eileh) implies that they are a continuation of what is written before. This is to teach us that just as the laws written above (the Ten Commandments) are from Sinai, these too are from Sinai. (Mechilta; Rashi)
Since the majority of laws set forth in the Parshah of Mishpatim are logical laws, the Torah wishes to emphasize that these too are divinely ordained. (Commentaries)”
“The Rabbis disagreed over the meaning of the repetition: one said any mistreatment, even trivial, will trigger God’s anger; another said one is liable only if he/she repeats the offence. Thus we see that the repeated verb can minimize (e.g. “at all”) or it can intensify (“surely”). There are other examples of this in our parasha. Ex. 21:2 entitles the Hebrew slave to go free after six years, but if amor yomar, he says says ‘I love my master…I will not go free’ his ear is pierced and he is a slave for life (Ex 21:5). The rabbis say “he must say so twice.” A one-time remark, whether made casually or in jest, is not enough to commit him to servitude for life. On the other hand “one who strikes a parent mot yumat – shall surely be put to death” (Ex. 21:15).”
The Moral Imperative of the Stranger
“In Parashat Mishpatim, we find the Israelites in the midst of the Revelation at Sinai, experiencing the communal wonder and intensity of their encounter with God. Mishpatim, which means “laws,” dives into the details. The Revelations in Mishpatim are among the words Moses writes down on stone when he and Aaron ascend the mountain. Scholars call these laws the Book of the Covenant or Sefer HaB’rit. It’s the Torah’s first pass at the legal details that govern Jewish living.”
“The laws limiting the rights of a slave owner and expanding the rights of the slave (including the right to emancipation after seven years labor for Hebrew slaves, and automatic release for all slaves during a Jubilee year) are described in the parshat Mishpatim.
One would think that the life of a Jewish slave owner bent on maximizing the economic benefit of slave labor would be greatly impeded by such “humanitarian” restrictions. But in a gloss near the end of his commentary, Jacob Culi reminds us why this would not be the case even if the Jewish slave owner was concerned about halacha. For the laws regulating the relationship between the slave owner and the slave are talui b’aretz, dependent on the steady and complete habitation of Eretz Yisrael by a full complement of Jewish tribes. Lacking this sovereignty, this class of halachot are not binding.”
“This Shabbat begins the cycle of four special Shabbatot which precede Pesah. The first of these, Shabbat Shekalim, deals with the special Jewish half shekel tax which was collected for a variety of needs in the Temple. The special haftarah for this Shabbat records an episode in the Temple where the High Priest and the king worked to insure the proper use of the collected funds. The story related there also has some other twists and turns. The king, Jehoash was raised in the Temple from childhood by the High Priest, Jehoiada, in order to prevent his assassination by the queen mother, Athaliah. Jehoash assumed the kingship at age seven under the ward of the High Priest. His rule was described in the book of Kings this way: “And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days all the while that he was instructed by Jehoiada the High Priest.” (12:3)”