Day 13: D’var Torah – Parshat Mishpatim
By Blimi Farkas (Florida Impact Fellow)
This weeks parsha, Parshas Mishpatim is packed with halachos about people who society might be quick to label:
A servant, a poor person, someone who caused harm, someone who was hurt. These labels describe situations, but the Torah is very clear: they do not define the person.
The עֶבֶד עִבְרִי is not treated as “less than.” He is given dignity, limits, rest, and rights. The Torah warms judges, לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפַּט, not to bend justice, not for the rich and not for the poor, because true justice means seeing the person, not the status.
Again and again, the Torah reminds us that a person’s value does not come from their label, their role, or their circumstance. Every human being is created בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹקִים, with inherent worth that cannot be taken away.
That is exactly the message of Beyond the Labels.
In the world of Yachad and JDAIM, words like disability, difference, or support needs are descriptions – not identities. The Torah teaches us to look past the eternal and see the neshama, the whole person, with strengths, challenges, joy, and purpose.
Beyond the Labels reminds us to live the Torah’s vision – to see every person first as a Neshama, created בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹקִים, before any label comes into view.
Good Shabbos!