OU TORAH YU TORAH and NAALEH.COM Bias, Beware! By Shira Smiles

(L"N my zadie Asher Zelig Ben Shmuel whose yortzeit is this Shabbos)

Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein Mishpatim are generally considered social laws that help society run more smoothly. As such, we usually consider them logical, that mankind would have arrived at most of these laws on its own as they began structuring society. But the mishpatim in our Torah are different. Certainly they appear logical, but there is also a spiritual element in each of these laws. Let us examine one of these laws and explore how society and religion, logic and passion overlap to create a system for living that will encompass the various aspects of human existence.