Prayer for Being Able to Keep the Interpersonal Torah Laws Meticulously

Parashat Mishpatim

Prayer for Being Able to Keep the Interpersonal Torah Laws Meticulously
 
Hashem thank You for not creating me a maidservant or a slave.
I am grateful to be a free person and I will try no one to deprave.
 
Neither the orphan, the convert, the widow nor the divorced,
will I exploit, make uncomfortable or cause to feel enforced.   
 
Help me show extra sensitivity to these tender souls,
guiding them in the best way to achieve their lofty goals.
 
Hashem, please extend to me Your direct personal protection.
Without another master, I pray to feel an intimate connection.
 
Like the Israelites, I want to say, ‘I will do, and I will hear’
Help me fulfill all of Your mitzvot whether they be hard or dear!
 
I choose to do my very best to keep every Torah law,
and always envision You before me, remaining in awe!
 
Please guide me to keep the mitzvot between people to the dot,
without offending anyone or putting them on the spot!
 
Hashem, help me act correctly and to stay in line,
never taking anything from others that isn’t mine!
 
Whenever borrowing something, don’t let me forget to give it back,
Even if it be only a tiny thing, like the slightest knick-knack!
 
Please let none of my animals become a bother,
causing damage to neighbors or to anyone other!
 
Protect me when I’m sitting at the driver’s seat,
that I won’t hit any person walking in the street! 
 
Help me do my utmost to properly honor my Mama,
making up for all the years when I caused her so much drama.
 
Ignite me with Your holy fire showing me the way,
So, I can experience Your presence every single day!
 
Just as Your Presence dwelled on the mountain through Your holy cloud,
may Your Presence dwell on me, to share with the world clear and loud! 

Based on the Book of Shemot Chapter 21-24: 

ספר שמות פרק כא פסוק ב כִּי תִקְנֶה עֶבֶד עִבְרִי שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים יַעֲבֹד וּבַשְּׁבִעִת יֵצֵא לַחָפְשִׁי חִנָּם:

“Should you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall work [for] six years, and in the seventh [year], he shall go out to freedom without charge” (Shemot 21:2).                  

ספר שמות פרק כא פסוק יב-יג מַכֵּה אִישׁ וָמֵת מוֹת יוּמָת:

(יג) וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא צָדָה וְהָאֱלֹהִים אִנָּה לְיָדוֹ וְשַׂמְתִּי לְךָ מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יָנוּס שָׁמָּה:

“One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. But one who did not stalk [him], but G-d brought [it] about into his hand, I will make a place for you to which he shall flee (Shemot 21:12-13).                          

ספר שמות פרק כא פסוק לו

אוֹ נוֹדַע כִּי שׁוֹר נַגָּח הוּא מִתְּמוֹל שִׁלְשֹׁם וְלֹא יִשְׁמְרֶנּוּ בְּעָלָיו שַׁלֵּם יְשַׁלֵּם שׁוֹר תַּחַת הַשּׁוֹר וְהַמֵּת יִהְיֶה לּוֹ:

“If it was known that it was a [habitually] goring bull since yesterday and the day before yesterday, and its owner does not watch it, he shall surely pay a bull for a bull, and the dead body shall be his” (Shemot 21:36).                            

ספר שמות פרק כב פסוק ח עַל כָּל דְּבַר פֶּשַׁע עַל שׁוֹר עַל חֲמוֹר עַל שֶׂה עַל שַׂלְמָה עַל כָּל אֲבֵדָה אֲשֶׁר יֹאמַר כִּי הוּא זֶה עַד הָאֱלֹהִים יָבֹא דְּבַר שְׁנֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר יַרְשִׁיעֻן אֱלֹהִים יְשַׁלֵּם שְׁנַיִם לְרֵעֵהוּ:

“For any sinful word, for a bull, for a donkey, for a lamb, for a garment, for any lost article, concerning which he will say that this is it, the plea[s] of both parties shall come to the judges, [and] whoever the judges declare guilty shall pay twofold to his neighbor” (Shemot 22:8).                            

ספר שמות פרק כב פסוק כא כָּל אַלְמָנָה וְיָתוֹם לֹא תְעַנּוּן:

“You shall not oppress any widow or orphan” (Shemot 22:21).       

 

ספר שמות פרק כג פסוק ט וְגֵר לֹא תִלְחָץ וְאַתֶּם יְדַעְתֶּם אֶת נֶפֶשׁ הַגֵּר כִּי גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם:

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Shemot 23:9).                                  

ספר שמות פרק כד פסוק ז וַיִּקַּח סֵפֶר הַבְּרִית וַיִּקְרָא בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם וַיֹּאמְרוּ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר הָשֵׁם נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע:

“All that G-d says we will do, and we will hear” (Shemot 24:7).      

ספר שמות פרק כד פסוק יז וּמַרְאֵה כְּבוֹד הָשֵׁם כְּאֵשׁ אֹכֶלֶת בְּרֹאשׁ הָהָר לְעֵינֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:

“Then the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire atop the mountain before the eyes of the children of Israel (Shemot 24:17). 

Today the most common way of communication is what’s app and email. We all know that if the address is missing even just a small dot, the communication no matter how passionate will not reach its destination. 

The reason the section dealing with the civic laws are placed immediately after the mitzvah of erecting the altar. Rashi explains that this is to teach us to place the Court of Jewish laws in the vicinity of the Temple. Thus, the mundane laws of the dots and details of our everyday life embody the most sacred of our relationship with the Divine. Our faithful carrying out of the detailed precepts in our interpersonal relationships is what eventually must lead to the highest expression of enlightened conscious holy relationship with our Divine Creator.