Straight from Har Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments, the Torah begins many other laws which were also given at Sinai or just before.
The very first one in Parshas Mishpatim is that of the Eved Ivri, the Jewish slave who was sold into servitude for having stolen and he did not have the wherewithal to repay it.
How often did this come up? Most likely some of the other situations such as an animal that caused damage were more common. Why then would Hashem choose this to be the introductory mitzvah of this parsha?
Mishpatim means “judgments.” Judgment is a dangerous thing because it is difficult to differentiate between the sin and the sinner. Instead of condemning an act, we often condemn the person.
Therefore, the Torah begins with the Jewish slave, who did something wrong. Instead of throwing him in jail and ruining him for life, we take him into our homes and treat him very well. In this way we rehabilitate him.
The very poignant lesson is that the Torah’s judgments are a not a way to identify bad people, but a way to ensure that the good inside people is allowed to shine forth.
