“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Mishpatim
Mevorchim Chodesh Adar
23 Shevat 5785/ February 21, 2025
AND ONE
Anyone who attended Camp Torah Voda’as or Camp Dora Golding when Rabbi Yitzy Erps was the night activity director will likely never forget how he announced the night activity. During supper each weeknight of camp, Rabbi Erps’s voice would boom over the dining room microphone with the longest “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand” you ever heard. At times he would go for a minute or longer. It was his signature introduction. When he finally finished his elongated “And” he would continue, “for tonight’s exciting night activity, we bring you….”
One summer for the alma-mater song during Color War, one of the teams sang the word “aaaaaand” as the only word in an entire stanza. It definitely saved the team from having to figure out other lyrics, but it was quite challenging to sing.
When I was in elementary school, I was taught that you can never begin a sentence with the word “and”. In fact, when a classmate in elementary school began a sentence in an essay with the word “and”, the teacher told him he was suffering from conjunctivitis. It was the teacher’s weak attempt at humor to discourage us from using any conjunction at the beginning of a word, especially “and”.
But over the years I have seen the word “and” at the beginning of sentences by many seasoned writers and authors.
I did some exhausting research on the matter. (My students informed me that a 3–4-minute search on Google is considered an exhausting search). I discovered that it is indeed perfectly acceptable to begin a sentence with “and”.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage begins its entry on “and” with this statement: “Everybody agrees that it’s all right to begin a sentence with and, and nearly everybody admits to having been taught at some past time that the practice was wrong.”
The entry notes that there has been speculation that starting a sentence with “and” is discouraged in order to prevent children from stringing together interminable lists of clauses or sentences. In truth, there are times when it is not a good idea to begin a sentence with and or but. However, for a writer who knows how to use it properly, it is perfectly acceptable.
The eternal Torah surely does not have to adhere to any of our rules of accepted grammar. But it is fascinating how many parshios begin with the conjunctive “and”. What’s more, the three Chumashim after Sefer Bereishis begin with the letter vav, which translates as, “and”. It is a clear indication that the Torah is interconnected, and each Chumash builds and continues where the previous one left off.
One of the most famous “ands” in the Torah, is from the opening letter of parshas Mishpatim. “V’eileh hamishpatim – And these are the laws that you (Moshe) shall place before them (B’nei Yisroel).”
Rashi notes that whenever the Torah begins with the word “eileh – these”, it is instructing about a new topic, not connected to the previous one. However, whenever it says “v’eileh – AND these” it is demonstrating that the topic being discussed has a determinable connection with the previous one.
Parshas Mishpatim begins with a conjunction to demonstrate that it is connected to the previous parsha. The latter half of Parshas Yisro described the Ten Commandments and laws pertaining to the Mizbeiach. Parshas a Mishpatim begins with “And” to symbolize that just as the Ten Commandments and laws of the Mizbeiach were clearly given at Sinai, so were all the laws enumerated in Parshas Mishpatim taught by Moshe Rabbeinu at Sinai.
Parshas Mishpatim details numerous laws, virtually all of which pertain to maintaining order in society and interpersonal laws. Hundreds of pages of Gemara are based on pesukim in Parshas Mishpatim.
That vov at the beginning of Mishpatim symbolizes a very fundamental idea.
President Thomas Jefferson advocated for the separation of church and state. He described it as a vital “wall of separation,” believing that religion was a private matter, and that the government should not interfere with it. That separation has remained the law of the land in America for over two centuries. Religion and belief in G-d (or lack thereof), must remain completely disassociated from societal law.
The Torah does not believe in such a system. The way one behaves in his personal life and the way one conducts himself in his social life including the responsibilities he maintains as a neighbor and a citizen, are all inextricably connected and are all rooted in Torah law.
That faithful Vov reminds us that every facet of our lives is under the one rubric. And one letter in the Torah with a timeless overarching message!
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
Strivinghigher.com