"Mishpatim — Part IV — Responsibility and Moral Accountability"

4.1 — Free Will and Legal Responsibility

Why liability presumes moral agency

The legal system of Parshas Mishpatim rests on a single, profound assumption about the human being: that he is capable of choice. Every law of liability, punishment, and restitution presumes that a person could have acted differently. Without that assumption, justice would lose its meaning.

The Torah states:

[שמות כ״א:י״ב — “מַכֵּה אִישׁ וָמֵת מוֹת יוּמָת”
“Whoever strikes a man and he dies shall surely be put to death.”]

Yet immediately afterward, the Torah distinguishes:

[שמות כ״א:י״ג — “וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא צָדָה… וְשַׂמְתִּי לְךָ מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יָנוּס שָׁמָּה”
“But one who did not lie in wait… I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.”]

The same outcome—death—produces two entirely different legal consequences. One person is executed; the other is exiled. The difference is intention. This legal distinction reveals a deeper theological truth: the Torah assumes that the human being possesses free will, and therefore bears responsibility for his actions.

Rambam: The Freedom at the Heart of Torah

The Rambam formulates this principle with precision. In Hilchos Teshuvah he writes:

“רְשׁוּת כָּל אָדָם נְתוּנָה לוֹ”
“Permission is granted to every person.”
(Hilchos Teshuvah 5:1)

Every individual has the capacity to choose good or evil. This is not a marginal idea in the Rambam’s system; it is the foundation of the entire Torah.

Without free will:

• Commandments would have no meaning.
• Reward and punishment would be unjust.
• Prophetic rebuke would be incoherent.
• The covenant between Hashem and Israel would collapse.

Torah is addressed to a free human being. The command assumes the possibility of obedience or defiance. Responsibility is therefore built into the very structure of revelation.

Liability as the Legal Expression of Freedom

Parshas Mishpatim does not discuss free will in abstract philosophical terms. Instead, it builds a legal system that assumes it at every turn.

Throughout the parsha, liability follows choice:

• The murderer is punished because he chose violence.
• The negligent owner must pay because he failed to guard his property.
• The thief restores what he stole because he chose to take what was not his.

In each case, the law assumes that the individual could have acted differently. Liability is therefore the legal expression of free will.

The Torah further refines this idea by distinguishing between different forms of wrongdoing:

• Intentional harm.
• Accidental harm.
• Negligent harm.
• Unavoidable harm.

Each category carries a different legal outcome. This precision reflects a deeper worldview: human actions are morally nuanced because human beings possess moral agency. Justice, in the Torah’s vision, is not about punishing outcomes. It is about evaluating decisions.

Intention at the Center of Justice

The laws of murder illustrate this principle most clearly.

Regarding deliberate murder, the Torah commands:

[שמות כ״א:י״ד — “מֵעִם מִזְבְּחִי תִּקָּחֶנּוּ לָמוּת”
“From My altar you shall take him to die.”]

Even the sanctity of the altar does not protect one who has chosen violence.

But the accidental killer is treated differently. He is exiled to a city of refuge rather than executed. The Torah recognizes that although harm occurred, the inner decision was not the same.

This distinction affirms a central principle: intention carries moral weight. The law does not treat human beings as machines producing outcomes. It evaluates the will behind the act.

Society Built on Moral Agency

A society that denies free will cannot sustain justice. If every action is simply the product of forces beyond a person’s control, then punishment becomes cruelty and reward becomes arbitrary.

The Torah rejects such a worldview. It insists that human beings possess dignity precisely because they possess freedom.

This is why the mishpatim follow immediately after the revelation at Sinai. The Aseres HaDibros establish the authority of Hashem. The mishpatim establish the responsibility of man.

Revelation without responsibility produces awe without ethics. Responsibility without revelation produces law without meaning. The Torah binds the two together: a Divine command addressed to a free human being.

Responsibility as the Mark of Human Greatness

Modern thought often treats responsibility as a burden. The Torah treats it as a sign of human dignity.

To be responsible means:

• One’s choices matter.
• One’s actions have consequences.
• One’s life has moral significance.

Animals are not responsible. Machines are not responsible. Only a free moral being can be held accountable.

The laws of Mishpatim therefore do more than regulate society. They define the nature of the human soul. They affirm that man is capable of choice, and therefore worthy of covenant.

A Culture of Accountability

The Torah does not erase responsibility even in cases of accident. The accidental killer must leave his home and live in exile. The negligent owner must pay damages. The thief must restore what he took.

This creates a culture of foresight and restraint. People are trained to think ahead, to guard their property, to measure their actions, and to take responsibility for consequences. Law thus becomes a form of moral education.

For Rambam, this is part of the Torah’s ultimate purpose. The commandments refine human behavior, cultivate rational order, and prepare the soul for higher knowledge of Hashem. Responsibility is therefore not only a social necessity; it is a spiritual path.

Application for Today — Choosing Responsibility in a Culture of Excuse

To live the message of Mishpatim is to accept that our choices matter. The Torah’s system of liability assumes that we are not passive products of circumstance, but moral agents capable of choosing differently. The modern world often explains behavior through pressure, environment, or emotion. The Torah acknowledges these forces, but it never erases responsibility.

A practical translation of this teaching begins with small, deliberate choices:

• Pausing before speech or action, recognizing that every decision carries consequences.
• Accepting responsibility quickly when harm is caused, rather than deflecting blame.
• Guarding one’s property, words, and time as things that affect others.
• Practicing daily teshuvah, even in minor matters, to reinforce the reality of free will.
• Building habits of discipline that train the will toward thoughtful action.

The Torah’s legal system teaches that responsibility is not a burden but a privilege. It means that a person’s choices are real, his actions matter, and his life carries moral weight. A society built on that principle becomes more just, and a person who lives by it becomes more human.

📖 Sources

• Full sources available on the Mitzvah Minute Parshas Mishpatim page under insights and commentaries.