Shabbos Parashas Mishpatim - 5779
Shabbos Parashas Mishpatim - 5779
Rabbi Hal Miller
You shall not curse elohim and you shall not curse a nasi among your people. [Shemos 22:27]
What does the Torah mean here by elohim and nasi? What is the cursing referred to?
The word elohim can mean judges, gods, or God Himself, depending on context. Onkelos says
that here it means judges, as does Mechilta. Sforno expands it to say that it even applies where
one feels as if he was judged unfairly, explaining that one is not able to judge himself objectively,
so is not qualified to say that the judge was wrong.
Shemos Rabbah and the Gemora in Sanhedrin say that elohim here refers to God, that this is a
command against blasphemy. Rashi combines the two positions: "This is a prohibition against
cursing the Name and a prohibition against cursing a judge."
Numerous commentators define the nasi as one who is raised over "your people", meaning a
prince or a king. They explain that the high standards expected of a king will not necessarily
fall in every individual who inherits the office, where a judge is answerable for error so is expected
to maintain that standard. For this, the Torah says "among your people", to exclude someone
acting in a manner not befitting the children of Israel. Thus there is no prohibition on cursing a
king who violates Torah law, but that does not apply to a curse upon elohim under either
meaning.
Another difference in our verse is the Hebrew word for cursing. In the first clause, the word
used is tikaleil, but in the second clause it is ta'or. Rav Hirsch comes to explain the two words:
"Kalal, curse, is the opposite of Kaveid, weight, the influence and external position one occupies,
to wish that somebody should become 'light', lose his 'weight'. Aror, is related to being lonely,
unfruitful, to wish adversity, to the person. In a judge, it is not so much the person as the position,
the office which stands in one's way, whereas in a nasi it is the superiority in wealth and personal
dignity that is a thorn in one's side. Hence, the curse that is directed to a judge is expressed by
kalala and to a nasi by aror. One is incited by defiance, the other by envy."
We are prohibited from cursing a fellow Jew under nearly all circumstances. Our verse sets up a
small window where it is allowed, when dealing with someone of high stature who is violating
Torah law, but no other. From this we can see that this reason would apply as well to a non-king,
and that any other reason would not be sufficient. Thou Shall Not Curse applies not just to God,
but to our fellow Jew.