I’m sure you’ve been there before. You are driving in a car and minding your own business, when all of a sudden you see a cop in your rear-view mirror. Immediately, in a matter of milliseconds, all of your Driver’s Ed knowledge – like every single bit of information about driving safely – comes back to your conscious memory. You slow down and make sure your seat belt is buckled. You grab the steering wheel with both hands. You glance back, hoping and secretly praying that the cop switch lanes and drive away.  

But the cop is still there. Your heart begins to thump. Anxiety and a minor depression settle in. And then you run through a quick mental checklist: 1. Did I just kill someone? No. Phew! 2. Did I just rob a bank? No. So far so good! 3. Do I even have a license? Yes. Woohoo! 4. Is this my car? Umm. Yes! Victory! 

In a fascinating article, Pacific Standard: The Psychological Impact of Driving Among Police Cars, the author discusses this seemingly automatic mental fear that we – as drivers – have when we see a cop driving near us. He explains that the fact that we drive a little slower around cops shows how little we respect them. Our reaction to their presence shows how little we worry about them when they are not around. Yes, in their presence, we are conforming, but only until the cop is out of sight. Then we go back to our “old” ways. If we thought the cops were always around, we’d always drive slowly, always make sure our seat belts were on, and never check our phones.  

Many times, we look through the rear-view mirror of our lives and we mistakenly see Hashem as the Cop lurking to get us, to catch us red handed, to punish us. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. In Judaism, we understand that Hashem is not some scary law-enforcement personnel. He is the Creator of the Universe, and He is our Father, holding us, guiding us, protecting us, and loving us every second of our life’s journey. 

Dovid Hamelech in Tehillim (121:4) writes: ×”Ö´× Ö¼ÖµÖ£×” לֹֽא־יָ֭נוּם וְלֹ֣א יִישָׁ֑ן שׁ֝וֹמֵ֗ר יִשְׂרָאֵֽל – See, the Guardian of the Jews, neither slumbers nor sleeps. The Radak explains that Hashem always watches us, even during the lengthy exile. Even when we sleep, Hashem does not. 

Hashem is always around, always watching us, and always there for us. It is this knowledge of His constant presence that shouldn’t scare us, but should rather comfort us, as well as afford us the incredible opportunity of carrying out His will every single day of our lives.  

Parshas Mishpatim is replete with Man-to-Man commandments. The more we realize that Hashem is watching and a part of our lives, the more we see that our commitment to Man-to-Man commandments are actually the greatest testimony to our belief, faith, and trust in Hashem.  

Have a holy Shabbos!