Sometimes we see God-fearing Jews, who are as strict about light as they are about severity, acting with disdain in matters between one person and another. They will not put a light drink into their mouths that is not exquisitely kosher, but when it comes to the finances or honor of another person, suddenly the strictness and severity disappear.
Some point to such phenomena as proof that the observance of the commandments by these people is nothing but hypocrisy. If they were truly God-fearing, they claim, they would be careful not only to observe the Sabbath, to use leaven on Passover, and to observe the kosher laws of food, but also to be wary of theft, slander, and the whitewashing of a friend.
The mind is twisted.
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This claim is incorrect. Those who are careful about observing Shabbat, kosher, putting on tefillin, and wearing tzitzit do not do so out of lip service. Most of the time, these things come from a true fear of God and a sincere desire to fulfill the will of the Creator of the world. And yet, in matters between one person and another, they do not act as the Torah commands and guides.
The explanation for this phenomenon is quite simple: In matters of Shabbat, kashrut, tefillin and tzitzit, human reason does not try to intervene. And would it be conceivable for a person to argue that it is better to paint the tefillin green? Even if he himself does not like the color black, it is clear to him that when the Torah states that the tefillin should be black, there is no room for his personal opinion and taste in this matter. In these commandments, a person completely nullifies his reason in the face of the Halacha stated in the Shulchan Aruch.
In contrast, in matters between one person and another, even when a person knows that the Torah establishes clear laws, the human mind tries to intervene and find justifications and excuses. The Torah states that it is forbidden to speak slander, but the instinct immediately presents a tract of justifications, that this juicy story is an 'exceptional case.' It is forbidden to cheat in commerce, but the twisted mind will convince you that this is not real cheating, and in general, in the jungle there is a wolf and not an innocent sheep.
The willingness to surrender
This is one explanation for the interesting fact that the first parasha after the Parsha of Yitro, which tells of the Mount Sinai stand, is a mishpat, which deals mostly with matters between man and his fellow man. In this way, the Torah teaches us that we must also observe these commandments with the same strictness and fear of God that we observe the commandments between man and God.
The parasha opens with the words "And these are the judgments which you shall set before them," and Rashi interprets, in the name of Chazal: "What are the first from Sinai - even these from Sinai.".
Even commandments such as the treatment of slaves, compensation for the injured, the punishment of a thief, the duties of a guard, conduct towards a borrower, and more, must be observed with complete disregard for the will of the Creator, and without involving our intellect and logic, since these commandments were also given from Sinai.
In this respect, it is precisely the commandments between man and his fellow man that reflect the degree of a Jew's fear of God and his willingness to devote himself to carrying out the Creator's will. When a Jew manages his financial and social affairs according to God's will, he proves that the divine command is indeed what guides the entire course of his life.
