Haftorah Beam - Mishpatim

The Torah portion begins with the commandments governing the ethical treatment of slaves.  The Haftorah reading follows up on this theme with a historical account of the people having been directed to release their slaves:

¹⁰ Everyone, officials and people, who had entered into the covenant agreed to set their male and female slaves free and not keep them enslaved any longer; they complied and let them go. ¹¹ But afterward they turned about and brought back the men and women they had set free, and forced them into slavery again. 

Reading this, I can't help but think of the goings-on in Ukraine right now.  If you can read Russian (or use Google Translate), check out this account.  The Ukrainian people have tried time and again to throw off the Russian yoke, and always, the Russian military shows little restraint in crushing these efforts. Ukrainian land was historically the breadbasket of Russia. Setting Ukraine free leads to food shortages in Moscow and St. Petersburg.  Can Ukraine find enough allies to break free for good?