Overview
of the Weekly Reading: Yitro To
be read on 20 Shvat 5766 (Feb.18)
Torah: Exodus 18:1-20:23; Haftorah: Isaiah 6:1-7:6 (because
of resemblence to vision at Mt. Sinai) Yitro is the 5thReading
out of 11 in Exodus and 17th overall, and 46th out
of 54 in overall length.
Yitro,
Moshe's father-in-law, came with Moshe's wife and sons to join the Jews. Yitro
suggested that Moshe delegate the job of judging to leaders of thousands, hundreds,
fifties and tens. The Jews were given three days to sanctify themselves and a
barrier was built around Mt. Sinai in preparation for G-d's revelation there.
The Ten Commandments were said{1. 'I am the L-rd your G-d who brought you
out of Egypt..." 2. Prohibition to believe in other gods and worship idols
3. Prohibition to takeG-d's name in vain 4. Remember the Shabbat and keep it holy
5. Honor parents 6. Do not murder 7. Do not commit adultery 8. Do not steal 9.
Do not bear false witness 10. Do not envy}. The direct revelation of the first
two was too strong for the Jews, so they asked Moshe to hear the remaining ones
for them. The Jews were also commanded not to make physical representations of
G-d, and to make an earth-filled altar of unhewn stone with an ascension ramp.
FROM
THE MASTERS OF KABBALA (K:1766/Yitro)
From the holy
Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:1566/Bo)
We learned that Moses was puzzled by this [see
Menachot 29a] until the Divine Presence taught him by examining [together with
him] the visages of all those men and selecting them [to be judges and leaders
of thousands, hundreds, fifties etc.]. It was then that Moses learned with wisdom
and delved into it. This is the meaning of [the verse] "...Now see to it
to select from among all the people...." You, and no other, should see to
it - know how to look at 600,000 men [and select those worthy of leadership].
For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site. * * * * * From
the holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed
(A:1766/Yitro)
But [this is true for every soul] in
accordance with its level. There are those [whose souls] are mostly evil and contain
only a little good, and there are those in whom the opposite is the case. There
are many gradations within this spectrum, but "there is no righteous person
on earth that does good and never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20), for everyone
is composed of [both] good and evil, as we have said. For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site. * * * * * From
Rabbi Chaim (ben Moshe) Ibn Atar (O:1766/Yitro)
G-d explained that inasmuch as the very
land of Egypt was a house of bondage, this would not have been appropriate. This
is as read in the verse: "When the Supreme G-d handed out the inheritance
of the various nations, He established boundaries for the peoples in relation
to Israel's numbers" (Deut. 32:8). The Zohar (I:108) comments that G-d handed
out certain places on earth to the guardian angels of the various nations, and
that the only land He did not assign to such guardian angels was the land of Canaan
(Israel). G-d had reserved the land of Canaan for Himself. For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM
THE CHASSIDIC REBBES (V:1766/Yitro) "Opposite
the mountain" [19:2] The Torah was given on a mountain, to teach
that the learning of Torah and going in G-d's ways should give us a certain emotional
elevation. At the same time one has to be careful not to fall prey to arrogance.
That is the meaning of 'opposite the mountain': to be exceedingly careful to oppose
the elevation that can come from Torah learning and knowledge. Sefer
HaMaarim Taf Shin Gimmel [translated from Sichat HaShavuah 214]
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE from
the Chabad Master series, produced by Rabbi
Yosef Marcus for www.ascentofsafed.com
and www.kabbalaonline.org
MOSHIACH
THIS WEEK (M:1666/Beshalach)
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." (Ex. 20:8)
Explains Rashi, the great Torah commentator: Take heed to remember the Sabbath
at all times, so that if you happen to find something special, set it aside for
Shabbat. Likewise, our Sages state that we are not to give special names to the
weekdays, but to refer to them in the context of Shabbat ("first day to Shabbat,
second day to Shabbat," etc.). Thus we are constantly conscious of the upcoming
Shabbat and prepare for it every day. The same applies to the Messianic Era, the
"day that is entirely Shabbat and rest for life everlasting." Throughout
the present "weekday" of exile we must constantly remember and remain
conscious of the "Shabbat day" that is coming, preparing ourselves and
everything around us for the arrival of Moshiach. (Lubavitcher Rebbe)
[Adapted from Discover Moshiach in the Weekly Torah Portion
(by Rabbi Berel Bell and the students of Bais Chaya Mushka Seminary of Montreal),
as published on www.mashiach.org] An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here) (W:1666/Beshalach)
"In the third month after the
departure of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, on this day,
they arrived in the desert of Sinai." (Ex. 20:13) Rashi comments
that the word "this" in the above verse teaches that the Torah should
be new for us each day, as though given to us perpetually. Rabbi Hillel of Paritch
asks how we can do this; he answers using the Rambam's question: "Why did
Moses write the Torah in 3rd person: 'And G-d said to Moses'? Nor does the Torah
say 'And I [G-d] said to Moses'." It appears that neither G-d nor Moses is
relaying the Torah. So who is? In truth, G-d is doing the telling, but
at a level that supercedes any of His names. A name implies a relationship with
someone else. The name "G-d" refers to His relationship with us and
the world. Yet there is a level of G-d, His Essence, that is higher even than
any name. This is the Source of all. It is a level that we know of but cannot
describe. The Torah emanates from this lofty level of G-dliness. For this reason
the Torah was written in 3rd person. From that perspective, the Divine Essence
speaks about a lower divine level called "G-d". When we constantly remind
ourselves that the ultimate source of the Torah is higher than the world, then
it will always be fresh to us. When we are learning Torah or even choosing a teacher
or a school for our children, our real question should be "'Will our children
come out not only knowing Torah, but knowing Who gave it also?" The
Rebbe Rayatz wrote that the giving of the Torah is connected to fire as it says,
"...G-d descended upon it with fire" (Ex. 19:18). This teaches
us that we can and must imbue every aspect of Jewish life with warmth and enthusiasm. Rebbe
Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov explains this verse in a different way: The Hebrew
word for "month" ("chodesh") can also be translated
as "renewal" ("chadash"); the words "land of Egypt"
("Eretz Mitzrayim") can be translated as "narrow land"
("eretz metzarim") and refer to our evil inclination. The word
"day" refers to a positive intellectual orientation as opposed to night,
which is darkness and ignorance. Jews have three means of expressing their connection
to G-d: thought, speech, and most importantly, deed. Now the verse can be read:
"When we 'renew' our 'third' faculty, action, by fulfilling the commandments,
we redeem ourselves out of a personal Egypt which is the Evil Inclination, and
create a positive intellectual attitude to help us arrive at Sinai to receive
the Torah." Just do it! Today, people go on vacations all over the
world. (One family vacationed in a space shuttle, but the mother-in-law complained
the entire time that there was no atmosphere...). In Europe, a chasid customarily
traveled to his Rebbe at holidays for extended periods of time to reinvigorate
and revitalize his connection to Judaism. A famous chasid, RebbeYechiel Meir returned
home after a long Shavuot sojourn in Kotzk at his Rebbe. His father-in-law, who
was not of the Chasidic persuasion, critically asked him, "Did you chasidim
receive the Torah in a different way then all the rest of us Jews?" Rebbe
Yechiel Meir answered, "Of course. I will give you an example: How do you
understand the 8th commandment, 'Do not steal' (Ex. 20:13)?" His father-in-law
answered, "Don't steal from others." Rebbe Yechiel Meir responded that
in Kotzk they explain it: "Do not steal from yourself" - meaning
"Don't fool yourself by imagining you are on a level higher than you really
are". "And G-d came down onto Mt. Sinai." (Ex. 19:20)
The Midrash says that Mt. Sinai was the chosen location for giving the
Torah because it was the smallest of all mountains. The Kotzker Rebbe says that,
in this case, "small" refers to humility and not actual physical stature.
But if being humble is so laudable, why not give the Torah in a valley? Yet a
valley symbolizes someone with no good attributes, and therefore has nothing to
admire or be haughty about. The real challenge is to be a mountain (i.e. have
good characteristics) and despite this remain small (humble). "Remember
the day of Shabbat and sanctify it." (Ex. 20:8) Rashi writes that
"remember" means that when we obtain a special delicacy during the week,
we should save it for Shabbat. The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that every day we
are obligated to remember Shabbat and to begin our Shabbat preparations even from
Sunday. The era of Mashiach is also called "Shabbat", as it says,
"An eternal day that is all Shabbat and rest." Just as we are prepare
for Shabbat from Sunday, so too it is incumbent upon us during these last days
of the exile to constantly remember and prepare for the Redemption. Start preparing
for Mashiach's arrival by increasing good deeds and acts of kindness -
today! Shabbat Shalom
, Shaul P.S. Please also read my weekly Shabbat Law, below.)
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