From: JoshHoff@aol.com
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 5:42 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort:parshs Yisro, 5768
On
the Other
Side
By Rabbi Joshua ( uniquely known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
This week's parsha recounts the revelation at Mt. Sinai and the giving
of the Torah to the Jewish people.This section is preceded by an account of
Yisro's visit to Moshe and his advice to him about the judicial system. There
is a dispute in the talmud,discussed at length by the Torah
commentaries,whether Yisro came before the Torah was given at
Mt.Sinai or afterwards. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra discusses the issue at
length,and concludes that Yisro came after the Torah was
given. Why,then, was this section about Yisro written out of its
chronological order? Ibn Ezra explains that the Torah wanted to place
the section about Yisro after the preceding section,in parshas
Beshalach, about the war with Amalek, to contrast the reaction of Amalek
to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, to the reaction of Yisro. While Amalek
reacted to all the miracles that were performed for the Jewish
people by attacking them, Yisro reacted by joining and benefiting
them. Based on this comment, we can, perhaps, say further that we are
thereby given a more balanced perspective of the role of non-Jewish nations in
the world, as an introduction to God's message to the people before
giving them the Torah. As explained by the Seforno, God told the people that
all of the nations of the world are His children, and important to Him, but the
Jewish nation is an 'am segulah,' a treasured nation, with whom He has a
special relationship. Still, the goal of that relationship is to influence
other nations, as well, to recognize God as the Creator and Master of the
universe. Therefore, the story of Yisro precedes this section, and follows the
section on Amalek's attack, to demonstrate that, in contrast to Amalek, it is
possible to influence members of other nations to recognize and accept God as
their Sovereign. I would like to suggest another possible connection between
these two sections of our parsha, based on a verse describing Yisro's reaction
to Moshe's recounting of the events of the exodus to him.
The Torah relates that Moshe told Yisro about all that God had done to
Pharaoh and Egypt for the sake of Yisroel. then, we are told , " Yisro
rejoiced over all the good that God had done for Yisroel..." (Shemos
18:8-9).The word for 'and he rejoiced' is vayichad,' and it is explained
by the Midrash Tanchuma, cited by Rabbi Avrohom Schorr in his work
HaLekach VehaLibuv, as connected to the word 'vayihad.' Rabbi Schorr then
mentions that the Kotzker Rebbe explained that this midrash is similar to a
midrash on Megillas Esther, which explains that when Mordechai is referred to
as "ish yehudi," or, a Jewish man, it should be read as 'ish
yechidi,' or a singular, unique man. While Rabbi Schorr brings two
explanations of this allusion that were given by students of the Kotzker Rebbe,
he offers his own explanation of the connection the Rebbe made between these
verses. Rabbi Schorr suggests that using the term 'ish yechidi' in reference to
Mordechai refers to the fact that Mordechai acted in a unique way, when he
refused to bow down to Haman even though the rest of the Jews in Shushan did
bow down to him. In this way, Mordechai was akin to Avrohom, who, according to
another midrash, was called Ivri, or Hebrew, because he was on one 'eiver,' or
side,of the world, and everyone else was on the other side. Avrohom asserted
his unique individuality among the rest of the people in the world by
recognizing God and attaching himself to Him, while the rest of the world
worshipped idols. Similarly, says Rabbi Schorr, Mordechai would not bow down to
Haman, who wore the image of an idol around his neck, even though everyone else
in Shushan did. So too, continues Rabbi Schorr, did Yisro act as an individual,
separating himself from the other nations and joining Yisroel,after witnessing
the miracles of the redemption and hearing about them from Moshe.
Based on this midrash and Rav Schorr's explanation of it, we can suggest
a further reason for the Torah's placing of the section concerning Yisro before
the section of the revelation and giving of the Torah. Rashi mentions a midrash
which says that the verse "I am the Lord,your God,' which opens the Ten
commandments, is written in the singular because God spoke to each person according
to his capacity to absorb what he would hear. Stated a bit differently, God
spoke to each person in accordance with his own unique personality and
abilities,thus charging each person to develop his own unique relationship with
Him, similar to what Yisro had done. Thus, Yisro's unique act of
accepting God was to serve as an example for the Jewish nation as a
whole, in that each of them needed to develop their own unique relationship
with God, as well, as they would experience it during God's revelation to them
at Mt.Sinai.
We may,perhaps,add to our suggestion the fact that the simple meaning of the
word; 'vayichad' is to rejoice. We have mentioned a number of times that
according to Rav Yosef Albo in his Sefer HaIkkarim, ,a person rejoices when he
acts according to the nature of his soul, and since the nature of the Jewish
soul is to do the mitzvos, it should be the natural reaction of a Jew to
rejoice when doing mitzvos. As an adjunct to Rav Albo's comment,we may add that
this joy should be heightened when a person is able to develop the unique
aspect of his relationship with God, which is implanted in his soul by the
Almighty before he is born. According to Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik,
zt'l, this is the deeper meaning behind the gemara ( Niddah 30b) which
tells us that an angel teaches Torah to a person while still in the mother's
womb. Each person is taught a unique aspect of Torah that only he will be able
to reveal to the world. Rav Aharon Solveichik, zt'l, further taught that the
verse in Bereishis which teaches us that God created man betzalmo-should
be translated, not as 'in His image,' which would imply the corporeality
of God, but as ' in his image,'meaning, in man's own unique image, which he is
charged to actualize during his lifetime.With the giving of the Torah on Mt.
Sinai, this unique aspect was now channeled through the Torah, and we must each
fulfill our unique mission in life through the manner in which we observe the
Torah and its mitzvos. Doing so leads to simcha, as taught by Yisro in the
section which precedes the giving of the Torah.
In last week's message,we mentioned the explanation that the Ramban gave
to Rashi's comment concerning the mitzvos given at Marah. Rashi writes that God
gave the people some mitzvos to occupy themselves with before we they were
actually commanded, so that, when they would be commanded to perform them, they
would do so with joy and alacrity. following our explanation of the
significance of mentioning the episode of Yisro before the giving of the
Torah,we can add that Yiso's example was a further spur for the people to
accept the mitzvos and perform them with joy, just as Yisro joyously
accepted upon himself to become a Jew after hearing of God's display of
greatness and of His kindness to the Jewish people during the process of their
redemption from Egypt.
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