Pyka Family

Parashat And Sidra Of Yitro

Parashat Yitro is the 17th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading.

A few stops at sidra Yitro:
“When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard all that God had done to Moses and Yisrael…” (Ex 18:1), this is how this unique sidra begins, dedicated by the Torah to this respected and to an educated foreigner who had come of his own accord from far away Midian to visit his son-in-law and he conceived a deep respect and an abiding affection for his ardent ideals. Upon his arrival, he was solemnly granted his seventh name, Yitro, (when until then he already had six names: Reuél, Yeter, Chovav, Chever, Keni, Putiel), all as proof of respect and thanks that was responsible for “shalom bayit” – the organization of Moses’ family life” (midrash).
A careful reader of the sidrot will certainly not miss the surprising discovery that the father-in-law brought his own with him daughter Zipporah – Moses’ wife and his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Exodus 18:5-6), when a few years earlier, in the Sidra Shemot (Exodus 4:20) we can read that at the instruction of the Almighty, given from the burning bush (Exodus 3:4-5), Moses returned with his wife and two sons back to Egypt – and how did she end up with her parents again with her children? In this way, the Torah indirectly reveals the family difficulties that our great teacher experienced when he defended his marriage to Zipporah, the daughter of a Midianite priest, against his frequent outbursts bickering sisters Miriam.
No wonder, éyn pele – says the midrash, that in protest against the unsustainable situation in the family, Tipora secretly returned with the children to their parents – to the daughters of the Hanashim – as young women sometimes do when they are not happily married.
Therefore, she is now returning to her husband along with her father, that is, permanently, the second time. That the disputes and quarrels in the family between the siblings and Moses did not stop even after that, the Torah tells us reveals several years later when the Almighty punishes Miriam and chastises Aharon for their sake wrong speech about Moses: “And Miriam and Aharon spoke against Moses because of the woman the Cushite (Midian woman) whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman” (Numbers 12:1 et seq.). When Miriam falls ill as a punishment, she is healed again only at the personal intercession of Moses, and it seems that the disputes were hereby definitively settled. But these events are at the time of Yitro’s visit in the tents of the Israelites under the Holy Mountain – still far ahead of us. This time the dispute was settled and Yitro was richly rewarded for his peacemaking when the Torah granted him eternal life (olam habá) in a separate sidra and in it the first three important aliyot (Cohen, Levi and Yisroel, Exodus 18:1-18:27), when his visit ends. The Mechilta comments this way: The morning came like a Midianite kohen, he joins the family of Moshe and Aharon and becomes a Levite, but returns home as Yisroel when recognized the Almighty as the One G-d above Heaven and Earth. Sidra Yitro enables us to get to know different perspectives on life and ways of peacefully solving its problems.
The Midianite priest Yethro, raised in polytheism, and Moses, adamant in his belief in the One
they meet near the Holy Mountain, where before long they will be to the Israelites and all mankind gifted by preaching the best moral rules, directing the life of people on earth. The exchange of views between the two great men is conducted in the spirit of the most sincere peacefulness.
Their goal is to get to know each other and improve their characters, while willingly exchanging important experience in the field of philosophical thinking and organized mass management. Our great teacher Moses does not hesitate to admit that in many matters, especially in matters concerning the forms of contact with people and the way it is managed – is his opponent Yitro completely right,
and this fact he publicly, in front of his entire nation, confirms and accepts as his own:
“And Moses obeyed the voice of his father-in-law and did everything he said (Exodus 18:24)”.
Moses’s father-in-law Yitro also attests to the same beautiful character trait of his nature, when after long and persuasive debates about the meaning of life and the meaning of religious belief and faith in the One G-d, he publicly renounces his delusional considerations of legitimacy polytheism, declares:
“Now I know that the Hashem is mightier than all the gods, for what they have done has overtaken them others, (Exodus 18:11), and further:
“And Yitro, father-in-law of Moses, took the sheep and offered to G-d a whole-offering and a meal-offering, and Aharon came and
all the elders of Israel to eat with Moses’ father-in-law before G-d (Exodus 18:12)”. The high bilateral culture of the dialogue between Moses and Yitro is evident from each of them of their Questions and Answers. Both the Midrash and Rashi summarize it as follows:
Yitro reconciles the threatened marriage – thus he won the respect of the Torah and the love of the Yisraelites, when we are
it is known that one of the most serious concerns of the Almighty is the arrangement of marriage unions.
Yitro is rightly proud of the title of being Moses’ father-in-law, and the Torah respects it and at every
occasion, when he is named in the Torah, it confirms the evidence that the Midianite proselyte values just as sincerely as he is proud of his kinship with Moses, the servant of G-d.
At first Yitro listens carefully to everything (Vayishma Yitro), ponders everything he sees and hears (vayikach Yitro), examines and examines the relationships of people with each other (vayaar Yitro) so that only after the mature he also expressed his opinion when he advised Moses:
“Ata techze – You choose good people” and then: “Shemá bekoli” – obey my advice, son-in-law, and
you will make life easier for yourself and your people, transfer part of the burden of government to reliable superiors and inferiors
commander – and leave the decisions to yourself in matters of fundamental importance and matters of moral education nation.
With this, Yitro, Moses’s father-in-law from Midian, greatly contributed to the improvement of our statesmanship and great teacher – and Judaism remains forever indebted to him.
“Má godló went Moshe rabénu u-má kocho went Yitro? – in what lies the greatness of the spirit of Moshe rabénu and in what is the power of Yitro?” – asks the midrash and Rashi comments:
The moshe for kahal adat Yeshurun represents “rochniyut yahdut” the moral force of philosophy of Judaism, whereas Jitro, who for most of his life was bound by material bonds (gashmiyut ha-chayim), he will not free himself from these influences so soon, even if he accepted Moses’s teachings as his own in his old age. The former Midianite priest returns home only a short time before the sounds of the shofar and growling
the roar of thunder and lightning will sound the mighty proclamation of the TEN COMMANDMENTS (Aseret
hadibrot) from the Holy Mountain – because Moses the rabbi already knew ethics, which only in the distant past the future will be enacted by the Sanhedrin:
“Before the proselyte, even to the tenth generation of his family, do not despise his former divinity either the ideas by which he lived, so that you would not cause shame or pain (tr. Sanhedrin 94)”.
That is why the Torah and Moses say goodbye with Yitro “before” the Ten Commandments, which we read about in the sidra in the chapter (Exodus 20:1-23) so that the face of a friend, a great worshiper of the Torah, would not “whiten” at them. And the man Moses, very modest, more than all the people who are on earth (Numbers 12:3) from us, his children and pupils – he deserves to dedicate a little to his bright memory on that day lights, a silent Kaddish and a warm memory.

Chassidic Parashat:

Receiving The Torah

Refining the quality of kindness.
“And they journeyed from Refidim and came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped there. And Yisrael camped there facing the mountain. And Moshe
ascended to Heaven and G-d called to him from the mountain saying, “Thus shall you say to the House of Jacob and speak to B’nai Yisrael.’” (Shemos 19:2)
The word camped is expressed in its singular form as opposed to the expected plural form, even though it refers to the whole Nation. Rashi says that this demonstrates that when B’nai Yisrael came to receive the Torah, they were a united people, of like heart and mind, sharing one goal and united in one experience. The very next verse tells us that Moshe Rabbenu was to ascend the
mountain to prepare himself for receiving the Torah and to hear instructions from Hashem.
The 15th century Italian commentator, R’ Ovadiah Seporno, says here, “This teaches us that Yisrael set themselves to the task of preparing the camp, and Moses ascended to prepare himself for his approaching prophecy.”
HaRav Chayim Shmuelevitz, zt”l, the former Rosh Yeshiva of the illustrious Mir Yeshiva of Poland and later Jerusalem, pointed out the apparent contradiction of
the Seporno’s comments. How is it possible to describe the activities of Moshe Rabbenu and the rest of the people in one breath?! Moshe is preparing for the world’s greatest revelation, and the people are digging latrines and pounding in tent pegs!
He answers that when B’nai Yisroel pitched camp, each member was concerned not with his own spot, rather he took the time to worry about his neighbor; was his camp in order, did he need some help. By performing Chesed (acts of kindness) with one another, they showed that they were indeed a nation that was fitting to receive the Torah; the Torah whose central mitzvah is “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself”. Therefore Moshe’s going up was facilitated by the nation’s pitching camp.
A similar idea is expressed by the Yalkut Me’am Lo’ez. it quotes a Midrash which states that the most distressing aspect of the enslavement in Egypt was the
consequence of the oppressive work; they didn’t have enough physical nor emotional strength to do Kindness (chesed), for one another. Now that they finally had the opportunity, they immediately started to do Chesed again. Each one made sure that his neighbor had a good place to camp and that all of his needs were taken care of. They demonstrated that their true nature was consonant with the ways of the Torah. That being the case, Moshe Rabbenu was able to ascend the mountain to bring the Torah, Hashem’s greatest gift to B’nai Yisroel. May we always be a nation engaged in Chesed, and thereby each and every day receive the Torah anew.

In The Service Of Hashem

In Parashat Yitro, in the Ten Commandments, (Exodus 20:2), the first commandment states, “I am the Hashem your G-d who took you out of the Land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.”
Rashi, citing a Midrash, asks a question. “From the house of slavery”, does this mean from the house of slavery (Pharaoh’s household), or does this mean from the house of slaves (the households of the Egyptian citizens who were in fact themselves slaves to Pharaoh)? (see Genesis 47:19-23) The Midrash answers with a proof-text. “And he will redeem you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the King of Egypt.” (Devarim 7:8)
From this we learn that Pharaoh enslaved all the Israelites for his own purposes. Therefore they were slaves to Pharaoh and only Pharaoh. Slavery is a degrading and humiliating condition regardless of the master. Why
should it matter if the Israelites were slaves to Pharaoh or to his subjects who were slaves to him?
There is a principle; “Malchusa d’ara k’aiyn malchusa d’rekia.” The earthly Kingdom resembles the heavenly one. (Talmud Brachos 58a, Zohar 1,157a). The
same systems which Hashem uses to operate the heavenly Kingdom are also operating in our world.
This is the underlying idea of the blessing one makes upon seeing an earthly king.
“Blessed are You G-d, King of the world, who has conferred of his honor on a common man”. The honor that comes to a flesh and blood king is only because he
somehow resembles the King of Kings. The Maharal of Prague (my 22nd great grandfather) explains that this is a positive state of affairs since the resemblance between the upper and lower Kingships points clearly to hand of Hashem at work. Hashem’s providence is displayed by Klal Yisrael being under the dominion of a king.
In Tractate Megillah (14a), it states, “Greater was the removal of the ring (that King Achashveros gave to Haman [Esther 3:10]) than the rebuke that 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses gave to Yisrael.” Said the Maharal, when power shifted from the hand of the King to a dictator, it spelled only calamity for Yisrael.
(Nevertheless, in this case it was the cause for a great arousal of Teshuva which in turn insured the salvation of Yisrael.)
Reb Aharon, the previous Belzer Rebbe (1880-1957) pointed out two examples of the transfer of power from monarchy to a dictatorship in our own times. The results of such transfers are all too infamous. With the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm and the collapse of the Hohenzollern Monarchy in 1918, the German
Empire came to an end. It was replaced by several attempts at democracy and ended with rise of the Nazi Party and its Chancellor Hitler (yemach shemo). In Russia after the revolution, Nicholas II signed his abdication on March 2, 1917. His brother Mikhail, who was supposed to take his place, never got to establish his reign. The Communists came into power and effectively squashed the Jewish religion in Russia.
Being slaves to the King is an entirely different condition than being slaves to common people. When Rashi tells us that B’nai Yisrael were slaves to Pharaoh
and not to his subjects, he is telling us that despite the tortuous labor which broke their bodies and souls, it was for a purpose, the purpose of preparing them
for the Torah. Through it all, Hashem was present, for being slaves to a King represents the presence of Hashem. When Yisrael is under the dominion of a
King, it is a sign of Divine Providence at work.

The One And Only

When B’nai Yisrael received the Torah on Shavuos at Mt. Sinai they received not only the Ten Commandments, but the Written Torah and the Oral Torah as well.
Not only that, but the Jerusalem Talmud tells us (Tractate Peah 2:4) that even the novellea (chiddushim) which any reputable scholar might pose in the future, were revealed on that day.
The Holy Zohar (Parshas Yisro 93b) says that this is true since the entire Torah is manifest in the Ten Commandments. Likewise, the Holy Zohar states (Parshas
Yisro 85b), that all the Ten Commandments are manifest in the first word – “Anochi”. (I, referring to Hashem), and “Anochi”, in its first letter – à “alef” (Zohar Parshas Achrei Mos 73b). “Alef” in Hebrew numerology is “1” (one), and one
stands for Emunah, faith.
This is the meaning of the Talmud in Tractate Makkos 24a, “And along came the prophet Habakkuk and distilled all the Mitzvos down to one, as it is written. ‘And the Tzaddik lives by his faith’” (Habakkuk 2:4)
Therefore, concludes R’ Avraham Yaacov of Sadigora, in his work Abir Yaacov (p.154), receiving the Torah is totally dependent on Faith!
It used to be that the Ten Commandments were recited every day. Then, with the rise of Jewish heresy in the time of the Talmud, the saying of the Ten
Commandments was banned in public lest heretics claim that there is no Torah beside these commandments. The Arizal of Sfas concluded that if one wants to recite them, he may, but only after the conclusion of the morning prayers.
Nevertheless, it is brought in the Jerusalem Talmud (the end of the 1st Chapter of Brochos) that we find the Ten Commandments hinted at in the recitation of the
Shema. It is a powerful kavannah (intention) to have in mind when saying the Shema. Sosiddurim (prayerbooks) have already marked these places. You may want to annotate your own Siddur.
The 10 Commandments
(1) I am G-d, your L-rd.
(2) You shall not have any other Gods before me.
(3) You shall not take the name of G-d in vain, (One who truly loves his King will not use his name recklessly or for false oaths.)
(4) You shall not covet. (Since it is written your house and not your neighbor’s house.)
(5) Do not steal. (As it is written, gather in your produce and not the produce of your neighbor.)
(6) Do not kill. (The one who kills will eventually receive a like punishment.)
(7) Honor your mother and your father. (The Torah reveals that the reward for honoring ones parents is long life.)
(8) Do not commit adultery. (This verse refers to immorality.)
(9) Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy. (Remembrance is the connection Also the Sabbath is equal to all the other mitzvos.)
(10) Don’t bear false witness.

The Shema
Listen, Israel, (1)G-d is our L-rd, (2)G-d is One.
(3)You shall love G-d your L-rd with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I am commanding you today shall remain on your heart. You shall teach them to your children and speak of them when you are
at home, when traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be a reminder between your eyes. (4)And you shall write them on [parchments affixed to] the doorposts of your houses and your gates. And if you are careful to heed my commandments, which I am prescribing to you
today, to love G-d your L-rd and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, [then G-d has made this promise]: “I will grant rains in your land at the proper time the early rain and the late rain (5)and you will gather in your grain, your wine and your oil. And I will grant forage in your fields for your animals, and
you will eat and be satisfied.” Be careful that your heart not be tempted; that you not go astray and worship other Gods and bow down to them. G-d’s anger will
then be flare up against you and He close up the heavens so that there will be no rain, and the earth will not yield its produce, (6)and you will quickly vanish from the good land that G-d is giving you. Therefore, place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul and bind them for a sign on your arm, and let them be a reminder between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children to speak of them, when you are at home, when traveling on the road, when you lie down and when you get up. And you shall write them on [parchments affixed to] the doorposts of your houses and
gates – (7)so that your days and the days of your children may be prolonged on the Land which G-d swore to your ancestors, to give to them, for as long as the heavens are above the earth.
And G-d spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to B’nai Yisrael and tell them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments for all generations, and to include a thread of sky-blue wool on the fringe of each corner. These shall be your tzitzis, and you shall look upon them and remember all of G-d’s commandments so as to keep them, (8)so you will not follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you go astray, so (9)that you will remember and keep all My commandments, and be holy to your G-d. I am G-d your L-rd, who brought you out of Egypt to be your G-d. (10)I am G-d your L-rd.

Czech Parashat:

Parashat Yitro (Shemot 18:1-20:23)
In our Parashat, after leaving Egypt, Moses meets his father-in-law Jitra, and then he and the whole people come to Mount Sinai, where they receive the commandments, including the Ten Commandments. The Midrash Shemot Raba beautifully comments on the verse from our sidra Yitro “Moses ascended to G-d” (Shemot 19:3) and says: “At that moment the ministering angels wanted to attack Moses because he invaded their kingdom to obtain the Torah. G-d then made Moses’ appearance similar to Abraham’s appearance and said to them: “Are you not ashamed? Did you not visit this man and eat in his house?” And G-d said to Moses: “You see, the Torah was given to you because of the merits of Abraham … a man who was great among giants.” (Yevamot 49b)
It is said that Moses received his prophecy through an immediate, unobscured vision (asklaparia meira) (Rosh Hashanah 21b). His great modesty was also mentioned in the Torah: “However, Moses was the most humble of all the people who were on earth” (Bemidbar 12:3). After all, the “glass” through which he saw his prophecy was transparent; his ego caused no obscurities or distortions in that vision. This was not the case with other prophets. Even though they were big, their “lenses” were not completely transparent. Even so, according to the midrash, the angels wanted to attack Moses. They argued that for all his modesty, there was still some vestige of egoism in him that prevented him from reaching the level of absolutely perfect selflessness. And therefore only forty-nine gates of understanding were revealed to Moses, out of a total of fifty. The angels believed that the Torah should not be given to anyone whose ego was not completely eradicated.
What about G-d? “He made the appearance of Moses similar to the appearance of Abraham.” G-d thus demonstrated that the spiritual level of Moses included that aspect of active chesed (goodness, kindness) that characterized Abraham. In view of this benevolence, Abraham was “a giant among giants.” Even men who were complete giants of kindness, Abraham outgrew them as a giant outgrows an ordinary man. And Moses’ spirituality, as the Torah affirms, contained the same level of selfless goodness that characterized Abraham. Moses was and is the teacher of all Israel in all generations. The microscopic amount of egotism which the angels could find in Moses was completely overwhelmed by his great active goodness which he gave to the religious community of Israel during the forty years of wandering in the desert.
There can be no greater good than the teaching of Torah. A person who cares for the physical needs of his fellow man stands high on the scale of Torah attainment. He gives life to man in this world, and “saving life is like saving the whole world”. (Sanhedrin 37a). But a person who teaches other people Torah gives them life in this world and the next, and from this point of view there can be no greater good than this. The Gemara (Suka 49b) notes that the words “Torat chesed” = Torah of goodness, mentioned in the song “Eshet chajil” – which we know as the praise of a brave woman (Proverbs 31:26) indicate that there may be a Torah that is “chesed”. and also the Torah, which is not “chesed”. So what is “Torah chesed”, the Torah of goodness? It takes two forms. However, it is the Torah that one learns for its own sake, for completely unselfish motives. The second form is when it is taught in order to be able to teach it to others. Regarding completely unselfish motives, the angels had occasion to criticize Moses. Because how can there be anyone who is completely devoid of any egoism? But the Torah for the purpose of teaching it, the active Torah, is outside the experience of the angels. They actually experienced this in the house of Abraham, where he hosted them. God asked them, “Did you not eat and drink in the house of Abraham?” – which meant that the angels could learn much from the active, practical goodness of Abraham. When God showed them Moses, to whom he gave the form of Abraham, the angels realized that the practical kindness, the goodness involved in the teachings of the Torah, was something they could not accomplish on their own. And so their opposition to Moses had to be silenced. The conclusion from our midrash is simple. The Torah is our treasure, which was given to us to learn, to enjoy, but also to use. It does not serve our ambition to beat someone with our amazing knowledge. On the contrary, it leads us to practical expressions of kindness and goodness. That is its purpose. Only when our character begins to resemble Abraham and his “chesed” will even those angels who are not happy with us become silent and we will begin to understand the Torah on a different level.