Results tagged ‘ Yisro ’

Yisro

 
                       Yisro
 
In this week’s parsha the nation of Israel receive the Torah on Mount Sinai (chapter 20).
 
Rashi (20;1) states: “Hashem said all of the 10 commandments in one utterance, something which is impossible for man to say in like manner.” Rashi then explains that Hashem went back and specified each and every statement of the 10 commands individually. However, the Rambam (Hilchos Yesodei Hatorah, 8;1) states that Hashsm doesn’t just do miracles to show His power. Rather, the Rambam explains that there is a specific reason for every miracle Hashem performs. What then was the purpose Hashem saying all of the 10 commandments in one utterance if He was going to explain them all individually right after?
 
Moreover, Rashi (20;1) only states that Hashem said the 10 statements in one utterance. What he doesn’t say is that Hashem enabled the Jews to be able to understand all of the 10 utterances when they were said simultaneously-implying that the Jews weren’t able to understand the commandments the first time they were said. Therefore, if the nation of Israel weren’t able to understand the 10 commandments when Hashem said them all at once then what was the purpose of performing a miracle and saying them all simultaneously? Why didn’t Hashem also make a miracle and give the Jews the ability to understand Him when He said all of the 10 commandments in one utterance? 
 
Furthermore, the Gemara (Avodah Zarah, 2b) relates that Hashem offered the Torah to all the nations of the world-not just the nation of Israel. However, if all the nations of the world were able to receive the Torah just like us then what was the purpose of the whole Torah until this point? What gain did we get from our forefathers? If we could have received the Torah without our forefathers then what was the great need of having them? What is the whole purpose of the Torah until this point if we could have received the Torah without any prior history?
 
Rabbi Yochanan Zweig explains that Hashem’s main goal on Mount Sinai wasn’t to give over the Torah and all of its commandments to the Jews. Rather, Hashem’s main goal on Mount Sinai was to establish a connection with us. And how did we feel connected to Him on Mount Sinai? Rabbi Zweig explains that the Jews felt connected to Hashem simply through hearing His voice. Meaning, the Jews didn’t actually need to understand everything Hashem them at Mount Sinai-all they needed to do was hear His voice and by simply doing that they would feel connected to Him. A real connection could only be established between 2 people if they each hear each other’s voice. In fact, hearing another person’s voice causes one to feel even more connected to that person than were the other person to write them a love letter, as hearing a person’s voice naturally creates a much more powerful connection between 2 people than writing. 
 
Similarly, Rabbi Zweig explains that Hashem didn’t need to create another miracle and have the Jews actually understand everything He said as His main goal was to simply have us feel more connected to Him-and the best way for one to connect to another is to hear their voice.
 
Now, the question arises: If the whole point of giving the nation of Israel the Torah on Mount Sinai was so that the nation of Israel would feel more connected to Him through hearing His voice then why didn’t Hashem simply tell the nation of Israel something in which they could understand and not just hear (for example, “I love you”)? 
 
Rabbi Zweig explains that Hashem wanted to say everything which is included in the statement “I love you” all in one statement. Meaning, people only tell others “I love you” because they are unable to express all of their feelings at once and “I love you” is a nice and short way of summarizing all of one’s feelings. Hashem however has the ability to not only tell us He loves us but to express all of His feelings to us all together in one statement. Therefore, Hashem created a miracle and said all of the 10 commands all in one utterance as a means of completely expressing all of His thoughts to us as quickly as He could. Thus, even though Hashem explained all of the 10 commandments right after saying them all in one utterance He nevertheless created a miracle and said all of the 10 commandments in one utterance in order so that He could express all of His feelings for the nation of Israel as quickly as possible.
 
Further, Rabbi Zweig explains that when Hashem offered all of the other nations the Torah that he was only offering them the obligation to perform the mitzvot. What He didn’t offer them was a relationship with Him. That, Rabbi Zweig explains, Hashem only offered to the Jews. This was the whole purpose of the whole Torah until this point. It was only because of our forefathers that Hashem not only sought to give us the mitzvot but He also sought to establish a real connection with us. 

Yisro

                                 Yisro

In this week’s parsha Yisro (Moshe’s father in law) becomes the first person to convert to Judaism.

Rashi (18;11) relates that Yisro had served every single idolatry in the world before converting.

Additionally, Rashi (18;11) relates that Yisro had recognized Hashem in the past, but he now recognized Him even more.

Now, what caused Yisro to recognize Hashem’s true greatness?

Rashi (18;11) explains that the Egyptians attempted to destroy the Jews through water (by commanding that all boys be thrown into the water, see: 1;22), and as a result, they themselves were destroyed by water (when they drowned in the Sea of Reeds). Therefore, since Hashem punished the Egyptians “midah keneged midah” (meaning: measure for measure), Yisro came to realize that Hashem is the real master of the world.

However, why was “midah keneged midah” the main factor in Yisro’s awakening? Why would it have made a big difference, for example, had Hashem destroyed the Egyptians through fire instead?

Interestingly, the Gemara (Sotah, 11a) relates that the Egyptians were thinking about how they should destroy the savior of the nation of Israel. Rashi (see Gemara) relates that they were inquiring because they knew that Hashem judges “midah keneged midah” and they didn’t want to be destroyed. Therefore, the Gemara relates that the Egyptians concluded that they should destroy the Jews with water (instead of with fire or swords), for Hashem had promised not to flood the world. However, the Gemara explains that Hashem’s promise was simply not to flood the whole entire world and by the Sea of Reeds He only flooded one nation. Additionally, the Gemara explains that there was really no flood–the Egyptians simply fell into the water and drowned! At any rate, we see from this Gemara how the Egyptians knew that the way of Hashem is to punish “midah keneged midah” and they were therefore very careful in deciding how they should destroy the Jews…But what exactly is the big deal that Hashem punishes “midah keneged midah” that caused the Egyptians to be so frightened?

Furthermore, Hashem stated twice prior to the drowning of the Egyptians (14;4, 14;18) that after the great miracle “the Egyptians will know that I am Hashem.” Simply speaking, we could now explain that He knew they would come to this realization because the punishment would be “midah keneged midah.” However, once again, why is “midah keneged midah” so great that it would cause a whole nation to finally realize that Hashem is the true master of the whole world?

The Rashbam (18;11) states that the reason Yisro realized that Hashem is greater than all the other “g-ds” is because they don’t have the power to take revenge on other nations when their people are oppressed.

However, if that’s the case, then Yisro would have realized that Hashem is the true master of the world even had He not punished the Egyptians “midah keneged midah.” Therefore, what was the great need to destroy the Egyptians the exact way they attempted to destroy the Jews?

Perhaps we could answer that had Hashem destroyed the Egyptians by any other force other than water then the Egyptians and all the other nations of the world could have still denied Hashem’s mastery. And why is that? It could be that punishing the Egyptians “midah keneged midah” was the only way to gain recognition from all the other nations because that way the other nations wouldn’t be able to claim that the punishment came from another source. By punishing the Egyptians “midah keneged midah” Hashem was making a clear sign to the whole world that He is the source of the great miracle which occurred.

Similarly, the Rashbam (18;11) should not be taken to mean that the other nations knew that their g-d is unable to take revenge on other nations (for otherwise they wouldn’t be able to truly believe in their idols). Rather, whenever a catastrophe would occur to their enemies they would simply attribute the credit towards their idols, when in fact it really came from Hashem. A punishment which is “midah keneged midah”, however, is clearly a punishment from the highest source of power (Hashem), for that is the only way to clearly and effectively show the wrongdoers the area in which they sinned.

Summary: Yisro realized Hashem’s true greatness because He punished the Egyptians “midah keneged midah” (meaning: measure for measure, see Rashi: 18;11). However, what’s so great about midah keneged midah that caused Yisro, who served every single idolatry in the world (Rashi, 18;11), to realize that Hashem must be the real master of the world? The Torah tells us twice (14;4, 14;18) that Hashem caused the sea to split in order so that the Egyptians would know that He is the real G-d. It therefore seems clear that this was the purpose of the miracle. However, why did Hashem specifically have to destroy the Egyptians the same way they sought to destroy the Jews (using water)? It could be that midah keneged midah was the only way to incontrovertibly prove to the nations of the world that Hashem is the real master of the world for otherwise they could have attributed the miracle to a different cause. When one receives a punishment that’s midah keneged midah they realize the sin for which they’re receiving the punishment and the source is therefore irrefutable. Thus, Hashem undisputedly the source of the drowning of the Egyptians.

　

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