The Israel Koschitzky
Virtual Beit MidrashThe Israel Koschitzky
Virtual Beit Midrash
Surf A Little Torah
Yeshivat
Har Etzion
YITRO
Rav David
Silverberg
The Mishna in Masekhet Berakhot (54a) establishes that a person who
visits a site where a miracle occurred to Am Yisrael must recite a special berakha
("Barukh she-asa nissim la-avoteinu
ba-makom ha-zeh"). The Gemara cites as the source of this
halakha a verse in Parashat Yitro. When Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law,
arrived at the Israelite camp, and Moshe spoke to him about the miracles that
the nation had experienced, Yitro exclaimed, "Blessed is the Lord who saved you
from the hand of Pharaoh and Egypt" (18:10). This verse, the Gemara comments, forms
the basis of the halakha requiring the recitation of a
berakha upon beholding the site
of a miracle experienced by the Jewish people.
Many later writers raised the obvious question of how Yitro's blessing
can serve as the source of this halakha. After all, the Mishna, as mentioned,
speaks of one who comes upon the site of a miracle. Yitro joined Am Yisrael in the
wilderness, after the Exodus, and thus did not actually behold the site where
the miracles of the Exodus transpired.
How, then, can his blessing form the basis for the berakha required when one sees the site
of a miracle? For this reason, it
would seem, Rashi explained that the Gemara enlists this verse as the source for
the general concept of reciting a berakha over the occurrence of a miracle. According to his interpretation, the
Gemara does not seek for a source for the specific requirement to recite a
berakha upon coming upon the site where a miracle
transpired, but rather searches for a basis for the general notion of reciting a
berakha to praise God for
miracles He performs. (See
Tzelach.)
Others, however, attempted to justify the use of this verse as a source
for the particular requirement to recite a berakha upon seeing the
site of a miracle. The Meiri and
Shita Mekubetzet explained that the Gemara here presumes a degree of
parity between seeing the site of a miracle and seeing beneficiaries of a
miracle. Yitro visited the
Israelite camp and saw the people who had been rescued from
The Maharsha explained differently, claiming that Yitro did, in fact, see
the site of the miracle. The
Israelite camp was the site of a number of extraordinary miracles, including the
daily descent of manna and a well of water that accompanied Benei Yisrael
throughout their travels.
Furthermore, the camp was encircled by the "clouds of glory" that
afforded the people supernatural protection from the elements. The Maharsha contended that these
miracles are integrally connected to the miracles of the Exodus, as the Exodus
could not have been considered a true salvation had Benei Yisrael been
unable to survive in the wilderness.
Hence, Yitro did, in fact, see the site of the miracles of the Exodus,
and his berakha thus justifiably forms the basis of the
halakha mentioned in the
Mishna.
The Chatam Sofer (cited in the work Kevoda Shel Torah) resolved this question differently, by
offering a novel reading of Yitro's blessing. When Yitro blessed the Almighty "who
saved you from the hand of Pharaoh," he spoke specifically of Moshe and Aharon,
to whom he was speaking in this verse, as clearly indicated in the
narrative. He referred not to the
miracles of the Exodus, but rather to the specific miracle of Moshe and Aharon's
ability to repeatedly confront Pharaoh without suffering any harm. The Chatam Sofer claims that this power was granted to Moshe
and Aharon when God assigned them as the nation's representatives during His
revelation to Moshe at the burning bush.
That revelation, as the Torah explicitly mentions (Shemot 3:1), occurred
at
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The opening section of Parashat Yitro tells of the arrival of Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law, to the Israelite camp. The Gemara in Masekhet Zevachim (116a) describes this event as Yitro's formal conversion to Judaism ("What news did he hear that he came and converted…"). He did not merely come to visit; he rather came to join the ranks of Am Yisrael and embrace the faith, lifestyle, laws and destiny of the Jewish people.
A number of writers have raised the question of how and why Benei Yisrael accepted a convert at this point in their history. As the Rambam mentions in his presentation of the laws of conversion (Hilkhot Issurei Bi'a 13:15), Benei Yisrael did not accept converts during the period of Kings David and Shlomo, when the nation enjoyed great power and prosperity. Given the nation's might under King David and wealth and prestige under King Shlomo, the rabbinical courts of the time had to suspect that prospective converts sought to join the nation for reasons of personal expediency, rather than sincere religious conviction. Therefore, in the interest of avoiding insincere conversions, the official procedure during this period mandated summarily rejecting all petitions for conversion. Seemingly, this procedure should have been implemented during the period immediately following the Exodus, as well. The great miracles of the Exodus – and in particular the splitting of the sea – brought widespread fame and prestige to Am Yisrael, and instilled fear in the hearts of other nations. Why didn’t Benei Yisrael suspect Yitro of "joining the bandwagon," converting purely to enjoy the success and power of Am Yisrael, rather than out of a sincere desire to draw close to the Almighty?
The Yeshu'ot Yaakov (cited in the work Kevoda Shel Torah) suggested that the Torah implicitly addresses this question in its description of Yitro's arrival: "Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law, and his sons and wife, came to Moshe, to the wilderness where he encamped…" (18:5). The Torah particularly emphasizes that Yitro joined Benei Yisrael as they encamped "in the wilderness," as they lived without even the very barest necessities. The fact that Yitro was prepared to subject himself to this austere lifestyle testified to his sincerity and genuine desire to take part in the spiritual mission of Am Yisrael. (It should be noted, however, that at the end of this section we are told that Yitro returned to his land, and did not remain in the wilderness, perhaps calling this approach into question.)
Rav Avraham
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Yesterday, we noted the puzzling shift that occurs in the first verse of
Parashat Yitro from the divine Name of Elokim to that of Ado-nai: "Yitro…heard all that God
[Elokim] did for Moshe and His
nation,
According to Rav Herzog, the final clause of this verse – "that the Lord
took
On the basis of this interpretation Rav Herzog resolves another
difficulty concerning this narrative that has troubled the commentators. We read that upon Yitro's arrival,
"Moshe told his father-in-law all that the Lord did to Pharaoh and
Rav Herzog answered by suggesting that Moshe did not merely relate to Yitro the incidents that took place. Rather, he seized this opportunity to instruct and educate his father-in-law, and explain to him the truth of monotheism. Thus, it was only at this point that Yitro concluded, "Ado-nai is greater than all gods," that he recognized the fundamental difference between our belief and that of the pagans. Whereas until this point he assumed that the events of the Exodus were the workings of elohim, one of several gods, he now understood that this was brought about by Ado-nai – the single, true God over the universe.
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The Talmud (Masekhet Ta'anit 7a) teaches, "A day of rainfall is as great as the day on which the Torah was given."
The event of Matan Torah marked the merging of heaven of
earth. As we read in Parashat
Yitro, "
Rainfall, too, signifies the descent of the heavens onto the earth: "The Lord shall open for you His good treasure, the heavens, to provide your land's water" (Devarim 28:12). The waters of the heavens merge with the waters on earth, a manifestation of God's care and concern for His people. The Gemara (Ta'anit 6b) likens rainfall to "a groom going to greet his bride." Rabbenu Gershom explains, "The lower waters go to greet the upper words like a groom comes to greet his bride." The earth yearns for the heavenly blessing of rain, to be reunited with its source, just as a groom passionately greets his bride in anticipation of his long-awaited reunion with "the bone from my bone, and the flesh from my flesh" (Bereishit 2:23). The event of rainfall, like the event of Matan Torah, demonstrates that the distance between the Almighty and Am Yisrael is not as vast as it may appear, that we are indeed capable of connecting with the heavens through our loving embrace of the Torah, and of thereby earning heavenly blessings in the form of God-given rain.
As we recite twice each day in the second paragraph of shema, the absence of rain results naturally from a disconnection between heaven and earth, when Benei Yisrael seek to draw spiritual sustenance from earthly objects, rather than from the heavenly Torah (Devarim 11:16-17). When we fail to look to the heavens as a source of life, it ceases to function as a source of life.
Arguably the most famous and drastic instance of this kind of severance
between heaven and earth took place during the time of Achav, as related in
Sefer Melakhim I (17:1). The
prophet Eliyahu declared the onset of a severe drought whereby not a drop of
rain fell for over two years in the
Eliyahu saw that the Sinaitic bond between heaven and earth had been severed, and so he ordered that both the rain and the Torah be kept in the heavens, rather than be allowed to descend to earth as symbols of man's connection to God.
The absence of rainfall in Eretz Yisrael in the winter months signifies the nation's inadequate efforts in maintaining and nurturing its bond with the Almighty, that we fail to do our part in bridging the gap between heaven and earth. It is our duty to recommit ourselves to the covenant of Sinai, to the merging of these two realms through proper observance of the heavenly Torah, and thereby be deserving of "the blessings of the heavens above, and the blessings of the deep that crouches below" (Bereishit 49:25).
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Parashat Yitro contains the narrative of Ma'amad Har Sinai, the
giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which begins with the following verse: "In
the third month since the Israelites' departure from the
To properly understand the precise meaning of the Midrash's exhortation, we must carefully consider the context of the verse regarding which it was stated. As Rav Dov Weinberger notes in his work Shemen Ha-tov, Rashi does not bring this comment in reference to Matan Torah itself. Rather, the context of this statement is Benei Yisrael's encampment near the mountain – "on this day they arrived in the wilderness of Sinai." Necessarily, then, the Midrash exhorts that we should approach Torah each day not as though we have received it that day, but rather with the same feeling and emotion that the people experienced as they encamped in Sinai.
The Shemen Ha-tov explains that the Midrash speaks here of
anticipation, rather than joy and exuberance; the emphasis in this passage is
not on the sense of satisfaction experienced after studying or practicing, but
rather the eager anticipation of studying and practicing. Each day one must approach his religious
responsibilities with the same eager anticipation of connecting with his
Creator, just as Benei Yisrael encamped at Sinai anticipating the
covenant into which they were then preparing to enter with the Almighty. The Midrash admonishes that rather than
allow Torah and mitzvot to become dry, habitual routine, one should
view each mitzva and study session as a valuable opportunity
for a relationship with God – just as Benei Yisrael eagerly awaited this opportunity as they
encamped at the foot of
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Parashat Yitro begins with the narrative of Yitro's arrival at the
Israelite camp, and the honorable greeting extended to him by his son-in-law,
Moshe, and the other leaders of Benei Yisrael.
The Torah writes, "Moshe went out to greet his father-in-law, and he
bowed and kissed him, and each inquired about the well-being of the other"
(18:7). Rashi, based on the
Mekhilta, comments that it is unclear from the verse
whether Moshe bowed to Yitro, or whether Yitro bowed to Moshe. In the subsequent clause – "each
inquired about the well-being of the other" – the Torah employs the word
ish (literally, "man"), which the Sages
understood as a specific reference to Moshe (based on a verse in Bamidbar
12:3). On this basis Rashi
concludes that the subject in this verse is Moshe, and it was thus Moshe who
bowed to Yitro.
Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky, in his Emet Le-Yaakov (to Bereishit 23:7), notes that a different
interpretation of this verse appears to emerge from the Targum Yonatan Ben Uziel.
As Rav Yaakov observes, Targum Yonatan generally employs different Aramaic terms
in reference to bowing to God and bowing to another human being. When it comes to bowing to a human
being, Targum Yonatan translates the Hebrew word
va-yishtachu ("he bowed") as gachan (e.g. Bereishit 23:7). In reference to bowing to the Almighty,
by contrast, Targum Yonatan uses the Aramaic word segid (e.g. Bereishit 24:26). (This is as opposed to Targum
Onkelos, who translates va-yishtachu in both contexts as segid.)
Here in Parashat Yitro, in translating the clause "and he bowed,"
Targum Yonatan, surprisingly enough, employs the term
segid, suggesting that the bowing here was to the
Almighty. Whereas Rashi had assumed
that either Yitro bowed to Moshe or Moshe bowed to Yitro, and ultimately
concluded upon the latter, Targum
Yonatan appears to have understood
that the person who bowed did so out of respect to the Almighty, not to another
human being.
Rav Doniel Neustadt, in his annotation to Emet Le-Yaakov, explains Rav Yaakov's theory in light of a different comment of the Mekhilta regarding this verse, where it tells that the Shekhina joined Moshe and the other leaders in greeting Yitro. When Moshe, Aharon and the elders left the camp to welcome Yitro, the divine presence accompanied them. Accordingly, it is possible that the Torah here tells that upon beholding the site of the Shekhina Yitro immediately prostrated himself before the Almighty, and it is to this bowing that the Torah refers with the phrase, "and he bowed."
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The haftara read on Shabbat Parashat Yitro is taken from the sixth chapter of Sefer Yeshayahu, in which the prophet records the vision he beheld during his inaugural prophecy. In this prophecy he was shown the heavenly throne, a vision of angels declaring, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the earth," and the trembling of the "pillars of the thresholds" that resulted from the angels' proclamation.
Rav Shimshon Refael Hirsch explains this vision as depicting the first
stages of the Shekhina's
departure from the
The second clause of the angels' declaration provides a second explanation for why the Almighty departs from His people: "His glory fills the earth." God can reside in an earthly Sanctuary only if that residence serves to impact upon the entirety of the earth; the designation of a particular site as the Almighty's "home" is meant not to isolate that site from the rest of the earth, but to the contrary, to bring Godliness to the entire world. As Rav Hirsch writes:
The earth should not possess "also" a Home for the Glory of God, the whole earth should be a Home of the Glory of God…
"Everything which fills the earth should be God's Honor," so that, not just the few yards of space in the Temple, the few minutes of life spent in the Temple, but the whole of man's life, his domestic and national life, should be God's Honor. Every impulse and every thought, every deed and every description whatsoever, should place itself under the impression of God's Power and God's will… This is what the Seraphim condense into their cry resounding through the globe…
The angels
behold God departing the
Hence, as a result of the angels' cry, "the pillars of the threshold
quaked" (verse 4). Once the angels
declared that the dissemination of kedusha (sanctity) throughout the world constitutes
an essential precondition for the Shekhina's presence, the
…if the power of God's Torah does not reach farther than the doors of the Temple; if the life in the Temple, if Priest and Altar, Liturgy and Offerings, are to be the whole of one's holiness; if the honoring of God begins and ends within the Temple, and the threshold of the Temple means the beginning and end of the Glory of God – then the cry of the true holiness and the true honor of God on earth thunders throughout the length and breadth of the Temple, then, with the force of an earthquake does that cry shatter the pillars of the Temple…then the life that fills the Temple will pass away in smoke.