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Home -> 5758 -> Yisro

Moshe Marcovich
In Yisro, 5758

And they stood at the bottom of the mountain. (19:17)

In the Talmud Shabbos 88 Chazal  say that Bnei Yisrael did not merely stand at the foot of the mountain, but that Hashem lifted up the mountain over their heads, declaring,  “If you will accept the Torah, it is good.  If not, here will be your burying place.”  This implies that Hashem imposed the Torah  upon us against our will.  He  threatened us with extinction if we were not to accept the Torah.  Is this true?  The commentators offer a number of explanations to  lend insight to Chazal’s words.  Horav Eliyahu Meier Bloch, zl, views the mountain over Bnei Yisrael’s…

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Home -> 5758 -> Yisro

Moshe Marcovich
In Yisro, 5758

These are the words that you shall speak to the Bnei Yisrael. (19:7)

Rashi cites the Mechilta that emphasizes the word “these.”  Hashem told Moshe to relate specifically what he was told — no more, no less.  We can understand insisting that Moshe not change  what he was told to say in any form.  Why would it be inappropriate for  Moshe to speak a little more, if his words would result in his teaching  more Torah. Was there a limit on what Moshe was to teach? Horav Avner Okliensky, zl, comments that man’s  purpose in life is to garner all of his resources and abilities in order to maximize his potential for the…

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Home -> 5758 -> Yisro

Moshe Marcovich
In Yisro, 5758

Yisro said, “Blessed is Hashem Who has rescued you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh.” (18:10)

Yisro offers praise to Hashem for Klal Yisrael’s good fortune in being rescued from near destruction.  The Mechilta views this statement as a critique of Klal Yisrael,  saying that  Yisro was the first to praise Hashem with the words, “Baruch Hashem.”  We must endeavor to understand what was inappropriate about Klal Yisrael’s previous expressions of praise.  Did the Shirah that they sang at the Yam Suf constitute a less appropriate praise to Hashem than the words, “Baruch Hashem”?  Shirah is communal praise, employed when the congregation assembles to express  gratitude to the Almighty in unison.  Baruch Hashem is a personal…

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Home -> 5758 -> Yisro

Moshe Marcovich
In Yisro, 5758

Yisro rejoiced over all the good that Hashem had done for Yisrael, that He had rescued it from the hands of Egypt. (18:9)

The word “oso,” which usually means, “him,” is translated as “it,” referring to Klal Yisrael.  Yisro rejoiced over the nation’s good fortune in being rescued from the dread hand of Pharaoh.  The Maharil Diskin, zl, takes a novel approach towards explaining the word “oso,” which implies a timely lesson for us.  He suggests that Yisro was,  in fact,  referring to himself.  He realized that Hashem had actually also saved him from the same fate suffered by the Egyptians.  Yisro remembered quite well that he was one of Pharaoh’s advisors.  When the issue of the Jewish problem arose, Yisro had the…

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Home -> 5758 -> Yisro

Moshe Marcovich
In Yisro, 5758

Yisro, the father-in-law of Moshe, took Tzipporah, the wife of Moshe, after she had been sent away. (18:2)

When Moshe took his family with him to Egypt, it was Aharon who felt that they belonged back in Midyan in a safe, secure environment.  Enough people were suffering in Egypt.  Why add more people to the list?  Yisro was now bringing his daughter and grandsons to reunite them with their father.  Why does the Torah refer to Tzipporah as “the wife of Moshe”?  Since she was traveling with her father, the Torah should have referred to her as “his (Yisro’s) daughter.”  Horav Elchanan Sorotzkin, zl, comments that Tzipporah is referred to as Moshe’s wife for a  specific reason.  Parashas…

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Home -> 5758 -> Yisro

Moshe Marcovich
In Yisro, 5758

Yisro heard…everything that G-d did to Moshe and to Yisrael, His People, that Hashem had taken Yisrael out of Egypt. (18:1)

The Torah records the various events that Bnei Yisrael experienced from the time that  they left Egypt until  they accepted the Torah.  Parashas Yisro is juxtaposed upon  the chapter that recounts the giving of the Torah.  Chazal dispute precisely  when Yisro joined the Jews.  Some commentators believe  that he arrived prior to the giving of the Torah.  Others claim that Yisro came after the Torah had been given.  We may question the position of Parashas Yisro according to those who contend that Yisro came after Matan Torah.  Why does the Torah record his arrival prior to Matan Torah if, in…

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