Yisro – Page 6 – Peninim on the Torah

ויוצא משה את העם לקראת האלקים מן המחנה... ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר

Moshe led the people out of the camp toward the Divine Presence. They stood transfixed at the foot of the mountain. (19:17)

In a statement that has become endemic to Kabbolas haTorah, the Acceptance of the Torah, Chazal state that Hashem raised Har Sinai above the heads of the Jewish People and declared: Im mekablim atem es haTorah mutav – v’im lav – sham tehei kevuraschem, “If you accept the Torah – good – and if not – there will be your burial.” The question is obvious: If they are standing beneath the mountain, the correct term would have been: Po, “here will be your burial.” What is the meaning of sham, “there”? Where is there? Furthermore, why wait? If they did…

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ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5774

They stood transfixed at the foot of the mountain. (19:17)

As Klal Yisrael stood at the foot of Har Sinai, waiting anxiously for the Torah, they were united as one, with a sense of unity described by Chazal as, k’ish echad, b’lev echad, “like one man with one heart.” This phrase has since become the catchword for describing unity at its apex. All of Klal Yisrael were focused, intent on accepting the Torah with a firm commitment, a common aspiration and uniform purpose. All of Klal Yisrael stood together as one to accept the Torah. It is the term b’lev echad, “with one heart”, that begs to be elucidated. Does…

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ולא תעלה במעלות על מזבחי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5774

You shall not ascend My Altar on steps. (20: 23)

Rashi explains that a ramp was used for the Kohanim to ascend to the Mizbayach, Altar, as a provision to circumvent any suggestion of immodesty. A ramp allows for the legs to move evenly, thereby not allowing any inappropriate exposure of one’s self. I think we might be able to add a homiletic interpretation to the closing pasuk of Parashas Yisro. The Mizbayach symbolizes sacrifice. Indeed, to study Torah, to live a Torah lifestyle, does require a certain element of sacrifice. Before I continue, the sacrifice is only in the eyes of the beholder. A true ben Torah does not…

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ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5773

And Yisrael encamped there opposite the mountain. (19:2)

Rashi notes that the verb va’yichan is written in the singular. This teaches that the entire nation encamped k’ish echad b’lev echad, “as one person with one heart,” so great was their sense of unity. Only when we are united in our commitment to Hashem, each of us maintaining a single, unified desire to serve Him, are we worthy of the name Yisrael. No hatred, no envy, only love and caring – that is how we approached Har Sinai. Horav Mordechai Ilan, zl, explains that this is why, in the well-known Dayeinu segment of the Haggadah, we say, “If He…

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ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש אלה הדברים אשר תדבר אל בני ישראל

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5773

You shall be to Me a kingdom of Priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Bnei Yisrael. (19:6)

The significance of this pasuk is inspiring. It not only underscores the inherent qualities found within each and every Jew, the amazing potential available to those who seek to maximize it; it also focuses on the future, intimating that our past, regardless how sordid or mediocre, should not hold us back from achieving greatness. In his Sefer Nitzotzos, Horav Yitzchok Herskowitz, Shlita, relates the story of a Kollel fellow, a scholar of note, who would serve as a bochein, tester, in various yeshivos. A few times during the year he would visit various schools and test their students. He was…

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ויענו כל העם יחדיו ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ד' נעשה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5773

The entire People responded together and said, “Everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do.” (19:8)

When the Kesav Sofer was Rav in Budapest, Hungary, a group of lay people complained concerning a certain Jewish banker who refused to close his bank on Shabbos. They considered this an affront to the entire community. “The Rav must take action,” they demanded. The Kesav Sofer was visibly depressed. Such an act of disgracing Hashem could not be countenanced in his community. This man was making a mockery of the Jewish religion and openly insulting the Jewish community. He sent for the banker to appear before him. The banker had no qualms about coming to visit the Rav –…

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הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן... וגם בך יאמינו לעולם

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5773

Behold! I (Hashem) will come to you (Moshe) in a thick cloud… and also in you they shall believe forever. (19:9)

The seminal event in Jewish history, the experience which transformed us from a tribe of people into a Torah nation, was the Giving of the Torah. Matan Torah. The unparalleled Revelation of the Shechinah which we experienced was much more than a spectacle that we witnessed. Indeed, we were much more than spectators. According to Ramban, every Jew achieved a level of prophecy during this experience. He explains that although Hashem spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu from amidst a thick cloud, the people, having reached a level of prophecy, were able to know prophetically of Hashem’s dialogue with Moshe. The people…

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ויום השביעי שבת לד' אלוקיך לא תעשה כל מלאכה

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5773

And the seventh day is Shabbos to G-d, your G-d, on it you shall not perform any kind of (creative) work. (20:10)

Throughout the millennia, when a Jew sought to become more “progressive,” to distance himself from “archaic” tradition, the first tennet that went was Shabbos. The student of history is quite aware that this was the area that caved in first. Almost two hundred years ago, the self-styled secular Jew in Germany took a more intellectual approach to doing away first, with Shabbos, and then, with the rest of the Torah, by defining the above pasuk as, “You shall not do any kind of work.” This distorted the entire concept of Shabbos and undermined its laws of observance. This was the…

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ואם מזבח אבנים תעשה לי אל תבנה אתהן גזית

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5773

And when you will make an Altar of stones for Me, do not build them hewn. (20:22)

Rashi quotes the Mechilta where Rabbi Yishmael says: Every example of im (usually translated as if), in the Torah is referring to something which is optional, except for three times. The first of them is the above pasuk in which the im is not discretionary, but rather, translated as “when” you will build an Altar; the second instance (Shemos 22:4), is concerning lending money, im kessef talveh es ami, “if” you lend money, would be the incorrect translation since one must lend money. Hence, it is read “when” you will lend money. Last, is v’im takriv Minchas Bikurim (Vayikra 2:14);…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5772

“Yisro heard… everything that G-d did to Moshe and to Yisrael, His people.” (18:1)

Yisro heard about two events: the miracles at the Red Sea, when the Egyptians were punished for their treachery; and the war against Amalek, when Klal Yisrael triumphed over their archenemy. Yisro was not the only one who “heard.” Many heard; he, however, internalized it and acted positively in response. Why did Yisro need two incidents to impress upon him the greatness of Hashem and His People? Was not the splitting of the Red Sea a sufficient miracle to influence his way of thinking? Indeed, the war with Amalek could have been misconstrued as a victory effected by Klal Yisrael’s…

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ויוצא משה את העם לקראת האלקים מן המחנה... ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר

Moshe led the people out of the camp toward the Divine Presence. They stood transfixed at the foot of the mountain. (19:17)

ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר

They stood transfixed at the foot of the mountain. (19:17)

ולא תעלה במעלות על מזבחי

You shall not ascend My Altar on steps. (20: 23)

ויחן שם ישראל נגד ההר

And Yisrael encamped there opposite the mountain. (19:2)

ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש אלה הדברים אשר תדבר אל בני ישראל

You shall be to Me a kingdom of Priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Bnei Yisrael. (19:6)

ויענו כל העם יחדיו ויאמרו כל אשר דבר ד' נעשה

The entire People responded together and said, “Everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do.” (19:8)

הנה אנכי בא אליך בעב הענן... וגם בך יאמינו לעולם

Behold! I (Hashem) will come to you (Moshe) in a thick cloud… and also in you they shall believe forever. (19:9)

ויום השביעי שבת לד' אלוקיך לא תעשה כל מלאכה

And the seventh day is Shabbos to G-d, your G-d, on it you shall not perform any kind of (creative) work. (20:10)

ואם מזבח אבנים תעשה לי אל תבנה אתהן גזית

And when you will make an Altar of stones for Me, do not build them hewn. (20:22)

“Yisro heard… everything that G-d did to Moshe and to Yisrael, His people.” (18:1)

YEARS

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