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Home -> 5784 -> Yisro

כבד את אביך ואת אמך

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5784

Honor your father and your mother. (20:12)

The imperative to honor one’s parents is etched on the same Tablets as the belief in Hashem and the admonishments prohibiting murder and immoral relations. It is a special mitzvah which defines, not only our relationship with our parents, but our relationship with Hashem as well. One who does not see the need to honor parents will not see the need to honor Hashem. The mitzvah has nothing to do with gratitude, because we received it in the wilderness at a time in which parents did not provide for their children’s needs. Hashem did. [It has not changed. Hashem is…

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Home -> 5784 -> Yisro

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5784

Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it. (20:8)

Two central themes characterize the observance of Shabbos. It is an expression of our belief that Hashem created the world in six days, which implies the existence of the Creator. We also observe Shabbos in remembrance of Hashem’s kindness in liberating us from the bondage of Egypt. The Egyptians made labor on Shabbos mandatory. The Midrash teaches that the Egyptians forced the Jews to work on Shabbos and transgress all thirty-nine melachos, labors, that are prohibited on Shabbos. The Arizal teaches that the thirty-nine labors correspond to the thirty-nine curses which were the result of Adam’s eating from the Eitz…

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Home -> 5784 -> Yisro

בחדש השלישי לצאת בני ישראת מארץ מצרים... באו מדבר סיני

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5784

In the third month from the exodus of Bnei Yisrael from the land of Egypt… they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai. (19:1)

Chazal (Midrash) ask why Hashem did not give the Torah to the Jewish People immediately upon their departure from Egypt. Why was it necessary to wait seven weeks for this seminal event to take place? They cite a parable comparing the Jewish people to a young prince who had been ill and was weakened from his illness. Once he had recuperated, his father said, “I will allow him to rest for a while to recoup his strength, and then I will send him back to cheder.” Klal Yisrael left Egypt flawed by the spiritual blemishes to which they had become…

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Home -> 5783 -> Yisro

כבד את אביך ואת אמך למען יאריכון ימיך

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5783

Honor your father and mother, so that your days will be lengthened. (20:12)

Every mitzvah is accompanied by halachos, laws, and customs which guide its fulfillment. If one does not adhere to them, the fulfillment of the mitzvah is nullified. Some mitzvos have numerous halachos, while others are simple and basic. The mitzvah of kibbud av v’eim, honoring one’s parents, which is one of the most difficult mitzvos to carry out properly, has a considerable amount of laws and criteria which must be met in order to appropriately execute this mitzvah. Determining what is included in the term kavod, honor, and what is not and who is deserving of honor (i.e. an abusive…

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Home -> 5783 -> Yisro

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5783

Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it. (20:8)

I think the primary essence of Shabbos is to be derived from the word l’kadsho, “to sanctify it.” This does not in any way mean to belittle the importance of zachor, “remember,” the Shabbos. Clearly, one who does not remember, who does not observe Shabbos according to halachah, can hardly sanctify it. The suggestion, however, is that Shabbos observance without focusing on its sanctity, by concentrating on the positive aspects of rest, and how this time should be spent spiritually elevating ourselves, undermines the essence of Shabbos. Shabbos is a day of elevation, of spiritual growth, which is achieved through…

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Home -> 5783 -> Yisro

אנכי ד' אלקיך אשר הוצאתיך מארץ מצרים מבית עבדים

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5783

I am Hashem, Your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. (20:2)

Kabbalas haTorah, the Giving/Receiving of the Torah, was the crown of Creation. As the Abir Yaakov (Horav Yaakov Abuchatzeira, zl) writes, the purpose of Creation is to recognize Hashem’s Monarchy. It is understandable that the world cannot exist without Torah, which guides us how to serve Hashem. In this sense, the world was not completed until Klal Yisrael received/accepted the Torah on Har Sinai. With this in mind, the Abir Yaakov explains the first pesukim of the Torah: Bereishis bara Elokim, “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth…darkness was on the face of the depths, and the…

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Home -> 5783 -> Yisro

ויספר משה לחתנו את כל אשר עשה ד' ... ויאמר יתרו ברוך ד' אשר הציל אתכם

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5783

Moshe told his father-in-law everything that Hashem had done… Yisro said, “Blessed is Hashem Who has rescued you.” (18:8,10)

The power that a story has to impact a person cannot be overstated. Horav Nachman Breslover, zl, teaches, “There is nothing that revives the spirit, purifies the heart, deepens the thought, or draws us close to our Father in Heaven more than telling a story (obviously, there is an art to telling a story). Indeed, prior to giving us the mitzvos of the Torah, Hashem preceded it with the story of Creation.” Moshe Rabbeinu employed the effectiveness of a story to inspire Yisro and draw his heart close to Hashem, “Moshe related to his father-in-law all that Hashem had done.”…

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Home -> 5782 -> Yisro

לא תגנב

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5782

Do not steal. (20:13)

We all come across people whom we once trusted, until they took advantage of our trust – then we lost it. The problem is that, unfortunately, after one person hurts us, we tend to judge everyone according to that new barometer. Not all people are perfect, and some extenuating circumstances bring out the worst in people. Sadly, it is so much easier to think negatively than positively, because negativity requires less creativity. Once betrayed, we are inclined to dig in and ignore everyone, because we do not want to be hurt again – and again. While everyone deserves the benefit…

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Home -> 5782 -> Yisro

לא תרצח לא תנאף לא תגנב

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5782

You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal. (20:13)

The Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, comprise the centerpiece of Hashem’s Revelation at Har Sinai. They are the basis of our Torah. One would think that when Hashem “introduces” Himself to the people that He redeemed from Egypt, for whom He wrought unparalleled miracles, a nation that had achieved an extraordinarily high level of holiness, the dor deiah, generation of knowledge, that these commands would be earth-shattering. Yet, Hashem enjoins them to commit to such common sensical prohibitive mitzvos as: do not steal; do not commit adultery; do not murder. One lectures to a group of revered intellectuals concerning profound matters,…

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Home -> 5782 -> Yisro

זכור את יום השבת לקדשו כבד את אביך ואת אמך

Sruly Schnair
In Yisro, 5782

Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it. (20:8) Honor your father and your mother. (20:12)

“Remembering” Shabbos should be a part of our lives. It is the vehicle by which we come closer to Hashem. How can we squander a moment? How can we fail to remember? This mitzvah is followed by the commandment to honor one’s parents. The juxtaposition of these two mitzvos upon one another (they are repeated in Parashas Kedoshim, Vayikra 19:3), in which both mitzvos are included in the same pasuk) implies a special relationship between the two. The fact that in Vayikra, they follow after the enjoinment of Kedoshim tiheyu, “You shall be holy,” indicates that, although every mitzvah consecrates…

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