Yisro – Page 12 – Peninim on the Torah

“Beware of ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

Rabbi Paysach Krohn cites the Kotzker Rebbe’s homiletic interpretation of this pasuk. This was to be the basis of a speech that Rabbi Moshe Sherer,z.l., was to deliver at Agudath Israel’s 76th Annual Dinner. Regrettably, Rabbi Sherer, who served as Agudah’s president for over thirty years, passed away that morning. The following is the Rebbe’s exegesis and Rabbi Sherer’s supplemental note. There are instances when one undertakes a project with the desire to make a significant contribution via his work. All too often, as happens with many of us, we do not achieve our planned goals. Yet, this does not faze…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5761

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

To what extent must one honor his parents? Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, focuses on the degree of kavod, honor, one must accord to a parent who, due to illness or advanced age, has a deteriorated mental capacity. The question becomes stronger in situations when the illness has advanced to the point that there are serious issues of extreme hardship for the children, both as sons or daughters to their parents and as husbands or wives to their respective mates. How much does one have to sacrifice for a parent? How much hardship, and – at times – abuse must one…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5760

“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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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5760

“The name of one was Gershom, for he had said, ‘I was a sojourner in a strange land.’” (18:3)

Horav Shlomo Margolis, Shlita, notes that Yosef Ha’tzadik named his first son Menasheh because “G-d has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household” (Bereishis 41:51). Upon naming their sons, Moshe Rabbeinu and Yosef recognized the significance of remembering the past. There are people who attempt to erase the past, to eradicate the memories of the previous generation, its culture and way of life. Some are even ashamed of the past, considering it to be obsolete and antiquated. Not so the Torah- oriented Jew. He remembers the past; he venerates the past; he lives the present and…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5760

“Beware of ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

Rabbi Paysach Krohn cites the Kotzker Rebbe’s homiletic interpretation of this pasuk. This was to be the basis of a speech that Rabbi Moshe Sherer,z.l., was to deliver at Agudath Israel’s 76th Annual Dinner. Regrettably, Rabbi Sherer, who served as Agudah’s president for over thirty years, passed away that morning. The following is the Rebbe’s exegesis and Rabbi Sherer’s supplemental note. There are instances when one undertakes a project with the desire to make a significant contribution via his work. All too often, as happens with many of us, we do not achieve our planned goals. Yet, this does not faze…

Home -> 5760 -> Yisro

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5760

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

To what extent must one honor his parents? Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, focuses on the degree of kavod, honor, one must accord to a parent who, due to illness or advanced age, has a deteriorated mental capacity. The question becomes stronger in situations when the illness has advanced to the point that there are serious issues of extreme hardship for the children, both as sons or daughters to their parents and as husbands or wives to their respective mates. How much does one have to sacrifice for a parent? How much hardship, and – at times – abuse must one…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5759

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

Chazal praise Klal Yisrael’s affirmative response, their ability to accept the challenge of performing Hashem’s command without demanding a rationale. “Naase v’nishma,” – “We will do and we will listen,” was the clarion cry of our anscestors as they accepted the Torah. Chazal cite the awesome reward that Klal Yisrael received for declaring “naase“, we will do, before “nishma,” we will listen. Indeed, Hashem queried, “Who revealed this secret to My children, a phrase that only the ministering angels use?” Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves: What difference does it really make? In the end, they accepted both aspects- to…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5759

Hashem said to Moshe, “Go to the people and sanctify them…and they shall wash their clothing…You shall set boundaries for the people roundabout… (19:10,12)

The Torah is enjoining people to prepare for the moment of Revelation when they will receive the Torah. They are to wash their clothes and fix limits around the mountain, so that no human or animal would be able to come closer. We may note the distinction of these two mitzvos – washing clothes and cordoning off the periphery of the mountain. What is the significance for these two forms of preparation for Kabolas HaTorah? Horav Y.A. Hirshovitz, zl, suggests that these two mitzvos serve not only as preparatory agents for Klal Yisrael’s ascent to religious nationhood, they underscore the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5759

On the third day…there was thunder and lightning…and the entire people that was in the camp shuddered. (19:16)

Klal Yisrael was not the only one to shudder from the noise. That awesome sound, the “mysterium tremendum” that accompanied the Revelation and Giving of the Torah, echoed far beyond the periphery of that mountain. It reached an entire world. They all gathered together, the kings and princes, the common man and scholar, to offer praise to the Almighty. The Midrash says that they were scared; they feared for their lives. They thought the world was coming to an end. Perhaps Hashem was deluging the world with another mabul, flood. They went to their “wise man,” seeking guidance and encouragement. …

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5759

The entire nation saw the thunder and the flames. (20:15)

The level of prophecy and spiritual perception which Klal Yisrael achieved during the Giving of the Torah was unprecedented. Indeed, as the pasuk implies, they were able to “see” the “sounds.” Although thunder is an invisible sound, Klal Yisrael were able to transcend the barriers of human limitation and rise to a level of superhuman comprehension. They could now see what is heard under normal physical constraints. Seeing and hearing are two functions of the human body, each of which projects its own individual level of perception. One sees with clarity. To see means to perceive with an unambigious level…

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“Beware of ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

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

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

“The name of one was Gershom, for he had said, ‘I was a sojourner in a strange land.’” (18:3)

“Beware of ascending the mountain or touching its edge; whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

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

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

Hashem said to Moshe, “Go to the people and sanctify them…and they shall wash their clothing…You shall set boundaries for the people roundabout… (19:10,12)

On the third day…there was thunder and lightning…and the entire people that was in the camp shuddered. (19:16)

The entire nation saw the thunder and the flames. (20:15)

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