Yisro – Page 7 – Peninim on the Torah

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)

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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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5772

“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, 5772

“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, 5772

“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, 5771

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

The Talmud Sanhedrin 94 notes that it was embarrassing for Moshe Rabbeinu and 600,000 Jews that Yisro was the first one to bless Hashem for saving them. This reality comprises a powerful critique of the Jewish People and their leadership. Imagine, no one had been moved to bless Hashem for all the incredible miracles which He had wrought for them until Yisro expressed his feelings of gratitude and praise. It almost does not make sense. But what about the Shirah, “the Song by the Sea” – a Song of Praise and gratitude, which Moshe and Klal Yisrael sang immediately after…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

“Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

The mountain represents a sphere of holiness that is beyond the reach of the average person. To penetrate the boundaries around it is intensely dangerous to the welfare of the individual. The Chafetz Chaim, zl, derives an important lesson concerning the reverence we must accord to a talmid chacham, Torah scholar. A mountain has no intelligence and no feelings. Yet, simply because it was the place from which the Torah was given, it attained such an element of kedushah, holiness, that the people were admonished not to touch it. How much more so should we revere the Torah scholar who…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

Hashem descended upon Har Sinai…; Hashem summoned Moshe to the top of the mountain, and Moshe ascended. (19:20)

Elevating Klal Yisrael to the level of Kabbolas HaTorah, receiving the Torah, was not an overnight task. The Jewish People had been enslaved in Egypt for two-hundred and ten years, suffering persecution and degradation, misery and emotional pain, until they cried out to Hashem. This catalyzed their return to Him, effecting their spiritual development, and preparing them for the seminal movement in Jewish history: the Giving of the Torah. Egypt was the crucible that tempered their spirit. The era of Egyptian bondage served as their incubation period, during which they evolved from the Hebrew people to Bnei Yisrael, endowed with the…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Yisro, 5771

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt. (20:2)

Yashem identified Himself to Klal Yisrael as the One Who performed the miracles of the Exodus. It would have been logical for Hashem to have identified Himself as the Creator of the Universe, which is clearly a more encompassing title than the Liberator Who freed them from bondage. While it is true that his liberation involved many miracles which attested to Hashem’s awesome powers, they still pale in comparison with the creation of the Universe. In the Kuzari, Rabbi Yehudah Halevi, zl, explains that Hashem spoke of the Exodus because it was a phenomenon that was seen, as the entire…

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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)

“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)

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

“Whoever touches the mountain shall surely die.” (19:12)

Hashem descended upon Har Sinai…; Hashem summoned Moshe to the top of the mountain, and Moshe ascended. (19:20)

I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt. (20:2)

YEARS

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