Six days shall you work and perform all you labors.

(Shemot 20:9)

Six days shall you work – at

temporal matters, which are, without doubt, the work of a slave, because much

of his work is really not essential, like the work of a slave.

And perform all you labor – which

is essential for one who is satisfied [with what he really needs].

(S'forno, ibid.)

All your labors – Much of

your labor, as in the case of "all my plagues".

(Hiszkuni. Ibid., ibid.)

And He further wishes to command

that one not think about his weekday work on the Sabbath, as is written, "Six

days etc". And let it be in your eyes as though you have already

completed all your work, as per the words of our Sages (Rashi, Ibid. 9) "Rest as though your work

is already completed', rather than planning his work, and considering what word

remains to complete during the week. Go and learn from the story of the

righteous man who fined himself for having thought on Shabbat about fixing a

broken fence – he decided never to complete it, etc." (Shabbat 150b).

 (Ohr HaHayyim, ibid, ibid.)

Shall you work. 'Work'

refers to that work which brings sustenance, such one who works his land or

works for his master. And every man is a slave unto himself, as in the words of

our Sages in Bereishit Rabba, on the passage "And the human became a

living creature". And so is it written regarding the Festival Days "No

task of work", meaning work which is for the purpose of sustenance not for

the sake of the pleasure of the moment. And perform all your labors – this

refers to work which is for the sake of pleasure, such as baking, cooking, etc.

(Haamek Davar, ibid. ibid.)

And it may be said in a lighter

vein that the meaning of the Sages dictum (Shabbat

118a) "Treat your Sabbath like a weekday rather than be dependent

upon men" is that you should prepare all your Sabbath on the weekdays,

that all your weekdays be activity for the sake of the Sabbath, and as a

result of this he will be given inheritance without limit, and he will not need

to depend on people.

(Katav Sofer, ibid. ibid.)

 "After her being sent away":

Moshe's family – victim of his mission

Pinchas Shifman

Yithro, Moshe's

father-in-law, wants to reunite Moshe with his family, his wife, Tsipporah, "after

she had been sent away" (a term, simply understood, related to divorce, as

is written "and he shall send her away from his house" [Devarim 24.1]), and the two sons, Gershom and

Eliezer, referred to as 'the sons of Tzipporah'. Moshe is happy to see Yithro,

but seems to exhibit no joy towards his wife/divorcee and his sons. His

father-in-law, seeing Moshe's heavy workload, advises him to delegate some of

his judicial authority to others, perhaps in the hope that he will be able to

devote some time to his family. There is no evidence, however, that Moshe's

lightened load leads to renewal of familial ties. After Moshe accepts Yithro's

recommendations, he sends him, too, off to his land (Shemot 14:27). It is not clear whether or not Tsipporah and her

sons accompanied Yithro. In any case, we are left with the impression that the

leader, devoted to his mission, remains separated from his wife, and distanced

from his sons.

In order to

more fully understand the matter, we must go back to Parashat Shemot (3:18-26). Following Moshe's protracted refusal

to accept the appointment, there occurs the mysterious "bridegroom of

blood" incident. Moshe mounts his wife and sons on the donkey for the trip

back to Egypt

– for God had told him "all the persons who sought your life are dead"

(ibid. 19). On the way, at the night

camp, he is imperiled by a supernatural force; he encounters the Lord who "sought

to kill him".* By circumcising her son, Tsipporah saves Moshe from death. According

to one opinion in the Talmud, Moshe deserved punishment not because he had

neglected to circumcise his son, but because he gave "priority to making

arrangements for camping" (Nedarim 31b),

which Rabbi Yitzchak Armaah explains, "this term expresses attending to

love of his family, including the company of the wife and children" (Akeidat Yitzchak, Chapter 35). After the Lord's

attempt to kill him, Moshe understands that he must forgo the company of his

wife and sons. True, Tsipporah had repelled the threat on Moshe's life, saying

to him "you are to me a bridegroom of blood"; I saved you with the

blood of our son – the blood of the circumcision in place of your blood.

Through this you have again become my bridegroom. She pleads with him to return

to be hers – "you are to me", but her cry remains unanswered once

Moshe considers himself dedicated wholly to his mission. There is nothing left

for conjugal and paternal relations. Tsipporah's hopes are dashed. The only

groom remaining for her is her son, the "bridegroom of blood". In the

struggle between mission and family, the all-demanding mission prevails. Moshe

sends Tsipporah to her father's home.

At the giving

of the Torah at Mt.

Sinai, Moshe's decision

receives approval. The Children of Israel, about to approach this encounter

with God, are commanded not to approach their wives: "Ready yourselves for

three days. Do not go near a woman" (Shemot

19:15). Moshe concludes that inasmuch as he is constantly in God's

presence, he is obligated to perpetual abstinence. This is one of the three

decisions that Moshe makes independently and the Almighty concurs (Shabbat 87a). Moshe's brush with Miriam at the

end of Parashat B'haalotecha (Bemidbar 1:15)

raises the subject again. Most commentators identify "the Cushite woman"

that Moshe took and about whom Aharon and Miriam spoke, as Tsippora, Moshe's

ex-wife. God's excoriation of Aharon and Miriam ties in nicely with this

approach; Moshe's relation to God is an intimate one – "mouth to mouth do

I speak with him" – similar to that existing between husband and wife;

this closeness demands exclusivity and uniqueness. Therefore, says the Midrash

(quoted by Rashi) that the revelation to Miriam and Aharon was "sudden",

while they themselves did indulge in derech eretz [the way of the land],

that is to say, did maintain conjugal relations.

All this came

to teach them that they are not permanently "on call" to receive

revelation; on the other hand, Moshe's separation from the woman was a result

of Moshe's need for intimate and constant closeness to God. This separation is

for selected individuals only: "Go, say to them, Return you to your tents.

And you, stand here by me…" (Devarim

5:27-28). They returned to their tents, Moshe remained alone with the

Lord.

It is

superfluous to note that in Christianity, abstinence became an ideal, and not

for individuals alone. Even in our own sources we see tension between those who

wish to devote themselves to the study of Torah and the desire to marry a

woman. This tension reaches its peak in the case of Ben-Azai who expounded that

whoever does not observe "be fruitful and multiply" is like a

murderer, even though he himself did not practice what he preached. Being

totally devoted to Torah study, he refrained from marriage, claiming that the

world can be run by others (Yevamoth 65b).

But many are the stories about women who were neglected by their spouses who

devoted themselves to Torah. The iniquity perpetrated upon women, and the

punishment exacted from those whose Torah monopolized them to the point of

cutting off contact with their wives, are hinted at more than once (story of Rav Rahumi in Ketuboth 62b). But in

the case of Moshe, we do not detect any note of reservation from the insult and

hurt imposed upon Tsipporah, even though, according to our Sages, Tsipporah

expressed her concern for the wives of Eldad and Meidad who began "to

prophecy in the camp", warning them that their end would be as hers,

separated from their husbands (Sifri 99, and

Rashi on Bemidbar, ibid.)

Similarly we

detect no note of demur at Moshe's shedding responsibility for his children.

According to the Midrash, this began yet when Moshe swore to Yithro. Whereas

the name Eliezer [God is my help] expresses Moshe's gratitude for his

deliverance: "For the Lord of my father is my help and he rescued me from

Pharaoh's sword", the name "Gershom" expresses a kind of

apology: "For I was a stranger in an alien land" (Shemot 14:3). And perhaps these matters are

connected to that oath (appearing in the Midrash), which Moshe swore to Yithro,

that his first son would be dedicated to idolatry (Mechilta

d'Rav Yishmael, Yithro, Masechta D'Amalek, 1). and therefore only

Tsipporah was able – through circumcision – to free Moshe of that oath. That

oath – hinted at in the phrase "And Moshe agreed to dwell with the man (Shemot 2:21)  – is repeated in the incident of the idol of

Micah "And the Levite agreed to dwell with the man" (Judges 17:11), where the idol was made by "Yehonatan,

son of Gershom, son of Menashe" (ibid.

18:30), dropping a hint that Menashe is none other than Moshe, because

the letter "Nun" is 'hung' – placed higher than the other letters – and

it is doubtful whether it is part of the name. All this comes to teach us that

Moshe's oath to his father-in-law continued to pursue his progeny. In any case,

Moshe's sons did not continue in their father's footsteps. The Midrash

identifies "the lad" who called upon Moshe to incarcerate Eldad and

Meidad who had prophesied in the camp (Bemidbar

11:27-27) as Gershom (Tanhuma Buber, B'haalotecha

22), and Moshe's response- "Are you jealous on my part"

indicates that the lad's reaction was improper. The phenomenon of children not

following in their parents' ways is not uncommon in the Bible (for example, the

sons of Eli, who "were scoundrels" (I

Shmuel, 2:12) and the sons of Shmuel "who sought lucre, took bribes

and perverted justice" (Ibid. 8:2-3)).

One is lead to suspect – was this not perhaps the price that a prophet's family

had to pay for total devotion to his mission.

* An

alternative reading of the text has Moshe's firstborn son as the one doomed to

die. According to this interpretation, we have an associative continuum: Israel is God's

firstborn; Pharaoh refuses to send away the Jewish people. Therefore, measure

for measure, Pharaoh's firstborn is doomed to die (a hint anticipating the

Plague of the Firstborn); Moshe's oldest uncircumcised son is doomed to die,

but just as the blood sprinkled on the doorposts saved the Children of Israel

from death, so the blood of circumcision save Moshe's firstborn son. The

circumcision connects to the Midrash which will appear later in the context of

Moshe's oath to Yithro.

Pinchas

Shifman is a Professor of family law. His book "One Language and One Set

of Words – Studies in Law, Halacha, and Society", was released recently by

"Keter Publishers".

"GOD"

Creation. "The mountain of

God': (So called) because there Israel

accepted the divinity of the Holy One, Blessed Be He.

(Shemot Rabba, Parasha. 2)

Our Sages

intended to tell us that actually the main principle of the religion is to

uproot all matters of idolatry from the hearts of the Children of Israel, and

to show them that they saw no visualization, for

there exists no holiness in anything created – only the Creator, Be He Blessed (is holy), Therefore the midrash

said not to imagine that the mountain is holy, and because of it God revealed

Himself upon it. Not so the Children of Israel. For "When the sound

of the ram's-horn is drawn out, they may go up on the mountain" – the

mountain is the abode of beasts and cattle. Only when the Divine Presence is

upon it, it is holy by virtue of the Creator's holiness. Therefore it is said

that "The location of man does not do him honor, but the man does the

place honor" (Taanit 21b) This is an

important concept. Therefore, in the Beit Olamim, whose holiness is forever, no one should think that the actual

building is holy; therefore

behind it is permissible to touch all impurity and even that made impure by

contact with corpses… to demonstrate that only Him, who has caused his Name

to rest in this building, are you to fear, Inside it is holy, but not behind,

for within are the tablets and the testaments and the sanctuary.

(Meshekh Hokhma, Shemot 19:13)

Yitro's

Advice, and Its Impact on Moshe

"Moshe

hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, he did it all as he had said"

If "Moshe hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law" than certainly

"he did it all as he had said"!? – all that his father-in-law had

told him, these are the words of Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Elazar HaModai says:

Moshe listened, and saw, and did all which God told him. (Mekhilta, Yitro, Masechet Amalek, Parasha 2)…

There is a difference between listening to a voice and hearing a voice. Shmiah b'kol indicates

reception of the words. Shmiah l'kol indicates that the listener is

taking the words to heart, carefully weighing with his intelligence. Therefore

it says "He did it all as he had said." Had it been written

"Vayishma b'kol" – it would have been superfluous to add that

"he did it all as he had said." But since it is written "Vayishma l'kol"

– meaning that he was contemplating his words, we cannot yet know that he

implemented his advice. At this point he is contemplating his words, but still

cannot implement them, because they have as yet not received Parashat Mishpatim

(set of laws), and Moshe did not want them to render judgment by their

reasoning and appraisal. Only afterwards, after he had taught them the laws,

did he do all that was said.

(Malbim, Shemot 18:24)

You should make

clear to them the laws and the instructions, you make known to them the way

they should go on it, and the deeds that they should do…" (Shemot

18:20)

Rav Yosef

taught:

"You make

known to them" – this is their house of life (Rashi: "To teach them a

trade to support themselves")

"the

way" – this is the doing of righteous deeds

they should

go" – this is the visiting of the sick

"on

it" – this is burial

"and the

deeds" – this is the law

"that they

should do" – this is beyond the letter of the law.

(Bavli, Bava Metsiah 30b)

…all these acts and

those similar to them are incorporated in one mitzvah mentioned expressly in

the Torah… "Love your fellow as yourself."

(From the preface to Sefer Hamitzvot of the Rambam)

"Vehiz'harta"

(you make known to them): Written with the letter 'heh' at the end, to

teach that if you yourself do not (do the act), it will not be of value if

others do it. The meaning of the (seemingly) superfluous 'heh' is that if not

you, no one else can come in your place, for without the Godly power of Moshe,

it will not be done properly. And this too does it add: Not as you said, that

only the laws and the instructions are you to make known – but not the social

conventions and good customs which the sages and great men of Israel are

empowered to enact without you, – such is not the case… but "you make

known to them the way they should go," and all this is explained in

the Gemorrah (Bava Metsiah 30b), all

this comprises the ways of derech eretz.

(Haamek Davar, Shemot 18:20)

"And you

shall warn them" – as in the Book of Daniel (12:3)

"And the knowledgeable shall be radiant" [Trans. Note – the Hebrew

root z-h-r is may mean "to make known', 'to warn', to radiate'] That they

should elucidate and illuminate for them the laws and the teachings until they

are pure and enlightening like the very heavens, and [in the continuation of

the passage, "and you shall make known to them the way etc."] he

concurs with Moshe's previous statement, "and I make known God's statutes

and His teachings".

(Rabbi Yitzchak Shmuel Reggio, Shemot 18:20)

"By

Wielding Your Sword Upon Them You Will Have Profaned Them" – Altar and

Sword are Antithetical.

…And so it is

written [regarding the stones of the altar] (Devarim

27): "Do not wield an iron tool over them" and elsewhere (Shemot 20:21) it is written: "By

wielding your sword upon them you will have profaned them"; in what

way does iron differ from other metals? It is because the sword is

symbolic of curse, whereas the altar symbolizes atonement; the logic of kal

va'chomer dictates that a symbol of curse must make way for an object of

atonement; if an altar constructed of stones which neither see nor speak nor

eat nor drink – and because they make peace between Israel and their father in

heaven, the Torah says, "Do not wield an iron tool over them" – then

certainly Torah students, who are an atonement for the world, all the more so!

And similarly (Devarim 27): "You

must build the altar of the Lord your God of whole stones" – Stones

which bring peace to the world. We learn a kal va'chomer: If such be

the case with stones which do not see nor hear nor speak nor eat nor drink, but

make peace between Israel and their father in heaven – if they must be whole

before Me, Torah students, who are an atonement for the world, certainly they

must be whole before The Holy One, Blessed Be He.

 (Tractate Semachot 8b)

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