Parshat Yitro

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" - There Is No Inherent Sanctity In Any Tree, Rock, Mountain, or Any Other 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)

 

 

 

About us

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts that have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an imperative.

4,500 copies of a 4-page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il.

Shabbat Shalom is available on our website: www.netivot-shalom.org.il

For responses and arranging to write for Shabbat Shalom: pleiser@netvision.net.il