Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello, my friends, and welcome back to this week's episode of the Practical Parsha Podcast. This is Rabbi Shlomo Cohen. I hope you are well for this week. We are jumping right into Parshas Yisro.
[00:00:15] And before we begin, as always, the usual spiel.
[00:00:20] If you have any questions, comments.
[00:00:23] I'll even be a little vulnerable this week. If you have some suggestions.
[00:00:28] I don't want to say criticisms, but reach out, say hello, My email address is Rabbi Shlomokon Kohmail.com I'd love to hear from you.
[00:00:40] This week's Parsha is Parshas Yisro. Just to give a quick overview of the Parsha before we jump right into some practical ideas for us to take out of this week's Parsha. The Parsha begins with the father in law of, of Moshe Rabbeinu, the father in law of Moses Yisroel, also known as Jethro, hearing, um, about the miracles that happened to the Jewish people.
[00:01:06] And he decides to join the Jewish nation.
[00:01:12] And he comes to the encampment of the Jewish people.
[00:01:17] And Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to go out and to greet him. His father in law, the Midrashim and the Talmud tell us that Yisroel Jethro was a very unique person.
[00:01:29] He was somebody that before he came to Judaism, he tried every religion in the world, every type of idol worship, everything, all of it. And in nothing, he found meaning until he came to the Jewish nation.
[00:01:46] And in this week's Parasha, Yisroel becomes part of the nation. And upon his arrival, he notices that Moshe Rabbeinu, the leader of the Jewish nation, is judging the nation.
[00:01:59] And he sees his son in law, Moses Moshe, becoming, you know, worn out, working very hard to answer the questions of the people.
[00:02:10] And he makes a suggestion to Moshe Rabbeinu that to set up a system of judges where Moshe could teach the elders of the Jewish nation, and those elders could teach other Talmid, Checham, other Torah scholars.
[00:02:25] And thus a system of judges where people would have their questions would go to a smaller judge or smaller rabbi. If the question would be larger, they'd go to the higher ups, and so on and so on and so forth until it would work to Moshe Rabbeinu, if it was a big enough question, you know, and only so. Therefore, Moshe had a system was put in place, was helped to be put in place by Yisroel. It was upon Yisroel's suggestion that Moshe put this into action.
[00:02:57] The Parsha continues And probably the culmination, the pinnacle of this week's Parasha is the giving of the Torah. The Jewish people arrive in Sinai. Hashem, ah G D tells Moshe Rabbeinu to tell the Jewish nation to prepare themselves for the day of revelation, where G D will reveal himself to the entire Jewish nation.
[00:03:22] And on the third day of preparation, after they get ready for accepting the Torah, God gives the Jewish people the Ten Commandments. Now, something that is unique about Judaism, over all the other religions in the world, is that we are the only religion that makes a claim of national revelation, meaning that we believe. And that's what the Torah states.
[00:03:50] That Hashem made a revelation not to one person, not to his prophet, not to Moshe Rabbeinu, but rather to the entire Jewish nation. And this, in fact, is what the Torah states. That, uh, Hashem, God spoke the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people. And actually the commentaries tell us that either he said all 10 in one shot to the Jewish nation, and they couldn't comprehend. And then he said over the first and second one clearly. So the people heard and understood. And at that point, the Jewish nation was not able to withstand that level of prophecy. So at that point, Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses took over and taught the remaining eight to the Jewish nation. But either way, we are the only religion in the world that makes a claim of national revelation that Hashem that God came to each and every one of the Jewish people.
[00:04:44] It was a public event. And really it could be talked about, maybe a different episode. We could talk about it. But when you make a claim like that, it can't be disproved.
[00:04:57] When a claim is made or when someone claims that God came to him personally, so that person could be lying.
[00:05:05] But when a claim is made in the Torah that God revealed himself to the entire Jewish nation, that is a claim that cannot be denied.
[00:05:16] And there's different ways of going about this argument, but the end of the day it's that when the Torah makes a claim of national revelation, it's something that can't be disproven. And the Parasha concludes with the Ten Commandments. The first one is Hashem to have faith in G D's existence, that he's internal and he has complete and unfettered power. Is the prohibition the second of, uh, the Ten Commandments, is there a prohibition against idolatry?
[00:05:45] The third is. Is the prohibition against taking an oath in vain. The fourth is to keep the Shabbos. The fifth is to honor thy mother and thy father.
[00:05:57] The sixth is the Prohibition against murder, do not murder. The seventh, the prohibition against adultery. The eighth, the prohibition against kidnapping. The ninth, the prohibition against bearing false witness.
[00:06:13] And the tenth is a prohibition against coveting. The first idea I want to share with you today takes us to the beginning of the Parasha, where Yisro, the father in law of Moshe, is coming with Tzipporah, his daughter, Moshe's wife, and Moshe's two children, Gershon and Eliezer. And the Midrashim, the commentaries tell us that when Yisroel came to join the Jewish nation, he said, you know, please accept me. And even if you won't accept me for my sake, accept me for your wife's sake. And even if you won't accept me for your wife's sake, accept me for your children's sake. And the verses detail how Yisroel came to the encampment of the Jewish nation.
[00:07:01] And the posseq says something very interesting. It says that he came Vayika Chisrachoshen, Moshe Estiporah, Eisha's Moshe Achashe Luchel. It says in the posse that Yisro, the father in law of Moshe, took Tzipporah, the wife of Moshe, after she had been been sent away.
[00:07:22] And the next posse continues.
[00:07:35] The next verse continues.
[00:07:41] The psukim are, uh, translated as follows. And her two sons, of whom the name, one was Gershon, for he had said, I was a sojourner in a strange land, and the name of the other was Eliezer, for the God of my father came to my aid, and he saved me from the sword of Paro. So the psukim, the verses are delineating, explaining to us why Mushara Rabbeinu named his sons the way he named them. The reason why he named his son um Gershon is because he was a foreigner in a foreign land, that when he ran away from Egypt, he went to Midian.
[00:08:21] And in Midian he was an alien. He was a foreigner.
[00:08:25] And that's why he named his son Gershom.
[00:08:29] And the second son, his name is Eliezer. He named it because he said Hashem saved him. Hashem saved him from the sword of Paro.
[00:08:38] And the question that's raised by the Chavitz Chaim is that what happened first.
[00:08:46] First, Moshe, Rabbeinu, Moses, he was saved from Paro, right? He was saved from the sword of Pharaoh. That happened first. First he had to run away, and then after that, after he had run away from the sword of Pharaoh, being saved, he ended up in Midian.
[00:09:06] And over there, he was a sojourner, he was an alien.
[00:09:10] So if he's naming his children, it would make more sense to name them in the chronicle Chronic, to name them in the chronological order of the events that happened to him. Right? If he's giving these reasonings of why he's naming his children the way he's naming, you know, if the Torah is giving the reasoning of Moshe Rabbeinu, of why he named his children the way he named them, one was because he was saved from Paro, and and one was because he was a foreigner in a foreign land. Why is it that the oldest son is named out of order, meaning the oldest son is named because he was a foreigner, and the second son is named because he was saved from Paro? It should be the other way around. The older son should be named Eliezer because that's what happened first, he was saved from the sword of Pharaoh. And the second son should be named Gershon, because only after he was saved from Paro was he, uh, a foreigner in a foreign land. That's the question of the Chavitz Chaim. It seems to be out of order. Moshe Rabbeinu named his oldest son Gershom. He should have named the oldest son Eliezer. And the second son should have been named Gershon because that's how the events happened to him.
[00:10:23] And the answer that the Chavitz Chaim gives us gives us a profound insight into our outlook in life.
[00:10:33] Moshe Rabbeinu, he ran away from Paro and he ended up in Midian.
[00:10:38] He was away from his family. He was away from the Jewish people. He was all alone.
[00:10:45] And in those days, it wasn't like it was today. There really was no connection. Yet, you know, he was by himself. According to some commentaries, he was there for 80 years.
[00:10:56] But Moshe Rabbeinu, he never wanted to lose that focus, that he's only an alien in this foreign land. He doesn't belong in Midian. He belongs with his people.
[00:11:08] He belongs, you know, with his nation.
[00:11:12] And that's why he named his first son Gershom, to remind himself that on this mission that he's on, he's only a sojourner. He's an alien. He's meant to be back with the Jewish nation.
[00:11:27] He's not supposed to be by himself in this alien land to become part of it. So therefore, that's why he named his first son after this idea, that to remind him that he's not part of this place. He has a mission and he has an Objective.
[00:11:45] And he has to constantly remind himself of that.
[00:11:47] And that's why the first son was named Gershon, even though the sequence of events happen in the opposite. Uh, because he wanted to do something, to remind himself, to make an imprint in his mind, in his heart that he doesn't belong and to keep his focus where he truly knows he needs to be and what his mission is. And the Chavitz Chaim continues with a mushle, with a parable, that if, you know, there's a person as a businessman who had to travel a great distance to go to this once a year fear.
[00:12:25] And this, you know, it's not like in these days. It was, it was a hundred years ago when traveling distances, uh, was much more difficult, much more dangerous. And he had to travel for a few months to get to this special fair where at this fair there would be an opportunity for him to sell his merchandise and to perhaps make enough money for himself to support himself for years.
[00:12:50] And during this time, when he finally makes it to the fair, people come over to him and say, ah, how are you doing? You know, I remember you from, you know, some of his acquaintances. He meets them, says, you're at this fear now. How about we go out, we go out for a smoke, we'll have a beer, we'll take it easy, we'll relax over here. It's in this nice hotel.
[00:13:11] He'll chase them away. He says, what, are you crazy? I traveled so far to get here and I only have two days to sell my weirs here. The opportunity I have is so great that if even a moment I waste, it's foolish. I'm a fool if I do that and tells them, forget about it. I came here for a mission. I don't want to forget why I'm here for. I have to focus on what I'm supposed to do, which is to help make myself a Parnassus, to help make myself a livelihood. And the relaxation and, uh, the beers, the enjoyment could be for a later time.
[00:13:47] And the way that we understand this parable to us and how it can help us with our outlook on life is that we're here on this earth for how long?
[00:14:03] 70, 80, 90? You know, thank God we live in a generation, people living to a hundred. Well, you know, and Hashem should bless us all, that we should live long, healthy lives. But ultimately, how long is it?
[00:14:17] It's not so long. A hundred years.
[00:14:19] It's not too much time. Life flies by before our eyes, and Hashem put us in this world for a Mission. He didn't, you know, he didn't give us such a lofty soul. Our souls don't want to be in this world. They want to be up in shamayim, in heaven. That's where it's a spiritual being.
[00:14:39] But Hashem, God forces us down here to do this mission.
[00:14:43] And the mission that we have is to get close to G D, is to learn Torah, to do the mitzvahs, to perfect ourselves, you know, and while we are perfecting ourselves, to perfect the world as well.
[00:14:58] And so if we have this mission, so now when we have that pull for enjoyment or for pleasure, it's foolish right now, obviously. Doesn't mean you can't relax, doesn't mean you can't have a good time. But what's the focus of our lives?
[00:15:16] What's the outlook that we need to have? The overarching focus that we need to keep when it comes to this world and the time that we have here? Is it all for enjoyment?
[00:15:30] And, you know, that's it. Or there's a greater purpose, or there's a mission for us. We're like the businessman at the fair. We traveled from our neshama, came down here from Shamayim, from heaven for a mission. And we only have a short amount of time to accomplish what we want to accomplish.
[00:15:48] And after that time, we have no more opportunity. Once we pass on the opportunity we have to do, to accomplish, to get closer to Hashem, um, it's all set. Whatever we did in this world, it's done. The mitzvahs we did, the good deeds we did come with us. The Torah, we learned, comes with us. But we can't do any more after that point. So now is the short time we have to accomplish that goal. And that's, um, one of the ideas that we see from this week's Parasha from Moshe Rabbeinu, how his son, how he named his son, he kept that focus. He knew what his focus was. What's the true mission. I think that's something for us as well. To not lose track of what's truly important in life. You know, there's so much distraction.
[00:16:33] We're a body that's also physical. We have desires. We want pleasure. We're lazy. You know, ensure all these things in its, you know, in moderation, in the right way. It's proper. But that's not the be all, end all.
[00:16:50] It's a means to an end. And the end is to get closer to Hashem. Um, second idea I want to share with you today.
[00:16:57] Takes us to when the Jewish people encamp in the Sinai and they're getting ready for the accepting of the Torah, the posse reads as Vayisu merefidem Vayevomid bar Sinai, vayakanubinbar, Vayichan sham Yisrael Negedahar. They journeyed from Rephidim and arrived at the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the wilderness. And Israel encamped there opposite the mountain. And Rashi tells us, vayichan sham Yisrael, that when Israel encamped, what does that mean, that they encamped?
[00:17:31] It's singular.
[00:17:33] Kiishechod belevichad. They were like one man with one heart.
[00:17:38] That at that time when the Jewish people were about to accept the Torah, they had total unity.
[00:17:46] They were able to get along with each other. They didn't fight, they were united. And we see this from actually from the word itself of Vayichan in singular terms, it was singular that they're all together.
[00:17:59] And that's something which teaches us that a, uh, prerequisite for accepting the Torah is having unity.
[00:18:07] And Rabbitzhak Avorki, he brings down also something very interesting, that the word Vayichan can also be traced to the word chain.
[00:18:21] Chain means to find favor. So this word that they encamped also is connected to the word khayn, which is to find favorite.
[00:18:31] And that they found favor in the eyes of the Almighty. Uh, they found chain in the eyes of Hashem because they were united, they were together.
[00:18:42] And there's so much to be said about Jewish unity, how important it is that when we're together, we're this unstoppable force.
[00:18:52] And the question is, is that how do we get Jewish unity, something that we talk about, but how do we attain it?
[00:19:02] How do we love our fellow Jew? Rabbi Plissken brings down from the Nachal Kidumim.
[00:19:09] He says that the prerequisite for unity is humility.
[00:19:16] That when we're humble, we don't think everything is about ourselves.
[00:19:20] We don't think we're always right.
[00:19:23] We have a certain sense of humility in Hebrew.
[00:19:27] So then it lends to being able to get along with people. You know, you think about it for a second. I'm sure we could think of individuals that we know that maybe are arrogant or, you know, self centered.
[00:19:43] They're the opposite of humble.
[00:19:45] And they can't get along. You can't get along with them.
[00:19:49] And I think this ties very well into the whole concept of Sinai, of Mount Sinai. And we know that the reason why the Torah was given at Mount Sinai was because it was a humble mountain. It was a low mountain. It wasn't a boastful. You know, the Midrash teaches us that all the other mountains said, oh, the Torah should be given on me. The Torah should be given on me. I'm the tallest, I'm the highest. But Harsinai didn't say that it was low. And that's why it merited to have the Torah being given on it, because it had. Humility teaches us that this concept of finding favor in G D's eye being a prerequisite to accept the Torah, all comes down to having humility. That when we're able to be humble to, you know, to not get upset at someone else, to not just think about. It's all about us. We're able to get along with others, and even if we don't have to agree with everybody else, you're allowed to have your opinion, but at the same time, we have to get along. And I think this is something we see from this week's Parsha from the word Vayichan, that when you have humility, you gain that chain, that finding favor in people's eyes. You don't look so much at what other people's problems are, but rather see the good at others. When we see the good in others, we're able to love each other. And just one last idea. Um, on this week's Parsha, we know that the Torah was given on Mount Sinai, which was in a desert.
[00:21:27] The Jewish people were in the Sinai. The Sinai is a desert. There's nothing there for miles and miles and miles. It's all sand.
[00:21:35] And the question that begs to be asked, why did God give the Torah in such a desolate place?
[00:21:44] Right. You would think about such an important moment in time in human history where Hashem, where G D is giving the Torah to the Jewish people who are in turn going to have an effect on the entire world. Shouldn't it be at, you know, in a beautiful garden somewhere beautifully, where plants are growing, such a beautiful area, I don't know, think of different beautiful places in the world.
[00:22:07] Why is it in a desert which is totally desolate, nothingness, empty?
[00:22:14] And I believe it was said by Reb Nossen Vachvogel. He used to say that this teaches us that the fact that the Torah was given in the desert where nothing grows, shows us that when it comes to Torah, even Torah can blossom in a desert.
[00:22:36] That anywhere a person puts in the effort to grow Torah to establish something, you know, a synagogue, a Center for Torah Learning. If the person puts the effort in, it can sprout even in a desert, even in a place where you think Torah wouldn't thrive, it will thrive because all the Torah needs for success is the effort.
[00:23:04] And I think this is on a personal level as well.
[00:23:08] We shouldn't think that only people who are born religious, who have great minds, who are, you know, super smart, who are super sharp, who, I don't know, who have, uh, you know, resources to spend on tutors or so on and so forth, every person has the ability to access the Torah.
[00:23:32] And this is like, you know, similar to the desert as well, because just like a desert is, you know, it's not owned by anybody.
[00:23:42] It's no man's land. It's a free for all. So every person has opportunity to acquire their share in Torah. No matter what your background is, no matter what, you know, where you are from, no matter how smart you are, it is for you, it is the heritage of the Jewish people. And that is what we learned from the fact that Torah was in the desert, that it can sprout anywhere and in any person. You can see that success in Torah if you just put the effort in. Put the effort in and push and push and push. And I could speak personally for myself that I didn't consider myself as a kid, the smartest kid. I was a regular, average kid. And I didn't really learn so much when I was in school.
[00:24:27] I would say that I didn't start learning seriously till post high school.
[00:24:33] And at that point, I thank God I had good teachers and good friends. And I pushed myself and I applied myself. And I definitely felt at a certain point in my studies, I just had a breakthrough, that Hashem G D had given me this siyata deshmaia, this help from heaven, to just have a jump, like it wasn't going. And all of a sudden, one day, boom, it just started going. And I think we all should know that for ourselves as well, that if we put the effort in, Hashem will certainly give us that help from heaven to reach our goals and to become great. So then I'm going to finish with today's podcast. I hope you enjoyed. If you have any questions, comments, or would like to reach out, feel free to send me an email at Rabbi Shlomakonkohn at gmail com. Have a great day.
