Torah · Weekly Parasha VideoParashat YitroRabbi Uri Nahum · June 19, 2017 · Yitro · יתרו · 15 Min Parasha RoundupSave⌄ShareParasha class with Rabbi Uri Nahum, from BSD Productions’ 15 Min Parasha Roundup.Transcript0:05Parashat Yitro. This week's parashah has 72 pesukim,0:08and it is the shortest parashah in Sefer Shemot.0:11And of course, Parashat Yitro is a parashah of Kabbalat0:14HaTorah, where the Torah tells us about Hashem giving us the Torah.0:17We divided the parashah into four parts.0:18The first part of Parashat Torah tells us about Yitro0:21visiting the Jewish people in the desert.0:23The second part of the Torah of this week's0:25parashah, Torah tells us about the judicial system that was set up by Yitro.0:31The third part of the parashah, Torah tells us about the preparation that the Jewish people did0:34in order to receive the Torah.0:36And finally, Torah concludes with the actual giving of the Torah,0:39what we call as Matan Torah.0:42Seventeen mitzvot are in this week's0:45parashah, three mitzvot aseh and fourteen mitzvot0:48lo ta'aseh. In Sefer HaChinuch, they number from mitzvah number 25 until mitzvah number 41.0:53And we'll begin now discussing the0:55parashah. The first part of the parashah, Torah tells us about Yitro's visit to the Jewish people in the desert.1:00Before we begin, you should know that there's a machloket of when this story actually took place.1:05When did Yitro actually come to visit the Jewish people in the desert?1:08Some say that this story happened in chronological order,1:11which means right now, before Matan Torah, before the giving of Torah,1:14Yitro came to visit the Jewish people,1:16and they bring their proofs of why.1:18And other opinions are of the opinion that no,1:20really Yitro came to visit the Jewish people after Kabbalat Torah,1:24after the giving of the Torah,1:26because we find that he set up the judicial system,1:29which tells us, which we'll see later on,1:32was when Moshe taught the Torah already to the Jewish people,1:34and it had to be afterwards.1:35However, the Ramban, with a nun,1:38he holds that this whole story took place before Matan Torah.1:42In any case, the Torah tells us over here the story,1:45and tells us that Yitro heard, vayishma Yitro, Yitro heard1:47something. And Rashi points out from the Chazal, from the Midrash,1:51that Yitro heard the news about Kriat Yam Suf, about the splitting of the sea,1:56and the war of Amalek, like it was mentioned in last week's1:58parashah. And therefore, Yitro sends a message to Moshe2:01that Yitro is planning to visit,2:04and he tells him, Come greet your wife, your two children, and your2:08father-in-law. Meaning, if I'm not worthy enough that you should come as a leader2:12to come to greet me,2:13maybe you should come out at least for the sake of your wife and your two children.2:16As the Chachamim tell us, we mentioned in Parashat Shemot,2:19that Moshe's wife... The two children2:23were left with Yitro2:25while Moshe was taking care of the Jewish people in2:28Mitzrayim with the ten makot, with the ten plagues.2:31Now Moshe, when he gets the message,2:33Moshe goes to welcome Yitro,2:35and not only Moshe,2:37but the Midrash, the Chachamim tell us2:39that all the Jewish people,2:41led by Moshe, Aharon and his children,2:43went out to greet Yitro,2:43because when Moshe went out, Aharon went with him,2:46and his children also went with him.2:47When everybody saw that Moshe and everybody is going,2:49so all the Jewish people followed,2:51and therefore Yitro got a massive greeting from all the Jewish people.2:55And Moshe offers, brings korbanot to Hashem,2:57and he makes a festive meal for Yitro,3:01where Moshe personally serves his3:03father-in-law. And over there Moshe tells Yitro3:06all the miracles that Hashem has done for the Jewish people.3:09Why? In order to attract Yitro to convert to3:12Judaism. Yitro, after hearing all the stories,3:16Yitro gets a very positive impression.3:19The Torah tells us that Yitro was very happy3:20and very impressed by Hashem's power3:22and His administration of the world.3:25But at the same time, Yitro was also a little bit hurt,3:28because you have to keep in mind,3:29Yitro used to be the advisor of3:31Paro, and he grew up in3:32Mitzrayim. So therefore all the Egyptians that died,3:34some of them were probably his friends.3:36I don't know if it was family or not,3:38but there was a lot of people that Yitro knew3:40who perished together with the Egyptians3:42in Mitzrayim. So therefore he was a little bit hurt.3:44In any case, Yitro declares at the end,3:47and he says,3:49Atah yadati. Now I know, now I see that Hashem is the greatest power in the world,3:53and Chazal tell us that Yitro converted to Judaism.3:56Second part of the parashah, we move on to it now,3:58tells us about the judicial system.4:00The old system was like this:4:01all the Jewish people would come to Moshe,4:04and only to Moshe, to ask him any question that they needed.4:06At the same time, Moshe was not only the only judge that judged the Jewish people,4:10he was also the only teacher.4:12He used to teach all the Jewish people as well.4:14And when they came to speak to Moshe,4:16everybody had to line up and wait for his turn,4:18and regardless if he came to learn4:20a halachah or to get a case judged,4:21he had to wait standing until you were able to see Moshe.4:25When Yitro saw this,4:26it bothered Moshe,4:26and therefore it bothered Yitro, and therefore he criticizes Moshe for three things.4:30First of all, he said this was not proper respect for the Jewish people,4:33that they should be standing in line the whole day.4:35Number two is—4:37A person who wanted to get a small quick4:39halacha or a case to be judged4:41had to wait a full day in order to get up to his turn.4:45And at the same time,4:47if Moshe is the only one doing this,4:49it would wear him out.4:50It would wear him out4:51and wear also all the people out.4:53So therefore, Yitro suggested Moshe a new system.4:56The idea, the purpose,4:57the goal of the system was to divide up the labor,4:59to divide up the workload from Moshe5:01and to give to everybody else.5:03But, as Yitro points out a few times,5:06this would only be done with Hashem's consent.5:09If Hashem agrees, then you'll do it.5:11And Moshe will remain the only5:14teacher of the Jewish people,5:15and the job of judging the Jewish people5:18will be distributed, as we'll see soon.5:20And any big case that the Jewish people cannot judge on their own5:24will be coming back to Moshe Rabbeinu.5:26Now, in order to do this, you need judges,5:29and therefore Yitro suggested to Moshe certain qualifications5:33and the responsibilities of the judges.5:36First of all, you need four qualifications in order to be a5:38judge. Torah tells us number one is5:40anshei chayil. What does it mean, men of might?5:42It means they have to be wealthy,5:44wealthy in Torah and in money.5:46They have to have a lot of money,5:47so this way they're able to be strong and mighty,5:50to stand up for what's right.5:51Number two, they have to be5:54yir'ei Elokim, God-fearing, meaning to say they're not scared of people to tell them what the truth is.5:58Number three, they have to be anshei emet, men of truth.6:00What does that mean, men of truth?6:02It means they have to be practicing what they preach.6:05Number four,6:06sonei batza. They have to hate— Bribery, little6:11translator. But of course, a judge cannot take bribery.6:13This was not a special condition,6:14but what it meant is that they would hate to argue for any money,6:18even their own money.6:19If you had to extract a person's money by taking him to court,6:24that's not a qualification to be a judge.6:26They have to not debate any money.6:28When it comes to the money,6:29they have to be easy. They have to be very comfortable to depart from it.6:33Now, the responsibility is to be divided in the following.6:36Torah tells us that there were6:37sarei alafim, sarei me'ot, sarei chamishim, sarei6:40asarot. What this means is as follows:6:42sarei alafim means that there were 600 judges6:46that were appointed over the 600,000 Jewish people,6:50which means that you had one judge over a thousand people.6:54The sarei me'ot were 6,000 judges over the 600,000 people,6:59which means that each judge was appointed over 100 people.7:02Sarei chamishim, they were appointed over 50 people,7:06which meant 12,000 judges for this category.7:09And the sarei asarot made up 60,000 judges over all the Jewish people,7:15which means they were appointed over 10 people.7:16The total judges that were appointed, or to be appointed, were7:2378,600. Now, the judges were meant to be separated.7:27They were not to do any7:29melacha. They were there to sit to judge the7:31nation. That was their sole purpose.7:33And in their free time, they would learn Torah,7:35or they would judge the Jewish people.7:38Now, Moshe asks Hashem,7:40Hashem agrees with it,7:41and Moshe goes and selects the judges through ruach hakodesh.7:45And then the Torah tells us at the end of this part7:48that Yitro is sent home,7:49even though we find the same story taking place in Parashat7:53Beha'alotcha. Over there we find that Moshe says goodbye to Yitro.7:56Torah also tells us, sofi, that Yitro went home7:58in order to convert the rest of...8:00This people. And we get to the third part of the parashah, the preparation for receiving the Torah.8:34The Torah tells us that the Jewish people arrived at Sinai from Refidim on the beginning of the third month, the third month being what we call Sivan. So Rosh Chodesh Sivan, on that day they came to Sinai, from Refidim to Sinai. And Ohr HaChaim points out that the Jewish people did three things to prepare themselves for receiving the Torah, and it's based on the pasuk. Number one is, Vayis'u me'Refidim, the departure from Refidim, which means they were diligent to understand, to study, to accept the Torah. Vayachanu bamidbar, they had humility, and Vayichan sham Yisrael, as Ohr HaChaim points out, there was also unity. So these three things are the way the Jewish people prepare themselves: diligence, humility, and unity.9:03Then Hashem tells Moshe to deliver His message to the Jewish people, and He tells them, number one is you tell the Jewish people how they saw personally all the miracles that have done on their behalf, how I took them out of Mitzrayim, al kanfei nesharim, on the eagle's wings. And you tell the Jewish people that if they do accept to take the Torah, if they want to accept Hashem's9:19pact, which is the Torah, they will have privileges. Number one, there'll be Hashem's special nation, segulah mikol ha'amim. Number two, there'll be mamlechet kohanim, which means a kingdom of priests.9:23Priests meaning to say these are the ones who are serving God at all times. And number three, they'll be a goy kadosh,9:29a holy nation. The Jewish people's response? Well, Moshe first came and told the elders, because he figured the elders will talk to the rest of the people.9:58When the Jewish people heard what Moshe said, they right away answered without consulting. They said, Kol asher diber Hashem na'aseh, whatever Hashem says, we will do. And therefore Moshe gives back the answer to Hashem, even though Hashem already knows, but out of derech eretz, because he was told to relay the message, he came back to Hashem and he said, on the third day of Sivan, he tells Hashem that the Jewish people are ready and they want to accept Your Torah. So now, Hashem wanted to give the Torah right away. And the original plan was that Hashem will appear with a thick cloud and speak to10:29Moshe, and everybody will hear as Hashem speaks to Moshe. Why? So this way, they will see two things. First way, they will see that Moshe is a true prophet, that they see Hashem speaking to him. And also at the same time, this will be—it's not directly to Jewish people—they will be able to handle it, and they will be able to also hear10:38God in such a way. However, Moshe tells Hashem that the Jewish people want to hear from you directly.11:15And therefore Hashem says, okay, if they want to hear from me directly,11:45so tell them they have to prepare themselves. They should prepare themselves in four ways. Number one is that they should be separated from their spouses for three days, for Dalet, Hey, and Vav Sivan. Number two is they should do no melacha during these days. Also, they have to separate—number three, they have to separate from the mountain. No man or woman or animal is allowed to touch the mountain, kal vachomer to go up. And number four, they must remain a distance of two thousand amot away from11:56the mountain. Now there's much more details really to the giving of the Torah or the preparation of the Torah. However, that's going to be for next week's parashah, Parashat Mishpatim. The Torah divides up the story till next week's parashah. And now we finally get to the fourth and final part of the parashah, the actual giving of the Torah. This took place on Vav Sivan. Moshe brings the Jewish people on the morning of Vav Sivan, brings them close to12:27the mountain, and picture the scene as following. There was sounds of thunder. There was the sound of a shofar that kept on escalating, going higher and higher, and this was a very, very loud sound. And the mountain was covered with a thick, dense cloud, and there was smoke that filled up the whole mountain. The scene was one of awe, and all the Jewish people stood there, vayecherad ha'am, and they were trembling from12:46the whole scene. And Hashem, the Torah tells us, that the Midrash tells us that Hashem brings down the heavens to Har Sinai, and He calls upon Moshe. Moshe is called in front of all the Jewish people to13:13come up. Moshe comes up on the sixth day, and Hashem tells him, I want you to go down and warn everybody not to touch the mountain. Moshe says, But we already warned everybody. Hashem tells him, Go down and warn them again. You warned them three days ago. I want you now to warn them, בשעת מעשה, to tell them to refrain the mountain. As Moshe is going down, and the Jewish people13:43see Moshe coming down from the mountain, Hashem begins to speak, and He says the Aseret HaDibrot, what they call the Ten Commandments. Even though there's more commandments than the Aseret HaDibrot, but these are the ten dibrot that Hashem speaks. Why does Hashem do that? Why did He speak when Moshe went down? So this way the Jewish people shouldn't think that it was Moshe who was speaking over, and he just spoke in a loud voice. When Moshe went down, Hashem began to speak about the Aseret HaDibrot. We'll just tell you a few quick things about the Aseret HaDibrot. Of course, there are many Gemarot and Midrashim that speak about exactly how they took place. Just three details. Number one is that the first two dibrot were heard directly14:13from the Jewish people by Hashem. Hashem spoke only the first two of the dibrot. The other ones, they were relayed over by Moshe. Why? Because the Jewish people weren't able to14:43handle it. It says in the Midrash that the neshamot run out, and Hashem had to do techiyat hameitim. So after two of these dibrot, they asked Moshe that he should relay the rest of them. And the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah points out that all the Aseret HaDibrot originally was spoken in one shot, as it says, shamor v'zachor b'dibur echad, it was spoken simultaneously at the same time, which is something only the neshama can understand, and then Hashem started detailing each one. And the other point we'll point out is, as a pasuk says in this week's parasha, that the Jewish people were able to see the sounds of Hashem. As the Gemara points out, something that's hard to imagine, they're able to see the words. Usually words you hear, you15:18don't see, but somehow they were able to see. And of course the Ten Dibrot are famous, but we'll just go through them very quickly. Anochi Hashem Elokecha, to know that there's only one God, our God. Lo yihyeh lecha elohim acherim, do not believe in any other power except for Hashem. Lo tisa, which means do not utter Hashem's name in vain. Zachor et Yom HaShabbat, keeping all the commandments of Shabbat. Kabed et avicha v'et imecha, honoring one's parents. Lo tirtzach, not to murder. Lo tinaf, not to commit adultery. Lo tignov, not to kidnap. Lo taaneh b'reacha ed shaker, not to testify falsely. And finally, lo tachmod, not to covet. And the Torah concludes this week's parasha with a few warnings. Number one is that the Jewish people should be careful not to15:43make any physical images for themselves. Number two is that they should build the mizbeach, the altar, in the ground, or even when they're moving it, they should fill it up with earth. Number three is that they shouldn't cut the stones for the mizbeach or the Beit HaMikdash with any metal. And finally, that when you're going up to the mizbeach, Hashem commands that you should not make steps to go up; rather, you should build a ramp. And we come to the lesson of this week's parasha. A powerful parasha, but the question is, why is this parasha named after Yitro? He wasn't even a descendant of Yaakov Avinu. He wasn't from the Bnei Yisrael. Why do we name it after a person who is not Jewish originally, although he converted, but why is it named after Yitro? And the answer is because Yitro had a quality which every person needs in order to be a person of Torah. Yitro was a man who searched for truth. It says that he used to serve every idol, not because he wanted the idol, but he was looking for truth in the world. And Yitro, in the beginning of the parasha, we find how Yitro searched for truth. Many people hear information and they believe it as truth; they accept it right away without searching into it. Yitro heard Vayishma Yitro. He heard information. He heard about the splitting of the Yam Suf. He heard the greatness of the Jewish people, and he heard about people going against the Jewish people. Yitro wanted to see truth in his own eyes. He went out of his way all the way to the desert, which was below his dignity to be in the desert. He was Kohen Midyan. Still, he went to search for the truth. That is the way we are to approach the Torah. We should not only just hear information, but we should seek the truth, to see it like the way Yitro did. And that's why the Torah names this week's parasha of giving the Torah after Yitro, to search and to see the truth for ourselves. Shabbat shalom.