Parashat Yisro

[[Yisro|Yitro]] the former High Priest of Midyon, hears all the miracles that Hashem performed for the Jews, especially the splitting of the sea, the battle with Amelek, the Manna, the Well and primarily how Hashem took them out of Egypt. He had also been told by Tziporah how Moshe was saved from near death by a serpent like angle after procrastinating to circumcise Eliezer. Yitro takes his daughter Tzipora, Moshe's wife and her two sons Gershom and Eliezer and travels to Moshe who is encamped with the Jewish Nation by Mount Sini. Tzipora and the two kids had originally left Midyon with Moshe. When on route at Har Sinai they met Aharon, he rebuked his brother for bringing more people to suffer in the servitude of Egypt and Moshe sent them back to Yisro's home. Gershom was named after Moshe's stature as a foreigner in a strange land and  Eliezer was named in commemoration of Hashem saving him from the sword of Pharaoh's executioner by having his neck harden to a state of marble, after the snitching of Dassan and Aviram of his slaying the Egyptian taskmaster.

Originally while living in Midyon Moshe had credited his stature to Yisro. Now Yisro prided himself as being the father-in-law of Moshe. Yitro led a very physically comfortable life in Midyon yet he forfeited it and for the sake of hearing the teachings of the Torah and traveled to live in the barren wilderness.

From outside the camp Yisro noticed one of the tents had a cloud hovering above it, he immediately knew this was the tent of Moshe. Yitro sends  a messenger to Moshe announcing their arrival and requesting that Moshe come out in his honor. If Yisro was not enough of a reason, then Moshe should come out in honor of his wife, if that was not enough then he should do so for his two children.

Moshe goes out to great them and is followed by Aharon who in-turn is followed by Nadav and Avihu and the Seventy Elders. Everyone who saw this assemblage joined the crowed, giving Yisro great honor. Moshe prostrated himself, kisses and welcomes his father in law and they then enter the tent.

Moshe who received the Torah from the mouth of Hashem was on a much greater level then Yitro who had just arrived from very deep impurity where he had spent time serving every pagan deity that existed. Yet despite this and the fact that Yitro had not even converted yet, Moshe referred to him as 'his friend' since it is the custom of true Tzadikim to lower themselves and befriend anyone that has intentions to draw close to the 'Truth'.

In order to attract his heart and draw Yisro close to the Torah, Moshe informs him all that Hashem  did to Pharaoh and the Egyptians and about the travails of the sea and Amelek. Yisro is happy about the miracles of the Manna, the well, the Torah laws they had been given so far and primarily regarding salvation of the Jews. Having previously been part of the Egyptian society, Yitro was well aware of their toughness and the hardness of Pharoah himself. He also knew that to that day no slave had ever manged to escape from Egypt due to physical defenses and occult spells and now a Nation of over a million people had managed to flee. Yet at the same time Yisro's body felt as if it was being pricked by needles at the news of the Egyptians demise since he himself was a gentile.  

Yisro proceeds to bless Hashem for saving the Jews from the tyrannization and domination of the of the strong Egyptians and Pharoah, their strong king. Yitro acknowledges that although he knew about Hashem in the past, he now fully recognizes His greatness. Yisro was knowledgeable in all the pagan deities that existed and had formerly tried worshiping them all, his recognition of Hashem's complete supremacy was an important thing. At that moment Hashem's name became glorified in all the Upper and Lower Realms since Hashem's main glory is specifically when those that are furthest from Him come close. Having taken part in the original conference regarding the drowning of the Jewish male new born, Yisro was very impressed that the Egyptians had been punished in the same exact method of death through water, in the very pot in which they cooked, they themselves were cooked.

Yitro then offers a sacrifices to Hashem including an Olah that was completely burnt and Shilomim where parts of the sacrifice were eaten. Aharon and the elders come to eat with Yitro while Moshe served and attended to all their needs. Like all other feasts attended by Torah scholars, participating in it was equivalent to enjoying the glory of the Shchina.

On the day following Yom Kipor, the day after Moshe descended from Har Sinai, he began to judge the nation. (This section of the Torah occurred on the 2nd year following the Jewish exodus from Egypt and is not written in chronological order). People would come to him from the morning to the night. Moshe would sit like a king and the people would stand. Upon Yisro's inquiry to what was happening, Moshe replied that the people were coming to seek the teachings of Hashem and to judge cases between a man and his neighbor. Yitro rebukes Moshe, saying it is not a good system and it will cause him, Aharon and the 70 Elders to wither since its weight is greater than his strength. Additionally he reproved Moshe for belittling the respect of the people and siting while they all stand.

Although it was not possible the Moshe could judge the Nation every single moment form the morning until the evening, since he would issue true verdicts it was considered as if he was engaged in Torah study for the entire day and as if he was a partner in Hashem in the act of Creation.

Yitro then advises him to serve only as a representative, messenger and an intermediary between the Jews and Hashem bringing their matters and quarrels before Him. Moshe can then admonish the Jews concerning the statutes and teachings and teach them how to advance and  what deeds they should do. For all the smaller issues Moshe should use his Roach Hakodesh to appoint powerful, truthful men who fear Hashem and despise bribers as sub officers under him. There would be four ranks; officers over ten, officers of fifty, officers of one hundred and officers of one thousand. They will judge the smaller cases of the Jews at all times and the larger cases they will pass up until it reaches Moshe himself.  

Yisro tells Moshe to run his advice past Hashem and see if He approves it. This system make the burden easier for Moshe to bear, allowing him to survive along with Aharon, Nadav and Avihu who accompany him and to bring the Jews to their place in peace, assuming that the plan is endorsed by Hashem.  

* '''Men of substance''' (אנשי חיל) - Wealthy men, who do not have to flatter or show favoritism.  

* '''Men of truth''' (אנשי אמת) - Men who keep their promises, upon whose words one may rely, and causing their commands to be obeyed.

* '''Men who hate monetary gain''' (שנאי בצע) - Men who hate to have their own property in litigation since any judge from whom money is exacted through litigation is not fit to be a judge.

* General adult population = 600,000

After this Moshe sends Yisro back home to Midyon. Yisro leave with the intent of going home to convert the members of his family.

On Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the 3rd month of the Biblical calendar year, around two and a half months after leaving Egypt, the Jews arrive in the Sinai desert after journeying from Rephidim  and camp across from Mount Sinai. Moshe ascends the mountain and Hashem commands him to relate to the women and men of Israel, reminding them what he did to Egypt and how he carried them on eagle wings. If the Jews now agree to follow Him  then they will serve as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

When the Jews camped at Har Sinai, it was as one man with one heart. Torah is a way for Hashem to channel Divine Light upon the Jews, however proper vessels are need to receive it properly. In accordance with the level of the particular Torah and Light being given, so too is strength of the vessels necessary to contain it. On higher levels of Torah, the vessels required are more then what any individual can offer and can only be produced through a group effort, where multiple Jewish souls are united together to create the necessary vessels. Such unification can only be attained when the members of the group are at complete peace and love each other with a full heart. For a revelation as profound as the Giving of the Torah, it was necessary for a unification of 600,000 Jewish men to produce the vessels that could contain such Light.

There is no ecstasy greater then the higher levels of Holiness, especially for Jews that crave Holiness. Therefore there were multiple warnings and precautions given lest some Jews loose themselves in the heat of the moment and try surging up Har Sinai to transcend to higher levels.

Each and every Mitzvah and letter of the Torah contains tremendous, profound and holy wisdom which the angels delight to study. When Moshe ascended to Heaven, the Angles wanted to attack him for trying to take the Torah away from them. Moshe responded that at the end of the day, the sole objective of any wisdom is only to extract advice and success tactics from it. This also applies to the Holy Torah, the true wisdom, whose final purpose is only to provide advice and tactics for eternal spiritual success. It is for this reason that main goal of the Torah is not its actual study but rather the actions that result from it. This hardly applies to the angles who do not have jealousy, lust, etc.. but is very vital to the lowly humans who desperately need the advice that can be extracted from the Torah.

Even at the Giving of the Torah, the Jews had notions of abandoning Holiness  and already had one eye glancing away in the direction of idolatry, a much easier spiritual path. This is mentioned in the verse ''"You have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; you have captivated my heart with one of your eyes"''. Despite this, even the momentary closeness of the Jews was very precious in Hashem's eyes since He values the drawing close in itself. This also applies to a person that began serving Hashem but then abandons it, falling to low places. Despite this, the limited time itself where the individual was close to Hashem remains very precious in His eyes, regardless of what happened with the person afterwords.