Yitro
Yitro: Yes and No
Vayedaber Hashem el Moshe lei'mor is the most commonly occurring verse of the Bible. While it is usually translated as, “G-d spoke to Moshe, saying”, our rabbis saw additional meaning in the word lei'mor. If it only meant “saying”, then it would be superfluous; if the Torah tells us that G-d spoke to Moshe, then surely something was said.
Rather, our Sages...
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Yitro: Honouring Parents, Teaching Children
The command to respect our parents, kibud av v'eim, is one that needs little explanation. It is the most rational and logical of mitzvoth, one that we would observe even were we not commanded by the Torah to do so, and one that we expect all human beings to perform. Unlike Shabbat, which precedes it in the aseret hadibrot, no rationale is given for this mitzvah; none is needed.
The Talmud (Kiddushin 31a) claims that the...
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Yitro: I Love My In-Laws
“Moses went to greet his father-in-law, bowing down low and kissing him” (Shemot 18:7). Unfortunately, relations between children- and theri in-laws are not always so rosy and are often marred by jealousy, power struggles and outright animosity. One need look no further than the eternal king of Israel, Dovid Hamelech, and his troubles with his own father-in-law, Shaul. In fact, the Talmud tells us that even in a case of...
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Yitro: A Joint Project
What kind of book is the Torah and who is it meant for? Rashi begins his commentary to the Torah, with the supposition that the Torah is primarily a legal book instructing the Jewish people how to lead their lives. This is the premise of his query as to why the Torah starts with the story of Creation and not with the first mitzva given to the Jewish people. In answering his question Rashi fundamentally changes our...
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Yitro: Hear Ye, Hear Ye
"And Yitro, the priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moshe, heard all that G-d did for Moshe and to Israel his people, that G-d had taken the Israel out of Egypt" (Shemot 18:1). Of course, Yitro was not the only one who heard all that G-d had done. Yet he was the only one who was listening; the only one who cared enough and was moved enough to actually do something. While others likely were impressed to hear that a slave...
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