Tag Archives: Yitro

[PCJE Dvar Torah] Yitro/Reuel Midrash by Annie Matan Gilbert

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This week’s parsha, Yitro, mentions Moses’ father-in-law (known by seven names in Tanakh.)  In Yitro, he swoops in, Jean-Luc Picard style, to teach Moses how to delegate and manage his community more efficiently and then swoops out again.

Yitro and Moses after the first day of training

Yitro and Moses after the first day of training

This midrash was written at Pardes in 2009-2010 and tells the story of their meeting and how their mentor-mentee relationship came about.

If you’re interested, you can find more of my writing on my website: www.anniegilbert.com.

 

Reuel, Friend of Gd

I touched my forehead to the earth at my tent’s entrance at the end of my midday prayer, as I do each morning, noon and evening.  I intended to rise again and return to the ebb and flow of my afternoon in preparation for the return of my daughters but as soon as my skin touched the earth, its coolness enveloped me like a black night.  I settled my weight onto my hands at my ears and turned my cheek to the earth to hear its rumble more clearly.

“Ooold Friend,” it said.  The voice came neither from earth nor from sky.  I could feel it tremble in my bones.  “Friend of El”.  My eyelids felt heavy and the vibrating of this voice inside me was like sweet water on this hot, dry day.  I never wanted to rise again.  I knew this voice and its timbre and I welcomed it as I had done every time before. Continue reading →

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Take a load off, Moshe!

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I can only imagine how excited Moshe would have been this week to be reunited with his wife and two sons! Yitro, who brought Moshe’s family to him, also, like any good in-law brought advise. On the second day of Yitro’s visit, (the first day he burnt an offering to G-d) he told Moshe that he was working too hard and had to delegate his responsibilities. Everyday people had been coming to Moshe with their problems and Moshe would tell them what they should do. This sounds like a very important role, and it is. But the people had so many problems, Moshe was busy with this all day!

If we were talking about modern times, we could say that Moshe was clearly overbooked. No time for the gym, no time to go catch a game and have a beer with Aaron, not so much time to have a romantic reunion with his wife…you get the idea. Yitro and Rav Kook both agree, that this is not an appropriate way of life, even if you are serving G-d and your community in every capacity, you still have to take care of yourself.  Personal well-being is just as important as public service, Rav Kook sites a story in the Talmud when two judges are working too hard and their teacher, Rabbi Chiyya, tells them they need to take it easy. Rav Kook summarizes, “That while their public service was truly a wonderful thing, it is not necessary to neglect all other aspects of life…it is clear that personal growth will enhance one’s community. Better an hour of productive activity in a fresh, relaxed state of mind and body, than many hours of constant toil in a tired and frenzied state.”

This is still a hard lesson for me.  After many counseling sessions in college for anxiety for taking on two many responsibilities, for trying to help too many people and too many organizations, and being nearly worthless because I couldn’t take care of the world if I wasn’t taking care of myself, I finally started to realize that I couldn’t live myself this way.  And this is exactly what Yitro is trying to tell Moshe.  Eventually Moshe is going to be run too thin and he will no longer be a good leader for his people if he tries to keep up this schedule.

So I hope for all you over achievers out there. Take a break, have a glass of wine, go get a pedicure, go for a walk, put yourself first…and most importantly, don’t feel guilty about it! Even Moshe had to delegate!!

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[PEP Student] Revelation @ Mt. Sinai

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Dear Friends,

I hope you are well. This past week has been quite a busy one and at times, a difficult one for me. My cousin’s father, Eli Bellaiche z”l, passed away last week after a trying battle with cancer. He was an incredibly sweet and loving husband, father and grandfather and although we didn’t know each other very well and had a language barrier between us, I will certainly miss his mischievous and kind smile. May his memory be for a blessing.

This past week also marked the anniversary of my father, Peter Frankel’s, Bar Mitzvah. I remember my grandparents z”l always used to reminisce how that Shabbat was so horribly cold in Montreal.

In this vein, I’d like to dedicate this week’s parsha email in honour of my dad, Peter Frankel, and in loving memory of Eli Bellaiche. Both of them have modeled what it means to be a link in the chain of the Jewish People and their love and commitment to family, Torah and mitzvot.

Now, let’s turn to the parsha! The defining element of Parshat Yitro is the Revelation at Sinai and the infamous “Ten Commandments”. (Note: Charleton Heston does not appear anywhere in the Bible.) Naturally, our attention is fixed on this pivotal moment in Jewish history. And as readers of the text, we wonder: Did Revelation at Sinai happen? And if so, what exactly happened at that mountain?

To my mind, the fundamental question raised in last week’s parsha is this: what is so significant about this event (Revelation at Sinai) in our collective memory?

I cannot answer this question. It is a mystery, maybe a matter of faith. HOWEVER, in reading Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary (2001) on the parsha last week, I came across a number of revelatory insights (excuse the pun!) on the Revelation at Sinai and I’d like to share them with you. Many of them are not necessarily related to one another, but I believe that they can offer the “parsha reader” gateways to this mysterious meaning of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai.

  1. Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rymanov suggested that the Jewish People heard the first letter of the Ten Commandments, alef, which is a silent letter and were to intuit the rest of the Torah. Because they encountered God so directly, it was clear to them what was right and wrong and how to emulate God in their behaviour.
  2. The Etz Hayim commentary noted that the Ten Commandments begin with “I am the LORD, your God” and ends with “your neighbour” (Exodus 20:1,13). In this way, the Ten Commandments are not simply a list of the “top 10″ mitzvot that we are expected to observe. Rather, they are all-encompassing: the Ten Commandments represents a code of conduct that relates to human-divine relationships as well as human-human relationships.
  3. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel commented that we cannot make an image of God (Exodus 20:3) because we, ourselves, are made in God’s image.
  4. Rabbi Yisrael of Modzhitz taught that there are 2 modes of keeping Shabbat: “being” and “doing”. “Being” is a passive type of Shabbat observance, mainly abstaining from work and the like. “Doing” is an active form of Shabbat observance, which involves learning Torah, prayer and eating. The Torah implores us to keep Shabbat according to both of these modes.
  5. Martin Buber wrote that “God is found in relationships”.  Accordingly the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah) states that the Holy Presence (Shechinah) is diminished when these relationships fall apart, and particularly when adultery takes place.
  6. The Etz Hayim commentary raised the question: why does the Torah juxtapose the prohibition of stealing with that of adultery? Is the Torah equating the two in their severity? No! Rather, the Torah suggests that to maintain social order, both familial and economic relationships must be treasured and safeguarded.
  7. Rabbi Yehiel of Zolochev taught that if a person keeps the first nine commandments, then s/he will never struggle with the tenth commandment.

I hope that these teachings will prompt further thinking and conversation and bring meaning to the content and context of the Revelation at Mount Sinai.

Shavua tov,
Tamara

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יתרו, yitro

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i’ve been wondering for the past few parshot to whom moshe is able to turn when overwhelmed by the responsibility that has been thrust upon him.  as the middle man, he receives all of God’s direct commands while bearing the weight of the people’s fear and doubt.  God is able to rant to moshe about the people’s stubbornness,  while the people blame moshe for their hunger and thirst.  i get the sense that moshe sometimes just stands there stuck silent, listening to an endless stream of complaints and demands on both sides.  and, amazingly, for the most part, moshes takes it, despite the frustration of being the messenger.

this huge parsha, parshat yitro, featuring moshe and God center stage on the mountain, world trembling, shofars blaring, and the ultimating revelation of the ten commandments, begins with a meek, humble moshe receiving advice from his father-in-law, yitro.  not only that, this very parsha, in which moshe facilitates this ground-breaking revelation from God, is actually named after this same non-jewish father-in-law.  in the end, there’s no questioning that moshe steps up to become the leader of the jewish people, a role that he initially begrudged.  however, this same leader still contains with him the baby left by the river, raised without a caring father figure.  this same leader is still the unsure, speech-impaired man, unable to fathom himself as a the mouthpiece of God.

and, leader or not, everyone needs someone to whom they can turn.  someone who will listen and support them.   someone, who unasked, will tell them that they’re making a mistake, that they’re hurting themselves and their people.  and someone who will offer gentle advice to guide them towards fulfilling the huge rule that’s been required of them.  we can’t do these things alone.

a father figure,
lays his hand on his shoulder.
tell me what to do.

may we find these figures of support along our way and be wise enough to heed their advice,

avi

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